I had tmoss do my Explorer intake. Who ports the heads? Is it worth it, as how close is the flow to AFR/ TW heads at what cost? My E 7's were ported, and by ET and mph, they have to flow close to stock GT 40's.
Click on the link to be taken to his profile. Haven't seen him on the site in a while but the information tab in his profile should have some contact info.
Thumper is one of the best around, definitely look into him. I have a set of thumper ported e7's and my car put down 270rwhp n/a on a dynojet. Not too shabby, imo, for some crappy factory heads.
IMO, I wouldn't spend any money on iron heads. Save the $500+ that you'd spend on having some one port your heads and put it toward an aftermarket aluminum head that will flow better, not to mention will be a much better starting platform for your valvetrain and will knock ~40 lbs off the nose of your car. Even a professionally ported iron GT40 head will only barely get you near the numbers of an entry level AFR or Trick Flow head.
Now I whole heartedly support the budget minded DIY stuff, so I definitely wouldn't knock you if you wanted to port them yourself. I just don't see the sense in paying several hundred dollars for someone else to do it for you.
I agree with NIK. Go back 10+ years ago when used aftermarket aluminum heads were few and far between and still very expensive and paying for porting GT40 heads was a viable option. Now a days, you can get yourself a set of used aluminum castings for less than you'd pay to recondition and port a set of any junk yard irons.
I picked up a set of GT40X aluminum heads last fall...fresh out of the machine shop, with new guides, valve seals, resurfaced and some mild porting performed already for $700 shipped to my door. You couldn't buy, recondition, and have a set of GT40's ported for that....and in the end you're still stuck with a lesser performing head (unless you get creative), that still weighs 50lbs more than any aftermarket aluminum casting.
If you're gonna port them yourself, you'll save a few hundred dollars. Keep in mind though, if they're off an Explorer, they're going to need valve springs/locks/retainers, which adds $100 to the price and will almost certainly need a valve job and new valve seals. It adds up fast man. Spend your money wisely.
This is why I bounce brainstorming ideas off you all first. If a gt40 set is good and cheap, why not ported ones? I got my answer. Now if I just knew how good the porting is in the extra set of E 7s that came with the car. The site will tell me a little by looks.
Anyway, thanks.