Buying Heads

Tonys96Cobra · Aug 28, 2006

If you are gonna do the whole HCI thing, just get the TFS kit, it WILL save you money in the end. Your not gonna do X heads and a cam and reuse the stock intake, so why even try? The kit is $2300 shipped, has EVERYTHING you need. If you want to save some money, I would go with P heads from tristate and a cobra intake, stock cam with 1.7's. I did that same setup on my brothers SD car, and it runs REALLY well!!

2000xp8 · Aug 28, 2006

GT40x's can be very very good, but they can also be a nightmare, because the *******s putting they together do an inconistant job.

BTW, still the fastest normal (when i say normal, no cage, no weight reduction, full interior) street car stock shortblock 302 i've seen run was 11.86@116 and that was a gt40x e cam gt40 intake combo.
But the heads were valve jobbed and the bowls were cleaned up, no porting.
Ford alumunim heads are known for tight guides, but it happens with all heads, regardless of what they cost.

I have no problem with afr's just don't think they are worth $150 more than wedges. Besides the fact you really don't see anyone running anything special with afrs, yeah dyno numbers show high, but that's about it.

BTW, i've known people that have had trouble with both wedges and afrs right out of the box, so don't think because you spend more you are immune, it just happens more with ford heads.

Foxfan88 · Aug 28, 2006

if your budget is limited. dont go and buy a set of HUGE VALVED alum heads that flow awesome. Because then you used all your money, and have no intake. cam or anything else u need.

a thought out, good matched combo is what you want to strive for.

i know a guy who bought all his parts for his race car, he bought the most expensive stuff. put little thought into it and the car is fast no doubt but its nothing special for how much money he spent.

You need to sit down. write stuff down, plan your build right. what is your budget?
what is your goal with the car? (daily driver with some pep or a all out weekend racer or a nice peppy weekend cruiser for the car shows)

ask yourself these questions.

i had a very small budget with my engine build.

I was going to buy some eddy performer heads, but if i would have, i would have spent all my money and had no intake to match or other small parts. so i decided to go the thumper/ tmoss route, with B-cam.

car runs super strong and i hope for sure to get at least low 13s when i get back to the track. and hit 12s with some suspension work.

just plan it out

90_Red_LX · Aug 28, 2006

AFR's or Trick flows get my vote. But I'm talking with Jay Allen and I'm probably going to have him send me some Canfield 170s with a custom cam in the near future.

Strype · Aug 29, 2006

I'm lost

85ragtop · Aug 29, 2006

On 5.0 I had TW. I loved them.

Busted07 · Aug 29, 2006

Strype said:
I'm lost

Alright man... lets back up..

1. How much cash do you have or are wanting to spend?

Strype · Aug 29, 2006

FarBeyondDriven said:
Alright man... lets back up..

1. How much cash do you have or are wanting to spend?

Mmmmm... maybe $2500 tops- install and all

Curse · Aug 29, 2006

Strype said:
Mmmmm... maybe $2500 tops- install and all

What mods do you have now? Don't get a package with an intake if you already have an intake. I spent about $1700 for the heads, cam, rocker, etc... I saved money by using parts I already had. Also look at parts that can grow with your combo, so you will not have to buy the same part down the line. Good luck

Busted07 · Aug 29, 2006

Strype said:
Mmmmm... maybe $2500 tops- install and all

Ok, give me a few minutes to see what i can come up with...

Strype · Aug 29, 2006

Curse said:
What mods do you have now? Don't get a package with an intake if you already have an intake. I spent about $1700 for the heads, cam, rocker, etc... I saved money by using parts I already had. Also look at parts that can grow with your combo, so you will not have to buy the same part down the line. Good luck

I have:

Explorer intake
Phenolic spacer
C&L MAF (19lb)
Accufab 70mm TB
CAI
Exhaust (stock headers)
Plus gears & subframes I haven't installed yet

Busted07 · Aug 29, 2006

Ok, heres your options if it were me doing this....

TFS Trackheat Heads: $1266.95
TFS Stage 1 Cam: $159.95
Scorpion Rockers: $236.00 (you can get cheaper ones, but its up to you)
Labor: $675.00
____________________________

total: $2,337.90

You can get all of that stuff, then save for a little bit on your intake, or buy the intake and save for a little bit on the install. I would get the major pieces now, and go from there.

-OR-

Get the Trackheat engine kit that comes with:

Heads
Intake
Cam
Rockers
Timing chain
Head bolts
Pushrods
and gaskets out the ass

all for $2,249.95. then all you have to do is donate a little blood to get the money together for the labor charge. i would honestly get the whole kit, then sell some old parts or something to get the cash for the labor. IMO it would be smarter to get it all as a kit so later on, the shop doesnt call you and tell you that your old pushrods wont work, or your timing chain is loose etc... i would get it all at once, wait a little bit to get the other 400 bucks for the labor, and go from there.

Grn92LX · Aug 29, 2006

What I would do: Twisted wedge heads, rpm intake (if you can find one) or a holley intake, custom cam, longtubes (whatever size your cam grinder says you need) 4.10-4.30 gears, 75tb, 80 maf.

rd · Aug 29, 2006

I did all this checking and pricing over the last year or so, and decided the AFR's were the best bang for the buck, over Edelbrocks, TFS/TWs, the Ford GT40's, etc. The TFS stuff seemed next, and the Edelbrocks are close.

I have iron Gt40's and am very pleased with them, but the AFR's seemed the easist, best step up. They were $1300 or so.

I bought the iron Gt40's, changed valvesprings, etc, and had a perf valve job done, etc. These ended up costing about $800 or more when installed, so the aluminums are not that much of a jump.

Strype · Aug 29, 2006

FarBeyondDriven said:
Ok, heres your options if it were me doing this....

TFS Trackheat Heads: $1266.95
TFS Stage 1 Cam: $159.95
Scorpion Rockers: $236.00 (you can get cheaper ones, but its up to you)
Labor: $675.00
____________________________

total: $2,337.90

You can get all of that stuff, then save for a little bit on your intake, or buy the intake and save for a little bit on the install. I would get the major pieces now, and go from there.

-OR-

Get the Trackheat engine kit that comes with:

Heads
Intake
Cam
Rockers
Timing chain
Head bolts
Pushrods
and gaskets out the ass

all for $2,249.95. then all you have to do is donate a little blood to get the money together for the labor charge. i would honestly get the whole kit, then sell some old parts or something to get the cash for the labor. IMO it would be smarter to get it all as a kit so later on, the shop doesnt call you and tell you that your old pushrods wont work, or your timing chain is loose etc... i would get it all at once, wait a little bit to get the other 400 bucks for the labor, and go from there.

But I also gotta buy 24lb injectors and a fuel pump and a clutch and a new electric fan on top of that...

I'm thinking the TFS kit is gonna be the right way to go, I might put a lil on the credit card.

mercurycapri · Aug 29, 2006

JEG'S SB-Ford Aluminum Heads
SB-Ford High-Flow 170cc Aluminum Head
58cc CNC machined combustion chambers
CNC matched intake and exhaust ports
1.440'' springs, 130lbs seat pressure - for hydraulic roller camshafts up to .580'' lift
2.02'' intake and 1.60'' exhaust valves
7/16'' rocker studs and 5/16'' guide plates included
Works with stock piston valve notches with up to .550'' lift cams
Stock location exhaust and intake ports
Non-Emission design
Designed for 302 blocks. Will not fit 351W with 1/2'' head bolts
For best performance results use 249-35-518-8 Camshaft (May need to notch pistons).
$549.99 Sold as Each why not buy these?

Strype · Aug 29, 2006

mercurycapri said:
JEG'S SB-Ford Aluminum Heads
SB-Ford High-Flow 170cc Aluminum Head
58cc CNC machined combustion chambers
CNC matched intake and exhaust ports
1.440'' springs, 130lbs seat pressure - for hydraulic roller camshafts up to .580'' lift
2.02'' intake and 1.60'' exhaust valves
7/16'' rocker studs and 5/16'' guide plates included
Works with stock piston valve notches with up to .550'' lift cams
Stock location exhaust and intake ports
Non-Emission design
Designed for 302 blocks. Will not fit 351W with 1/2'' head bolts
For best performance results use 249-35-518-8 Camshaft (May need to notch pistons).
$549.99 Sold as Each why not buy these?

Those sound great but for a hundred or 2 hundred more $$$ I could get afrs/twisted wedge/GT40 x and not have to notch the pistons

Those are a great deal though

Curse · Aug 29, 2006

mercurycapri said:
JEG'S SB-Ford Aluminum Heads
SB-Ford High-Flow 170cc Aluminum Head
58cc CNC machined combustion chambers
CNC matched intake and exhaust ports
1.440'' springs, 130lbs seat pressure - for hydraulic roller camshafts up to .580'' lift
2.02'' intake and 1.60'' exhaust valves
7/16'' rocker studs and 5/16'' guide plates included
Works with stock piston valve notches with up to .550'' lift cams
Stock location exhaust and intake ports
Non-Emission design
Designed for 302 blocks. Will not fit 351W with 1/2'' head bolts
For best performance results use 249-35-518-8 Camshaft (May need to notch pistons).
$549.99 Sold as Each why not buy these?

That 2.02 valve would make a new home in the piston.

Aliate X · Aug 29, 2006

Id never put a b-cam in any car, but besides that, AFR 165's are not anywhere near 2,000$.

If your going boost, get some TF TW's, if not get AFR 165's or AFR 185's. Even 185's arent even close to 2,000.

Then spend the money and get a custom cam, and dont get that BBK intake. I went with a trickflow setup, I dont like the intake so much but it gets the job done. And Id rather have a custom cam over the TFS 1 for the extra $150.

Marlboro_Man · Aug 29, 2006

DO NOT get the bbk intake. It may be good looking but they have to many problems that need to be worked out.

My vote: Get the TF top end kit. Sell your explorer intake to help pay for the instalation. Be VERY careful using the credit card lol.

Buying Heads

GT40X Heads, B cam, 1.7 Rockers?

Yes Strype go that route :)

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