regular 3.8 and sc heads??

brandons sc

Registered User
I am sure this has been covered before but I can;t seem to find any answers .....Does anyone know if heads from a regular 3.8 will fit a sc ? I was told they will but i have to plane them 10 thou. Does'nt seem to make sense to me unless the sc has more compression .
And if they won't work , what is the difference between them ?:confused: :eek:
 
If I am correct the water jackets are situated different. Ive been in a few of both engines and never have compared them. The sc heads will have sc stamped on them.

S
 
less manifold bolts..1 less per head..I believ ethey will bolt up otherwise as I know several that have...Now can you drill that extra bolt whole I have no idea
 
You sure ? Im not questioning you but I just looked it up in the book and the intake has 14 bolts on the sc and the standard engine. Could it be bolt placement maybe? I believe the exhaust bolt holes are the same as I have put muff-stain maifolds on mine withno problem on the head side.


S
 
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So if they will bolt on they should work. ??? I thought the sc heads had less compression . :confused: mine are both cracked and I am looking for a fix , sc's are hard to find around here .
 
Stock heads won't hold up to the pressures of the SC motor. SC head deck surface is thicker and there are fewer and different sized cooling passages to reduce defomation around the cylinder chambers.

SC heads aren't that hard to find.
 
Where are you ? sc heads might not be hard to find where your at , but they certainly are here . lol If I can't find any soon the car is probly going to get a 5.0 .
 
Hmm, I guess I'd just check the for sale forum here. Say I want to buy some heads. YOu'll get e-mails.

How have you verified both are cracked? that kinda bites if that's the case. Have you checked the deck surface yet to make sure that's not damaged due to the heat necessary to crack the heads?
 
I sent the heads to an engine build shop , they presure tested them and both are cracked down each side .:mad:

I havnt checked the block , i'm just hoping it's still ok. It's cast steel so it should be ok .
 
Don't use 3.8 n/a heads on a SC block!!!! The water passages are not the same and can harm your motor. If you need some SC heads I've got a pair for you. What year SC motor do you have?


-B
 
yea...I would imagine it might be a bit hard to find a set in Nova Scotia..:D ...I have a set you could get from me too..but shipping from Florida might eat you alive...Denver might not be too bad though..;)

Rick

BTW...Kewel avatar there "-B"
 
Stock heads won't hold up to the pressures of the SC motor. SC head deck surface is thicker and there are fewer and different sized cooling passages to reduce defomation around the cylinder chambers.

Actually teh 94/95 heads are alledgedly a slightly better design having a thicker deck..All heresay to me as I never checked..

However late model mustang heads 96/97/98 (and perhaps tbird) are not the same as the earlier 3.8 heads and again ALLEDGEDLY better then the SC heads. With these heads you have a thinner valve which equals less obstruction in the port area and better flow. They also alledgedly have a thicker deck and revised coolant ports..
 
DamonSlowpokeBaumann said:
Actually teh 94/95 heads are alledgedly a slightly better design having a thicker deck..All heresay to me as I never checked..

However late model mustang heads 96/97/98 (and perhaps tbird) are not the same as the earlier 3.8 heads and again ALLEDGEDLY better then the SC heads. With these heads you have a thinner valve which equals less obstruction in the port area and better flow. They also alledgedly have a thicker deck and revised coolant ports..

So am I to understand that the mustang heads will work on my SC ?
 
Sweet90SC said:
yea...I would imagine it might be a bit hard to find a set in Nova Scotia..:D ...I have a set you could get from me too..but shipping from Florida might eat you alive...Denver might not be too bad though..;)

Rick

BTW...Kewel avatar there "-B"
I have a friend that lives in florida , she will be coming home sometime soon . how much are you asking ?
 
If you do decide to try the NA heads make sure they are 96-98 I have no idea if they actaly work but just make sure they are NOT splitport heads as these will not work at all. Its not uncommon to have cracked heads along the spark plug holes as this is a sighn of overheating.
 
scbird1 said:
If you do decide to try the NA heads make sure they are 96-98 I have no idea if they actaly work but just make sure they are NOT splitport heads as these will not work at all. Its not uncommon to have cracked heads along the spark plug holes as this is a sighn of overheating.


both of mine are cracked along the spark plug holes .:mad:
 
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