porting H.O heads

[gadget73]

just a word of caution, if the GT40 heads come from an Explorer, they drop the compression about a half point. The chambers are larger than an E7. Its not really going to cost much power, maybe 10-15 at most. If you don't mind buying the specific headers, gt40p heads are often cheaper, and perform better than a gt40 does. everyone gets scared of those headers, so the heads don't sell as well. Its kind of a shame because they really kick ass.

[1987cp]

+1 The main reason I bothered to get a replacement set of regular GT40's was because I'd already gotten a decent set of non-P headers. If I didn't already have the headers, I would have tried really hard to get some P heads.

And I guess in the real world, I can't say I mind the fact that the slightly lower compression ratio theoretically lets me run a fairly aggressive tune and still run on 87 octane fuel.

[import convert]

whats so different/scary in/about the headers?

[1987cp]

On the "P" heads, Ford changed the angle of the spark plugs so as to locate the business end more centrally in the combustion chamber. This is said to aid in producing more favorable performance characteristics, but ended up moving the other end of the plugs so that at least one or two of them interfere with most commonly-available headers. Thus the need to be careful with header selection when running the later heads. The earlier ones like mine have the same spark plug angle as all the older small-block heads, so you can run any headers that fit the chassis (mine are Flowtech PN 12106 with 1.5" primaries).

[Mercracer]

It isn't like P headers are really expensive or hard to find. It merely reduces your available selection of headers. The FRPP stainless shorty headers are not really expensive and they fit very well. You can get a socket on nearly all of the bolts which makes working on them easy.

[import convert]

i just looked on ebay and 200 bucks for reworked GT40P heads is better then 1200 for aftermarket heads

[1987cp]

oooh. If they're done well, that's a heck of a deal. Some regular GT40's I saw a while back looked like they were hogged out way too big, and some moron had even broken into the water jacket in one place. Yeah, I'll just weld that up with the buzzbox ..... NOT!

[import convert]

thats a bunch of shit man. if people pull that much mateial off head they should be allowed near a motor

[gadget73]

Its easy to do though, especially on a P head. They're fairly thin. The dumb thing is, most of the time people are hogging metal out of the port, where its not really necessary. Most of the flow improvements come from bowl work, and it doesn't need to be really aggressive either. The P heads in stock form flow so nicely though that unless you really know what you're doing, its entirely possible to screw them up more than anything else.

The next motor I build I might do P heads on, or maybe do some home porting on my D0OE heads if I don't decide to do aftermarkets. P heads are an excellent value though for a mild motor.

Mercracer is dead on about the headers. They're not that expensive, but they are more than the cheap $120 ones you can find all over. Used ones are harder to find and will cost more than the regular SBF headers. The Ford Racing headers really are nice tho. I've installed a set before, they fit up really well and the price isn't terrible. Honestly they're nicer than my Hedmans are.

[1987cp]

I just noticed, I forgot to mention that the screwed-up GT40's I mentioned above were for sale on eBay, and the kind gentleman seemed to expect people to pay more for the heads having been ruined. :p

[Mercracer]

Lightning motor

Only 7 hours left. Someone should jump on this steal.....

[1987cp]

Wow! That really would be a steal. Complete motor for the price of a good set of heads!!!

[import convert]

hmmm, the head code for the P heads are E7TE right? i can get them at work for like 200 a head unless i go through ebay or pull them out of a junk yard. i think im gonna try and find a set and have them decked to make sure theyre flush and raise the compression a bit

[1987cp]

nope, GT-40P's are F7ZZ. The E7TE is the old reliable 5.0 Mustang head - the one that's okay but not great. You really shouldn't pay more than $100 max for a pair of E7 cores. $200 per head for either GT40s or GT40P's is a good price as long as they're freshly rebuilt and ready to go. Out of curiosity, where do you work?

Of course, machine shop rates do vary. The guy I've worked with reconditions heads for $200 a set, so check into local rates when shopping for a set of used heads. My rule of thumb is that if it's used, it's of unknown origin and probably needs rebuilding - but if possible, make sure they're at least not cracked (Magnafluxing is best, my machinist was willing to go out to a yard and check heads for me) before you pay money for what may well be nothing but a rowboat anchor.

[import convert]

i work at advance auto parts at the moment. we can get a surprising amount of parts there. if i really want to make sure that the heads are good i may try to go through work