Head work quote: $950.

Dahoopd

Registered User
I just got the quote to have my heads reworked while they are off. I have 2 concerns. Is this a decent price for the work. And someone told me that the work would cause my to wipe the stock cam?????????????

Resurface
Port & Polish
Pocket Port
3 angle valve job
gasket match the intake & exhaust
replace valve seats/ seals/ retainers/ springs

are the heads too much for these mods right now.I want to run the stock cam for now. I will be putting the car back together with only the listed mods and adding the rest next month.
3" CAI
Aluminum Radiator
Ported exhaust manifolds and new exhaust.

Next month
Ported and rebuilt SC
3/4 raised top
255 FP
76 MAF
70 TB
5% pulley

Impatience gets the best of me.
 
It's a decent price and cam problem? I don't see that! any time you can get more flow it is a good thing in my opinion!
 
cougarsc said:
Buy these heads for $800. They come with larger valves and Arp studs plus extras.

http://www.sccoa.com/forums/showthread.php?t=48100


I agree. These are good heads and have not only new parts but larger stainless valves, good springs, retainers, port matched intake manifold, etc. I know, they used to be mine. ;) My car ran low 13's with those heads and other supporting mods on my 5spd car. Made 313rwhp (again, with other supporting mods). The ARP studs and Ford MLS gaskets are worth over $150 right there.

The valve sizes are listed wrong though, they are actually 1.94 intakes that have been cut down to 1.88 and 1.55 exhausts.
 
I dunno. A couple of things in the work list raise an eyebrow. For instance you have port and polish followed by pocket port. It would seem to me that porting the valve pocket would fall under the category port-and-polish. Another one that catches my eye is the gasket match category. Again, I would think that this would fall under the port-and-polish category but even more is that matching the gasket is not necessarily the thing that you want to do. The objective here is to match the head to the intake itself, not the gasket.

Basically it sounds like the shop is just throwing together a bunch of terms they think people expect to hear.

Cylinder head work is VERY sensitive stuff and the difference between good and junk is in thousandths of an inch. Unless the shop comes with significant verifiable references, and is familiar with the Ford 3.8, I'd suggest taking a pass on the port work.
 
Dahoops..

I;d go with those heads that are for sale for 800..Thats a steal and will give you much better performance
 
Parker Dean said:
Basically it sounds like the shop is just throwing together a bunch of terms they think people expect to hear.

I totally agree. I've worked with a few machine shops and the ones that know what they are doing usually won't give you a quoute less they've cleaned and checked the heads for cracks and warpage and possibly even gotten a crap head and sectioned it. If this shop has done a lot of work on SCs before, I might be totally off. Supercharged engines need TOTALLY different machining and porting to get the most out of the heads and an NA engine.

Buy the heads mentioned above for $800, is my advice or at least ask the shop owner if they've done SC heads before and if he sounds like he knows the SC ropes, then proceed with caution.
 
Take it from me DONT let anybody port your heads that does not know S.C.s Buy the heads that Dave has for sale. You will get a good set of heads that you know will work instead of a ? These motors are real funny when it comes to porting . One wrong thing and they are junk. The guy that built my engine did my heads like you have listed and they probably put out less power than they did stock.
 
head questions

I figured I would ask everyone here versus the dude selling the heads. Always need a second opinion.

The ad states the heads are machined for a high lift cam. I am keeping my stock cam for now, how will this be effected.

I was under the impression, or read somewhere that the MLS gaskets weren't very good. and why would someone want to reuse gaskets regardless of there quality or name. I know that the studs are included but is it really safe (blown HG) to reuse them also. considering that they are not numbered they would not be put on or torqued in the same pattern as the original install.

And the last thing, its stupid but, picture (headds3) shows clean bowls and picture (heads3) shows carbon in the bowls. i am assuming these are pre and post install photos. I have never bought anything on the net unless it was from a retailer. Not that there any dishonest people in the world (yeah OK!) but I would really hate to get ****. There would be no use for the SC if I did. Thanks for all of the help and patience you guys have had during my endless questions.
 
Okay on your first question about the high lift cam. The heads are designed for that. You can still use your stock cam, you just won't see the full performance potential until you get the rest of the mods to support them.

Not sure about the MLS gaskets. I don't know that they are new or used. You should contact Thomas A to find out what the specifics are there.

The head studs can be reused with no ill effects. It is the stock head bolts that are torque to yeild I think it's called. They are a one time use. ARP studs can be safely reused many times. As long as you torque them down properly, you will have no issues with them.

And finally I can personally vouch for Thomas A. He is a very upstanding and honest young man. You won't get hosed on any deal with him. As you can see by his add for the parts, he tries to get as much information out there that he can. I don't have any idea if the heads are cleaned or not. But just from knowing Thomas, he will have them cleaned. But if you want to know for sure, just contact him. He'll give you an answer and probably some more pics too.

And just to echo what XR7 Dave said about the potential of these heads, Thomas was running mid 13's on his sc with these heads and other supporting mods. That is an excellent price for that potential.
 
Thanks

007_SuperCoupe said:
Okay on your first question about the high lift cam. The heads are designed for that. You can still use your stock cam, you just won't see the full performance potential until you get the rest of the mods to support them.

Not sure about the MLS gaskets. I don't know that they are new or used. You should contact Thomas A to find out what the specifics are there.

The head studs can be reused with no ill effects. It is the stock head bolts that are torque to yeild I think it's called. They are a one time use. ARP studs can be safely reused many times. As long as you torque them down properly, you will have no issues with them.

And finally I can personally vouch for Thomas A. He is a very upstanding and honest young man. You won't get hosed on any deal with him. As you can see by his add for the parts, he tries to get as much information out there that he can. I don't have any idea if the heads are cleaned or not. But just from knowing Thomas, he will have them cleaned. But if you want to know for sure, just contact him. He'll give you an answer and probably some more pics too.

And just to echo what XR7 Dave said about the potential of these heads, Thomas was running mid 13's on his sc with these heads and other supporting mods. That is an excellent price for that potential.

Thanks for the insight. I just dont want ot make any mistakes in upgrades. If I grenade it due to faulty maintenance(not likely) or driving (OH! yeah!) then thats ok. I have the time and the means to get this newbie right from the start, save for the full out rebuild and I just want it to be somewhat right. I have gotten alot of help in the process. Its funny the last time I went Buckwild on a vehicle I lost a wife, Now all I have is my patience, Licence and the cash put out. Live,learn and roach em when you can. Thanks
 
tim said:
Take it from me DONT let anybody port your heads that does not know S.C.s Buy the heads that Dave has for sale. You will get a good set of heads that you know will work instead of a ? These motors are real funny when it comes to porting . One wrong thing and they are junk. The guy that built my engine did my heads like you have listed and they probably put out less power than they did stock.

so bigger isnt always better when it comes to these heads? i was going to get mine ported at a machine shop here in clarksville. but now you got me thinking. any particular details you could share?
 
I believe any REPUTABLE shop can do a greta port job on any head knowing its application..The SC is no differentthat any other car..Howeve ryou need top take into consideration a place like Steigimier does have more experience and trial and error. However you pay a $2000+ price tag for that...So liek I said any reputable shop shopuld be able to port your heads..Get before and after flow numbers with a diffuser in exhaust port so you know they did there job:O)
 
specops_SC said:
so bigger isnt always better when it comes to these heads? i was going to get mine ported at a machine shop here in clarksville. but now you got me thinking. any particular details you could share?

This is a subject large enough to fill several books, and it has, but your first statement is on the mark. What you want is high flow numbers with the smallest port volume that will still get the job done. A smaller port with the equivalent flow of a larger port would be more efficient and generally results in multiple benefits such as better driveability and having a wider power band to name a couple. This is why I complained a bit about the 'gasket match" in my previous post. What you do when you gasket match is create an area of increased volume in the port where velocity slows. As a general rule the goal is to have a consistently decreasing port volume as you approach the valve, or at least a steady volume. As the same volume of air tries to go through the decreasing area in the port it's speed increases which tends to result in improved cylinder filling.Then when you get to the bowl under the valve it's a whole 'nother kettle of fish.

You could spend years studying and learning how to do head porting and then you could probably listen to the port flowing on a 'bench (yes, how a port sounds is part of the info head porters use) and tell if they heads are any good. Failing that, it would be best to go with known references.
 
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