tl86gt

ive got an '86 mustang, which has the original cyclone swirl heads ( only year for non-wedge heads ). im wondering if it would be worth it to grab a pair of heads off a wrecked stang for cheap or if i should just save up for some AFR's

91stang

http://www.allfordmustangs.com//Detailed/630.shtml

tl86gt

thanks man....thats friggen cool

tinman

What a minute.
The '86 heads are still of the wedge type.
The '86 is the ONLY year that the pistons have a positive deck meaning the top of the piston at TDC is ABOVE the block deck.
This makes life interesting as many aftermarket cylinder won't work.
You'll also have problems with lots of aftermarket cams........

tl86gt

From 1968 through 1985, the 302 small blocks had used a wedge-type cylinder head. When that head was dropped in '86 in favor of a new casting which Ford called a high-swirl, shrouded valve head, (although the new head greatly improved emissions ratings) performance fell because the head design restricted volumetric flow. Basically, by 1986 everything including the basic short block had been redesigned or exchanged in the 5.0L. The 5.0L GTs were frisky and gutsy and demanding respect. But with the '80s perfommance wars heating up, Ford decided that the high-swirl heads were a poor choice for the 5.0L Mustang and that the old wedge heads should be reintroduced.
from www.mustanggt.org

tinman

It's still a wedge head........

tl86gt

lol oh, i wasnt sure.......so whats my best bet here? im thinking about saying f*ck it and finding a 351 block to build on while my car remains mostly stock.....then when i get about 200,000 on the odometer, ill just make the switch.. but 200,000 is 125,000 away so ill have one bad motor by the time i put it in

tinman

Drive it, enjoy it. If you still have it in another 125,000 miles, just get one of the crate motors and put in it.......