Heads for a 427 FE?

[zimmy]

Currently I have original Low rise cast iron heads on my 427 FE. Has anyone have experience with either the Edelbrock RPM Performer heads or the alum heads from Shelby??

Was there a noticable improvement? Was it a direct bolt on?

Thansk for the help.

[Clois Harlan]

I bought my Edelbrock Alum heads about 6 mos ago and really like them. My reasoning (to my wife) to justify the $1300 was that they would disapate heat better and help the engine run cooler and the reduction of about 50 pounds would help the handling.

I also noticed the additional horsepower but it wasn't as much as I expected. All in all I recommend them for all the above reasons plus astetically they look Darn Good. Edelbrock packages them well and they fit perfectly. If you do change out your heads you might want to pull your rocker arm stands, shafts, and rockers apart and vat them well. Be sure if you do this yourself to use a brush to clean out the shafts. This will improve your oil flow considerably and a very easy job (just looks complicated).

Clois Harlan

[zimmy]

Thanks for the info, Clois. I added a Weber manifold and system to my 427 FE and at the same time changed the cam for a more "Weber Friendly" cam. Ever since then, I have been plagued with severe backfiring on decelleration. Originally, I was told about it being from exhaust leaks. I have fixed all of those to the best of any detection. I spoke to my cam guy yesterday and he suggested that it could be that the exhaust valves may be sticking a bit and closing slowly. To fix that I would have to take the heads off anyway. Since I am running the original 1964/1965 cast heads, I thought this might be a good time to improve on them. Did you buy the complete heads?

Thanks.

Corey

[Rick 427 Cobra]

Before you buy new heads ask yourself if the backfire is since the Weber install. I suspect your carb settings are too rich on decel. Very likely. Of course if you just want those pretty heads, why not?
Rick

[Jeff Frigo]

Mage 585 hp with mine.

[zimmy]

We are considering that the backfire may be from sticky exhaust valves as we also changed the cam and valve springs. I am pretty sure that the carbs are not too rich. Most people on the site seem to run 65 idle jets and 160 -170 mains. I am running 55 idle jets and 160 mains. Should be fine. Plugs are clean and doesn't smell rich. Pretty sure it has to do with the cam or valves. But not sure at all.

Zimmy

[SCOBRAC]

Zimmy,

Plagued? I rather enjoy that sound. I have seen both the 427 and 428 heads from Edelbrock. I would be prepard for a small amount of porting to match your intake for best results. Not porting the heads pre se, but rather matching your intake to the ports which I imagine will take a little work..

I think your problem will not go away with changing the heads.. what you are probably experiencing is more likely a slight overlap in valve timing and ignition timing since you changed the cam.. The good news is you are making lots of power, the bad news is you are doing it at the sake of driveability...

Like I said I like the sounds and smell of a really hot cam doing its thing. It reminds me of the Can-Am and Trans-Am races I attended as a boy. I am not completely sure but there may be a connection between the "problem" you are having and the timing you ended up running. I remember you were considering somethinh over 38 degrees.. Where did you fianally end up? Have you tried dialing it back a bit??

I won't make quite as much power but it might help your situation..

Regards,

[Sbholder]

I just want everyone to know about Dove Performance parts in Columbia Station Ohio. I Bought a set of Tunnel port FE heads from them. I had to fight with them for over 2 YEARS!!! I finally recieved my heads today, just days before I was going to press charges and have them sued for fraud, false advertising, and breach of contract. I don't know where to start with the problems. There is porosity all in the intake face and around the exhaust ports. 2 of the 4 exhaust ports have the port floor screwed up by casting problems. To say the least, the heads look like crap. One of my friends that didn't know the history of them, thought I had bought them used off of E-bay. I have taken digital pictures and will send them to anyone interested.

Needless to say I will never, ever, ever, do business with Dove performance again, and strongly encourage everyone else to not take the chance. During the period of time that I was waiting for the heads, I found several sets of original Tunnel Port heads for sale, and cheaper than Dove's offerings. I also talked to many people that stated that they had the same problems with Dove, extremely poor quality and no interest to actually ship product to customers.

[zimmy]

Michael:

Sorry to be so long getting back to you. I ended up with the initial timing at about 28 with total being about 46. I know this is seeming ridiculous but it works okay and has the best performance.

Now the rest of the story. This past Sat. I had an opportunity to run it on a dyno. Incredibly awful!!! Only 250 HP. It was also running very rich even though the jets I am running are smaller than most people recommend. (This would help to explain the backfire at decel if I am over rich) Here is the latest thinking: I must first of all be running a very low compression ratio. (Never knew what it was and the engine builder is no longer findable). That would explain the low performance and the ability to have an incredibly high timing advance without detonation. I also can assume that the heads are not flowing a great deal. They are cast iron heads and I was told that they were low rise heads. But, I am unable to find any casting marks that would allow me to verify this. They do have a FOMOCO casting so at least they are Ford heads.

I am now looking for an engine shop that specializes in Ford engines and if I can get lucky, maybe one that even knows a bit about Webers. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Zimmy

[SCOBRAC]

Whoa..

Wanna Race??

George Anderson at Guessford Machine is the FE god, but there is no magic in making a 427 run. Experience is important though.. I am using a guy here in Calif. that worked for the grouch putting together the original 289 FIA motors before he was drafted in 1966. But you really need someone close to you.

Zimmy.. I think you have too much cam (wrong cam?) and way too much ignition (good for the wrong cam) The cam duration is pulling down your compression with the intake and exhaust opening at the wrong point.. Just a thought. Put the old cam back in and try that.

What were your compression numbers?

Regards,

[SCOBRAC]

I haven't heard from you on this post lately. In earlier posts we discussed TDC, Timing and while way over simplified firing order and possible misrouting of the plug wires, particularly 2-3 and 4-5 wich if done will allow your engine to run, just not well, and backfire and run rich and have limited horsepower..

All those things were eliminated as possible causes, however all those symptoms would also happen if a a cam from another series motor was installed in an FE.. I'm not sure it's even possible, but I can't tell you how often I am almost sold parts for a 429 for my 428.. So often I always ask to look at the book before I take the part.

Good Luck..

[zimmy]

Michael:

The cam was ground specifically for this engine and this application. I have spoken to the cam guy and he assures me that it is okay. A race engine builder that specializes in BB Fords also agrees that the cam looks okay. By the symptoms, he agrees that it sounds like a very low compression ratio. Can't be sure without tearing down the engine. Don't want to do it until fall. Let you know then. Thanks again for the suggestions. I'll keep thinking and checking.

Zimmy

[SCOBRAC]

but it ran BETTER before you changed the cam? Something to think about.. Good Luck..

[Jeb]

If this is truly a lowrise engine you should know that the edelbrock heads are based on the medium riser design with wider shorter ports than the lowriser. If you have compression issues you may want to go with the small chambered edelbrock heads to bump up compression the shelby heads are big chambers even bigger than the big edelbrock chambers.

[mickmate]

A compression gauge will give you a good idea of CR without a teardown.

[Mike Norman]

I've been running the Edelbrock heads for about 4 years now. Good castings. The one thing I found was the valve work was terrible. I tore the heads down and had a good 3 angle valve job done prior to installation. This will make all teh difference in the world with how these heads perform.

All the best