351W aluminum heads ??

[a1airboat]

looking for more HP out of the 351 Windsor .What set of heads is the best for bolt on horsepower ? Its bored .60 over and running a crane roller.Thanks Darrel

[TonyMadrid]

I like Edelbrock Performer RPM Heads.

[Dwight]

IT'S MORE TO IT THAN JUST BOLTING ON SOME ALUM HEADS.

MUSTANG AND FAST FORDS AUG & SEPT 2003 HAS AN EXCLUSIVE TEST: FINDING THE ULTIMATE CYLINDER HEAD.

[Roscoe]

Take a look at the AFR 185's with roller rockers. Nice head right out of the box. CNC ported and around the same price as the other unported heads.

http://www.airflowresearch.com/

Roscoe

[Mr.Fixit]

It really depends on the rest of your motor combo.

[Tony Radford]

There's another good SB Ford head comparison test on fordmuscle.com. It costs $5 for a month's subscription for access, but I thought it was worth it. AFR and Trick Flow Specialties rate pretty high. I think you'll need some pretty serious valve spring pressure with your roller setup.

[PSB]

Another vote for AFR 185s.

Pete

[AC Cobra]

I am building a 351W right now. I recommend one of the following:

1. Proline ProAction Cyclone Heads
Part # F1204000215 64cc chamber and 215 intake runner

2. Ford Racing "Z" Aluminum Heads
Part # M6049-Z304 64 cc chamber and 204 intake runner

Rick

[DAVID GAGNARD]

Question??????

This fall or winter I will be building another motor. So far,these are my plans;

351-W block (1970) .030 bore
forged flat top pistons
Aftermarket rods (h-beam or I-beam have not decided)\
cam will be solid roller,lift in the 550 to 575 range
compression will be no more than 12 to 1
roller rockers
aluminum heads AFR....

This motor will be a strictly race motor for a Vintage race car turning probably no more than 6500 rpms.

Question is which AFR heads,185s or the 205s????Which would you recommend????

David

[Roscoe]

Dave,
With that 30 over motor I would say the 185's are fine. However, I'm no expert and I would consult AFR tech, if I were me.

Roscoe

[Tony Radford]

David, I believe the 205s have non-standard port locations. If this is a replacement motor, you may need new headers. The 185s and 165s have standard Windsor port locations.

[DAVID GAGNARD]

Roscoe/Tony;

Thanks for the replys,I guess my next step would be to call AFR tech and see what they would recommend...Most of the guys in the Vintage race series around here are running Canfield heads,they are heavily reworked from the factory and require custom made headers for the 65/66 Mustangs run in the Vintage Race series at a cost of 800 to 1000 bucks per set!!!!!!!!!!!!kinda pricey, I'd like to stick with the "stock" location and pattern for headers,there is a good selection of them on the market right now... Anyway,I'm just getting started in Vintage Racing and know I will not be a top runner,so I do not need to go overboard on a motor,just something with good power and dependability,my money will be better spent on tires/brakes and good suspension parts and pieces for now....

David

[milner351]

Guys
You are all right in my opinion. Except that nobody mentioned building the whole car as a system, if you are going to race this car, you need to think of the complete package...

I would buy a "desk top dyno" program, and put your intended combination into it getting the best flow numbers you can, which the manufacturers provide, put in several different sets of cam numbers (garbage in garbage out) (the cam disk comes with billions) and lay the torque curves generated by the program on top of each other... to see how the different combinations lay out.
THEN
Think about your gearing, tire height, axle ratios, etc, and figure out where in the rpm range you really want your power to be, while keeping in mind the higher rpm you go, the more $$ you'll have to spend on valve train parts and balancing.... and in general, the shorter the lifespan of the engine....

I am running trick flow twisted wedge heads out of the box on a efi 5.0 mustang with stock cam, T5, 3.55 gears, and after market exhaust, with the stock short block, this car turns low 13's all day, while driving too and from the track with all the power accessories and AC. That's nothing compared to any of your cobras but for a car that weighs several hundred pounds more and is severly traction limited, that aint too shabby.

The trick flow heads are nice, but the AFR's are KING in many comparisons, for a vintage racer, I'd probably go with the 185 AFRs. You'd be hard pressed to out flow those heads in the rpm range you speak of, and they don't need any porting, just bolt them on with all stock location intake and exhaust.

Also, make sure you check your valve train geometry, your springs match your cam and are the proper height installed (the springs on the heads when you buy them may not be good enough) and 'clay' the set up to make sure you have adequate valve to piston clearance, UR talking some serious compression here, it might be close in the 'eyebrow' of the piston fly cuts for the valves....
it's always something.

[DAVID GAGNARD]

Milner;

Good points, I do have a desk top dyno,bought it when they first came out a long time ago.... As for building and checking the engine,I'm probbaly one of the "worst or best" depends which way you look at it when it comes to checking things.... Like with the AFR heads,first thing I'd do is take them apart and check valve spring pressures and coil bind height,I tend to check and recheck and recheck everything,cause once I put an engine together and put it in a car I do not like having to pull it out and apart for something simple that was overlooked.... I learned that a long time ago,do it right the first time and then drive the heck out of it....

Also, I have access to a large automotive machine shop with all the tools and equipment a man could ask for....The owner lets me go in on saturdays and use a lot of his gauges and tools to check out things such as spring height,coil bind, and spring pressures....

David

[milner351]

Must be NICE!!

I have purchased a bore gauge, but I'm still looking for the right set of mechanical digital micrometers to purchase that will allow me to measure both the shaft, and the bearing bore to figure true clearances.

Sounds like you've got it VERY under control!

Desktop dyno 2000 with the cam disc is worth the investment in my opinion.

FOR SURE look at the MM&FF article I beleive this month and next they are going through a dozen sets of heads with other things being equal.

I'm sure I'm preaching to the choir here, but invest in a billet oil pump drive shaft and make sure you have the right distributor gear for your cam.... a friend just went through the painful process of tearing down a new engine and replacing the cam and dist gear....
OUCH!

[DAVID GAGNARD]

Milner351;

It is NICE, actually I remember the owner when he was just a kid,nice guy,I have given him some referrals over the years and directed him to some out-of-the-way junk yards for hard to find old parts and core engines,and in return he lets me use some tools and equipment.... It also helps that his head machinest is my cousin,smart as a whip and does not have the words NO or CAN NOT BE DONE in his vocabulary....

I have found and bought a few 351-Cs over the years and have "traded" him the engines for the machine work on my blocks and heads.... He is always looking for 351-Cs to rebuild for the drag racers and car show people that want the "correct" motor in their cars....

I have been following the articles in MM&FF about the heads and the 393 buildup,very good info... Always like to look at what someone else has done and see the results before jumping in myself....

David

[milner351]

I'm sorry we don't live in closer proximity to each other.
I too am a 351C guy, my first car was a '70 Mach1 351c4v with a toploader 4speed.
I have a 72 2v out of a merc I picked up for $75 and drove home, and I have another set of 2v heads.... I have a line on the4v I sold with my 70 boss302, but the guy hasn't gotten back to me on his plans to remove it in favor of the #'s matching engine I gave to him with the car.... long story.

Well, as usual, these forums have made some good information exchange possible. I too hope to investigate the 393 stroker, I think the 427 is pushing the rod ratio too far for longevity.

Well, best of luck, keep in touch, perhaps we can both make it to the fling next year?