Reconditioning Used Fe Heads?

[428street]

I just bought a used set of C6ae-r heads for a 428 engine going in my era street car. I was going to purchase the edlebrock aluminum heads but I decided to go original as possible.

I did a bunch of research and these were the heads that came on the 428 engine street car.

I bought them with little knowledge, on a whim and fairly inexpensive.

How do I go about rebuilding them or disassembling them when I get them to see if they are ok?

I will probably bring them to someone who has knowledge and can profissionally rebuild them but I'd like to check some things out on my own first.

Thanks in advance.

[lovehamr]

JMHO here but if you've never done it and don't have a valve spring compressor you may consider taking them to a reputable machine shop. You're going to wind up doing that anyway to get them pressure checked at least and maybe magnafluxed for cracks as well. The rocker assy, is pretty straight forward to remove but the valves, retainers and keepers are a bit more in depth, requiring the aforementioned spring compressor. If you do this yourself you may want to get a mechanic friend to guide you along. It's not complex but if done incorrectly it could lead to injury. That’s what I did the first time I D/A a cylinder head.

Steve

[Dwight]

You may need to replace all the valve seats for ones that are compatible with unleaded gas.

Maybe some of the FE head experts will chime in.



Dwight

[ZOERA-SC7XX]

Here are my C6AE-H heads all done up. They should be fine for all around good performance, but definitely not full race heads. I'll be satisfied with a good running, well sorted 428 w/10:1 comp. ratio and around 400 honest HP. If you need more you'd better get the checkbook out.
Photo: 428 heads | Cobra Project...ERA 427 SC...chassis s/n 718 album | Rit | Fotki.com
http://images115.fotki.com/v663/phot...28heads-vi.jpg

[428street]

Thanks for all the answers to date...ya, not really into speed, if I can get close to 400 HP I'm fine...it will be 100% street use, cruises to limerock, etc...

[ZOERA-SC7XX]

428, you're just down the road from me. Gotta hook up sometime. I'll be running soon.
Actually, Andrew Fraulo, Machine and Deisel Repair in New Haven did my 428 engine...did my Corvette engine too. He's good and reasonable.

[428street]

Zoera:

I'd love to check out your car...let me know when you want to hook up...

[Keithc8]

Here is what we do with used FE heads. Dis-assemble the heads completely then bake, tumble, crack check and tap all holes if everything checks out well. The heads will need bronze guide liners or bronze guides. Hardened exhaust seats installed, new valve job done, deck of heads surfaced along with the exhaust side that will probably be warped. You will need new valves, springs and seals at least and more than likely locks. You might be able to use the retainers depending on the springs that you use. If you use a dual spring you will have to machined the heads for dual springs and a positive stop seal. This is what pretty much has to be done to any used heads to bring them up to a decent head. This will normally run about the cost of the new Edelbrock heads if they are done right. This why we sell very few original heads any more except when required by the rules or a restoration. If they are not done right you will have them back of in about 2000 to 5000 miles fixing them because of worn out guides or the exhaust valve sunk into the heads. Good luck, Keith

[RICK LAKE]

428street Take the heads to an FE builder to be checked over. Have them checked for cracks between the valve seats. straightness. I good pressure test for internal cracks. As far a other work on the heads like bigger valves, porting It would be cheaper to go with a set of heads done. To make 400HP it would be easier to get a set of Edelbrocks with the porting and valves done. You don't need a large cam for this kind of power. You could sell your heads to offset the price of the Elebrocks. Are you going to paint the motor? You can fill the edelbrock logo in with epoxy and sand it. I couple coats of paint and nobody will know. The hydro cam from crane ,.533"-.563 Will give you a nice sound and running car. Don't worry about HP. Build a torque motor with 500 ft.of torque. If you don't have the short block built, STROKER it with a 4.25 crank and rods. Barry R sells a great kit that is balanced, comes with a crank, rods, pistons, rings and bearings. If you go with a little bigger motor, a cam can be larger. I have gone from a 452 with .501-.533" hdryo cam which made 360hp and 458ft. of torque with 9.2 compression. I now have a 482 with a small hydro roller cam at .587-.607" and 10.2 compression. I can't give you the dyno numbers, but they are almost the same as Chaplin in motor in his car. I am guessing in the 450hp and 550-570ft of torque. The other 2 notes I will give you is going with a set of Erson roller rockers. Best bang for the buck. I am very happy with mine. If you are looking for a little more power and have the extra money, a set of beehive springs from comp cams for the heads. The motor is stronger and has better valve and rocker control in both the low and upper range of the motor. Real world numbers is 15-23 HP at 6,000 rpm. Picks up 4-8hp in the low range. Add a 6K chip to you MSD for the rev limiter. If you want to talk about this, call me or give me a number to call you at, 732-254-3536 Rick L. Ps what trans are you going with? What rearend ratio are you going with? You might want to look into the superstreet richmond 5 speed with the 2.87 first gear and the .77 overdrive. This trans is good for 600HP and torque. ERA sells the correct handle for the orginial look. Keep the rear gears in the 3.07 or 3.31.

[428street]

Thanks for all the responses guys. Looks like I seriously need to consider the Edelbrocks even though I wanted to keep it stock...hmmm...

[lovehamr]

You can always paint th E brocks blue!

Steve

[ZOERA-SC7XX]

Originally Posted by 428street

Thanks for all the responses guys. Looks like I seriously need to consider the Edelbrocks even though I wanted to keep it stock...hmmm...

Don't bet on it. From what I understand, the Edelbrocks flow no better than the stock iron units unless they are ported & polished. THAT I read right here on this site.

[Keithc8]

The Edelbrocks will flow better than what he has there is they have the correct valve job done to them. You also end up with an aluminum head which is a lot easier to fix if there is a problem in the future not to mention the 40 pounds or so that you save in weight.
I have a real nice set of the C3 castings that we have ported and installed the 2.099/1.660 valves in with hardned seat and all but I would have to get 1500.00 for them because of all of the labor. If someone wants to stay with a factory steel heads these would work great. Good luck, Keith

[undy]

The bone stock Eboks w/factory Ebok valves, springs and locks will flow better than any "non-ported and/or big-valved" factory FE head, except the hi-risers and tunnel-ports. They even flowed marginally better than the CJ and SCJ heads. They've done several flow bench comparisons on fordfe.com.

[DAVID GAGNARD]

Originally Posted by Keithc8

Here is what we do with used FE heads. Dis-assemble the heads completely then bake, tumble, crack check and tap all holes if everything checks out well. The heads will need bronze guide liners or bronze guides. Hardened exhaust seats installed, new valve job done, deck of heads surfaced along with the exhaust side that will probably be warped. You will need new valves, springs and seals at least and more than likely locks. You might be able to use the retainers depending on the springs that you use. If you use a dual spring you will have to machined the heads for dual springs and a positive stop seal. This is what pretty much has to be done to any used heads to bring them up to a decent head. This will normally run about the cost of the new Edelbrock heads if they are done right. This why we sell very few original heads any more except when required by the rules or a restoration. If they are not done right you will have them back of in about 2000 to 5000 miles fixing them because of worn out guides or the exhaust valve sunk into the heads. Good luck, Keith

What Keith said is spot on.....When building my 66 GT-350 (clone) some 13 years ago, I decided to use a very early set of 351-W factory heads, cause I already had them...I did as much work on them as I could and by the time they were finished and put on my motor, I could have bought ANY set of aluminum heads out on the market at that time!!!!!!!!!!! and I still have an old set of heavy iron heads on my motor!!!!!!!!!!

David

[RICK LAKE]

428street Have you checked into blue thunder heads? The other would be the shelby heads. I know my Shelby heads flowwed better than 300cfm out of the box on intake. The other thing is, you are limiting your rpm through heads, cam and exhaust parts. It's better to have the parts in the motor and not use them, then wish you had done it before you built the motor. If you give the specs on the motor you are looking to build, I could give you a rough HP and torque numbers. Need from carb to oil pan for the specs. Rick L.

[FFR428]

428street let me know if you want to get rid of the R heads. I might be interested. I work in Milford and live in Fairfield. Send me a PM with a price if interested.

Thanks.

[speed220mph]

I didn't see it in the posts, but make sure you crack check the heads. Pay particular attention to the area between the valve seats. Then there are the cist if doing the guides, seats and resurfacing. As been said, you can purchase a new set of heads in exchange for a lot of repair work and end up with better performance at less cost. In my case, I repaired my pricey tunnel ports, saving them and the dual-4 intake. But yours is not the case. I recommend you check prices and do the math.

[428street]

Guys, thanks for all the responses.

I guess I have to put some serious thought into this.

[Excaliber]

WHAT EVER heads you use, Ebrock or OEM the valve springs should match the cam profile. I like buying a 'Cam Kit' which should include the matching springs. If you buy stock Ebrock heads, how will you know if the springs are compatible with the selected cam profile?

As mentioned above, the cam profile itself should work well within the expected 'cruise rpm' range and THAT will be based on the rear end gear ratio and the final trans drive gear ratio.

Nothing worse than getting a cam that works well in the 2800 rpm range and then shifting into over drive and the rpm drops to 2300. Then the engine is laboring, or you find yourself speeding up to keep it happy or dropping a gear to bring the rpm up. It can be a real hassle. MATCH that cam to your final drive ratio, this is especially important for a 'street cruiser' application!! And don't forget the valve spring rate while your at it.