JH_67

OK, now you got me thinking about heads...
If I do a valve job on my stock heads and buy a carbide bit or buy GT40's and get a valve job done then I'm getting close to 2/3 the cost of new aluminum heads (well not exactly still have to get $rocker arms$). So maybe I should look into the Edelbrock RPM Heads.
Question; is the same xe256 cam still the right one?
What do you think...

kalli

i know people aren't made of money these days, but rebuilding used heads and ending up with 2/3 of the cost of a new set of aluminum heads ... well that does not add up

you'll have to get bolts/gaskets/rockers ... etc so if it's 1300$ all in with parts to get the engine going with rebuild cast iron heads or 1600$ with new aluminum heads ... well I'd rather save money until I have the 1600$ ...

It's only worth it if you port the stock heads yourself or if you get lucky with a good rebuilt GT40 set if you can't afford anything else at the moment

as for the cam. don't buy any until you finalised what heads you go with. The cam is the clock and is the last thing you buy for the engine (apart from pushrods). you have to keep in mind that a stock bottom end (289) is unsafe above 5500-6000rpm. so there's no point in adding a cam that makes peak power in that area. you want a broad torque curve and peak power where the engine will actually survive it. i think that is why the xe256 is recommended so often.

So again, wait with the cam until you decided what's going to happen with the engine

kalli

on a note, better post in the classic mutang technical section, you'll get more opinions there than in the "general discussion" area

JH_67

Thank you Kallie for your help!
Before I move to the classic mustang technical section, do you have any thoughts:

I agree the right thing is to spend the $300 more to get the aluminum heads and do it right the first time!
-What will I need with the new heads?
-Rocker arms?
-Push rods?
-Will the springs still be OK with the xe256 that come on the Performer RPM Heads?

mr_velocity

If you want a decent head TrickFlow is running sales on their 170cc heads now, $999 from Summit. I'm going with the TrackHeat version of this head, $1299 from Summit. Just be very careful with cam select with these heads since you might have clearance problems.

I've heard of a lot of success with GT40 heads, just make sure they are GT40s and not GT40Ps especially if you're running headers since the spark plug angle is different. If you want to go with a used set there are many forsale, I'm just not willing to put a set of "unknown" used heads on my new bottom end without someone going through them first. At that point.....I decided on new.

Starfury

There is no way you're going to have clearance problems with a cam like that and standard flat top pistons. Another advantage of the Twisted Wedge design is that it gives you more piston-to-valve clearance than standard wedge heads. Fox body owners love these heads because of that. Usually you can run .540" lift without a problem, maybe more depending upon lobe duration. I run a Magnum 280H (.512" lift, 280* adv. duration) with my Trick Flows and there's loads of clearance.

kalli

ya, forgot to mention the trickflows.
what you will need at least for head installation (apart from tools) are
- head and intake gaskets
- rockers (best get roller 1.6:1)
- pushrods (you'll have to measure them, so you need pushrod length checkers as well
- probably new valve covers and gaskets
- spark plugs
- with most heads you need a head bolt bushing kit (the heads usually have bigger holes than the bolts, so you can mount them on a 351w as well (which uses bigger bolts)

if you go for a set of heads, check with summit (or whoever you buy from) what you'd need. the suggested parts tab with every part gives you a good idea

ya, sorry for not mentioning the trick flows, they're great heads from what I hear

JH_67

Kalli, Starfury & Mr. Velocity, I can’t thank you enough for your input!
Today, StreetSideAuto.com had its annual Black Friday Sale, and with what we were all looking at and I was finally able to bring my costs down enough to pull the trigger – still a lot though.
The Edelbrock RPM Heads were $605 today; funny how with a sale the costs went up in price from Wednesday at $576.50 each. So I challenged them to reduce the price to Wednesday’s to not be an artificial increase due to the sale and they honored the $576.50 price. And with each $500 there was a $100 sale discount so I ended up getting the pair for $953.00 (with free shipping and no TAX); how could I go wrong?
TeamC.com had the best prices on the xe256, lifters, roller rockers that CompCam suggested ($151), head & intake bolts so I ordered those also, although I don’t pay for any of those until I pick those up (I’m only a few miles away, kilos for you Kalli!).
I have already got the gaskets, but I will need to get a push rod checker.
I will let you all know how this combination works in about a month right around the end of year holidays when I take some vacation time off. But I’m pretty excited now so I’m not sure I will be able to wait until then…

hookemdevils22

JH, keep us posted on how the build turns out. I just picked up a '67 for my gf, and plan to do a near-identical build, though with the stock 289 heads (it's under $400 to have hardened seats/screw-in studs/valve job done). The Performer intake (PN 2121), XE256H kit, and a 600 cfm 4160 vac secondary look like they will work well for her (with shorty headers and full exhaust coming in the near future).

JH_67

Hi hookemdevils22,

I will of course keep you posted on the build. I am waiting for a hoist and the rain to stop pouring down and flooding my street at the present.

I have another thread that I started to follow this project -- check it out...

MustangForums.com > Ford Mustang Tech > Classic Mustangs > Classic Mustang General Discussion > Help requested on 1967, 289 Stock to Mild Performance Build