[cavedog57]

Thanks for your replies.

Originally bought the car for the missus ;>) -- she complained long and loud (called it harping and she really got p*$$@d) about my solo seat motorcycles and backroad blasts. Hate carrying a passenger -- it really upsets the balance of a good performance bike and I'm not ready for an old man's motorcycle (aka HD). So... always liked Cobras (great power to weight ratio), and think I might be in love with this one.

Have been looking into having the heads repaired. Might be possible, but the damage is in several of the upper exhaust port bolt holes (drilled into the water jacket when installing heli-coils). This is just one of several problems I had with the shop -- will never darken that door again.

The exhaust ports are raised 1/16th of an inch over stock and much wider. Because of their width, standard header flanges that use the stock Ford exhaust bolt pattern will partially cover the port (and thereby severely restrict flow). Ford used a second exhaust bolt pattern, similar to that found on Cleveland heads, to allow use of much larger primary tubes (mine are 1-7/8") and room for porting.

Purchased my stroker kit from Keith. As I understand it, there may be a few heads that use the same bolt pattern, but all seem to be high-end, semi-finished castings destined for professional porting and high rpm race use. Apparently NASCAR head porters like the room the bolt pattern offers. I've read this in a few places, and it may be true, but I've also found a few sites that offer templates for header flanges and exhaust gaskets -- the J302 pattern is just one among many "splayed" patterns for aftermarket Ford heads. On the other hand, I can get a FelPro exhaust gasket in one day from any parts store -- pretty quick for an extinct Motorsport head.