heads question

[sunsetz28]

I'm an F-body guy but please don't flame me. My Dad has an 84 vert that he gave me the green light on to get running again. He doesn't have the time and it's just sitting in his garage. It needs new head gaskets, so I thought I'd get some new/ better heads. Might as well since they're coming off anyways. I was thinking about some alluminum gt-40 heads and maybe slap a new exhaust on there and have some fun with it. What do you guys think? Is there something better than the gt-40 heads. and should I do something else to it while I have it a part. Keep in mind I don't want to go to crazy. I just want to get some more out of that 5.0. It's a slug compared to my z28, but it's still a fun car to drive, when it's running. Thanks in advance.

 

[txstang84]

there are tons of heads better than the GT-40 aluminums...but for the price of a set of Y-303's (can be had for $700) you can't beat them, unless you get a killer deal on a set of Edelbrocks, AFR's, or TW's.

any of those will make good power, and with a good exhaust, a cam, intake, carb, etc...and some gears will put that little "slug" right up next to your Z...

biggest downfall is that the '84's have low compression cast pistons (8.4:1)...and you'll have to run a flat tappet cam if you want to install a new one, since the '84 is one year model prior to the first roller blocks...unless you convert to roller with either the expensive locking bar lifters, or running a smaller base circle cam. At any rate, you can make reliable power with the car and have fun doing it. I also suspect you'll find out that working under the hood of that '84 (depsite all the smog equipment) is much easier to work on compared to the engine bay of your Z...

oh yeah, another thing, if you do end up putting gears in it, you might wanna seek out an 8.8 rear out of an '86-98 'stang or a turbo coupe t-bird or even a MK7...the stock 7.5" rear in the '79-'86 'stangs are not known for their strength (I broke my original)

what year Z do you own? LT1 or LS1..?

 

[txstang84]

y not go crazy with it? Mustang parts are cheap!

 

[sunsetz28]

Thanks for the info. What are Y-303s BTW. Sorry I'm kind of a newbie with stangs even though my Dad loves them. He's a Ford guy.
Does Magnaflow make an exhaust for 84s? I have the Magnaflow cat back on my Z28, and I really like it. It's an 01, so it's an LS1. I really haven't done much to it. Just exhaust, air lid, pulleys, SFCs and lowering springs.
That compression ratio does suck I didn't know that. 5.0s are way easier than F-bodies to work on. I've pulled the heads on it before. It's not as easy as my 71 camaro though.
Anyways, I'd go crazy with it, but like you said the rear is weak and it's my Dad's car. He really doesn't want to go to crazy with it. Plus it needs to pass smog. I'm in So Cal, they're a bunch of tree huggers over here.

 

[txstang84]

Y-303's are the cheapest iterration of aluminum GT-40 heads-there are a few places on ebay that sell them as crate motor pulls-unused-for like $650-$700...

I dunno if Magnaflow makes an exhaust for '84's, but my advice (this is what I did to my '84) upgrade it to 86-93 style duals, you'll need a double hump tranny crossmember, and all the hangers from an '86-up GT...Mustangs Unlimited used to sell a kit that had all the hangers you'd need to swap from early to late model exh. you can run all the stock style exh parts with no clearance issues.

...silly tree huggers

your '71 'maro must not have had A/C for it to be that easy to work on...every f-body I've ever helped a friend work on was a PITA on the passenger side cuz of that damn A/C plenum

 

[txstang84]

...I'm sure with your Dad being a Ford guy, watching racing events must be a blast...lol

 

[sunsetz28]

Y-303's are the cheapest iterration of aluminum GT-40 heads-there are a few places on ebay that sell them as crate motor pulls-unused-for like $650-$700...

I dunno if Magnaflow makes an exhaust for '84's, but my advice (this is what I did to my '84) upgrade it to 86-93 style duals, you'll need a double hump tranny crossmember, and all the hangers from an '86-up GT...Mustangs Unlimited used to sell a kit that had all the hangers you'd need to swap from early to late model exh. you can run all the stock style exh parts with no clearance issues.

...silly tree huggers

your '71 'maro must not have had A/C for it to be that easy to work on...every f-body I've ever helped a friend work on was a PITA on the passenger side cuz of that damn A/C plenum

Summit sells assembled GT-40 heads for $530. Are these the same heads you are talking about? the part number is FMS-M-6049-Y303 .

Sounds like I need to hit up Pick Your Parts. Thanks for the tip. That doesn't sound like it would be to hard to do. Would I need to change how the cats are set up then?

No A/C. At least not hooked up. Plus it's an inline 6, so there's plenty of room. It's a weird car. Some dealership pulled the 350 out of it when it was new and put in a turbo charged 6. I only have the turbo housing though.

 

[sunsetz28]

...I'm sure with your Dad being a Ford guy, watching racing events must be a blast...lol

Haha yeah, my Uncle is worse than my Dad though. He's diehard Ford. My Dad is a Ford guy that likes everything else too. I'm the same way except wioth Chevy. My Dad used to race a 440 Cuda dirt track car when I was a kid. Still have the car, just nowhere to race, and not enough time.

 

[txstang84]

wow, i bet holidays are a grand ol' time! the summit ad your talking about is indeed the Y heads, but for $530 you only get one head-if you'd like to get those particular heads, then go with ebay, there are a few sellers that either pull them from crate motors and sell them as unused, or all the sellers are trying to get rid of stock to make room for the X and Z heads from FRPP.

there's also a gent on here going by Thumper460 that sells stock ported E7TE heads for $600 that are MUCH better than the boat anchor D8OE's that are sitting on your Dad's '84...trust me they are junk.

if you change to the later model exh setup, yes, you'd have to acquire a stock type h-pipe with cats (not counting out the aftermarket versions which are available), and an '86-'93 style cat back...and while you're at it, for goodness sake, nix the stock log type manifolds...they're ugly, and useless except for a doorstop. There are easily 10 aftermarket manufacturers of shorty headers for fox body mustangs, and they will get you an easy 10-15hp for cheap.

start researching the threads on here, you'll find more than enough info and opinions on several ways to inexpensively modify a fox body 'stang-including the four-eyed foxes