Clevor 4v Heads

If you can get Cleveland heads for $50-$75 a pair, it could be worth it. The last Ebay auction I saw, the heads started at $250 or so. That makes it much less attractive.

Do check out http://www.pricemotorsport.com/ if you have any interest at all in Cleveland engines. They have adapter plates to mate an EFI intake manifold to Cleveland heads or Cleveland heads and block.

The heads will need to have hardened valve seats installed to be used with unleaded fuel. That adds $275-$400 to the cost. Then you need adapters to mate your EFI manifold to the Cleveland heads - see http://www.pricemotorsport.com/ for the adapters. The 2V adapters are $255, the 4v adapters are $267. If you use the 4V heads, you need a set of port stuffers to reduce the port volume in increase the flow velocity - that adds $112 plus maybe $150 worth of machine work to install the stuffers. Then you need to modify the heads and block to make the water passages line up. New push rods and gaskets are needed too.

Totals: ( I’m sure that I have missed some things)
2 V Heads
$75 heads
$350 machine work
$225 manifold adapters
$650
If you paid $350 for the heads, that works out to $1000, and a good set of used Trick Flows or AFRs could be had for that price

4V heads
$75 heads
$350 machine work valve seats
$267 manifold adapters
$112 port stuffers
$150 port stuffer machine work
$924
If you paid $350 for the heads, that works out to $1274, which is in the price range for a new set of AFR's


If you have to change the pistons, this isn't a bargain. If you can run the 2V heads and stock pistons (don't know if this is possible), it could be a cheap upgrade.

Cylinder head selection advice:

Dollar for dollar, Trick Flow heads flow better "as cast" than almost any other head. The only heads that flow better are the CNC machined AFR heads, which will carry a $200-$400 price premium above the Trick Flows and almost all the other heads.

The gotcha on the Trick Flow is that they require stud mount rocker arms, and require you to have a push rod gauge and special length push rods. Trick Flow or Summit can supply all these extra parts, but be aware of the extra costs involved. The extra labor and different valve adjustment procedure for Trick Flow heads must also be figured into the equation.

The Edelbrock E-STREET heads use a stud mounted rocker like the Trick Flow and may be subject to some of the same requirements for push rod setup and length. They probably won't flow as good as cast as the Trick Flow heads and the extra wrestling with the push rod and rocker arms is a minus. Check out the Edelbrock site: ( http://www.edelbrock.com/automotive_new/mc/cylheads/ford/sb_estreet.shtml ) the E street heads are not setup for any emissions provisions and will not work with hydraulic roller lifter cams used in 1986 and later 5.0 HO engines. For these reasons I would avoid using them in an 86 or later 5.0 Mustang.


AFR, and some Edelbrock and the other cylinder head manufacturers use pedestal mount rocker arms, and standard length push rods unless you have milled the block or heads. The installation is a little simpler but with the exception of AFR, the flow numbers are lower than Trick Flow.

If you buy used heads, plan on having them serviced at a reputable automotive machine shop. They will check the valves, guides and springs and do a valve job on the heads. You will also want to have the heads checked for cracks and stripped bolt holes. In many cases this brings the cost of having the heads serviced makes them equal in cost to a new, still in the factory box set of heads. If the seller tells you "all that stuff has been done" make him show you the receipt and then visit the machine shop where the work was done.


.Since you have a street driven car, keep the intake port volume low - 165-175 CC. This will give better around town low speed performance and faster acceleration in a stock bodied car. Avoid heads with big port volumes and cams with wild timing for a street driven car. The numbers may sound exciting, but you will have to rev the engine above the point you would normally do for day to day street driving. Bottom line: the car may have to be up past 4000 RPM before it starts to pull good. That translates into you will run into the car in front of you before you get into the power range of the engine. High number rear end gears are a necessity for cars that don't start to develop power until the engine revs past the 4000 RPM mark


All in all your best, least problematic approach is a kit with heads, intake manifold and cam. The manufacturer will have matched the components together to get the performance specs you are looking for.

4v closed chamber 71 castings with 358" under them, a ford motorsport dirt track intake and a flat tappet cam, 10:1 compression on pump gas ran 6.80s@98 in the 1/8th mile normally aspirated. that's a 10.80 3000lb car. put a 4" stroke crank, a bigger intake, carb, solid roller and more compression and the same heads with nothing else done to them 6.30s@107 all motor. a 9 second car on the motor with factory iron heads. I like how people consider these heads to be dogs.

My father-n-law has been working on a 408 Clevor for the past year or two. 351 roller block, forged crank, lightweight I-Beams, Clevor specific probe pistons. He ported his own 4 barrel heads, they flowed 327cfm I think. Then he got really lucky and got a set of what he believes are old Nascar take off heads from years ago. They are extremely ported 4V heads that currently have titanium valves in them. He is using the new Trickflow 2V carb intake, which has been ported to the 4V heads. With the intake attached, they heads flowed 376cfm at .700 lift. He will be using a custom solid roller, spinning to around 7500rpm, and about 13.0:1 compression. He is hoping for 700HP n/a. It is a project that has snowballed on him, but it should be awesome.

Why a Clevor? Same as you, he has done the 302's, the 347's and even a 570hp, big bore 310. He wanted to do something different. I think he post over on TooNutsRacing.com. There is a small Clevor community there I believe.

Joe

we run a "clevor" style head on the racecar...

bare machined castings will run you around 7K a head though

I'm w/ you on trying to avoid the "been there, done that" response when you open the hood. But I don't know if I'd do the Cleveland thing to make that happen. I do know that a cast Iron Cleveland head is absolutely the wrong way to go about it though. The 4v heads are pigs outta the box w/o taking the proper measures (as stated by Jrichker) of actually reducing exhaust port volume and raising the port floor w/ those goofy metal plates for street driving. AND you'd still have to find the closed chamber set and probably buy the pistons to allow for proper P to V. clearance. All american stock 2v heads have open chambers,...and while you could buy a piston to make up for the compression loss,...the lack of a flat surface in the chamber will not provide for the proper cylinder quench,....and that equals detonation. That, coupled w/ the fact that all of the romance and mystique that revolved around the BOSS 302 was short lived after the street version had to deal w/ the likes of the everyday, butt ugly, distributor in the wrong place SBC.
I looked into a Clevor a bazillion years ago when affordable cylinder head selections did not exist ( Cir 1990). I got all the way to actually buying all of the parts before I sold it all off, and puked up 999.00 for a set of Cast Iron World Seniors.

If I was doing it though, I'd look into the Edelbrock Cleveland heads. Trying to find Aussie 2v closed chamber heads might be an alternative.
or......
You could always put a LS into it.
That'd be different,...bring out all the blue bleeding haters, and go just as fast as any HCI 5.0 will for 2000.00-2500.00.

You could always do a 351-based Clevor with those new Trick Flow Clevor top end parts.

Or, you could do what I originally wanted to do, but didn't quite have the stones for- Ford 400. Those things litter junk yards, but there still just isn't quite enough aftermarket support to make it EASY. Enough to make it possible, but not enough to make it even remotely easy.

stock Windsor flat tops should be fine out about 25* btdc intake open @.050 and to about 25* atdc exhaust close @ .050, check them anyway. if you are going to treat a Cleveland like a Windsor you are going to waste your time and it will be a dog. its a different animal. the 40 year old myths about them not running or port volume being too big are from those who don't know how to make the COMBINATION work. on a 302 I would probably run a smaller head, but IMO I wouldnt even bother to do it at 302 ci. there just is no point. but a pump gas Cleveland headed 347 on the other hand would be a nasty bitch.

the thing about reducing the exhaust port volume is even funnier than the port stuffers . that's a good way to make a bad exhaust port even worse.