FivePointOhh

i just picked up a set of '66 mustang 289 heads with 54cc chambers for 75 dollars for both. no work has been done on them yet, just curious what i need to do with them before i can get them put on.

1)so far i have new springs i can swap over from my E7's to the 289 heads. do the spring seats need to be machined to fit? or should they sit right in there?

2)how much does it cost and should i have new valve guides put in?

3)how much does a 3angle valve job run?

4) how much will it run to get the heads machined so i can put stud mounted rockers on?

or should i just get the valve job done and put em in as is? here is some pics of my purchase

mjr46

they are junk....you need to sell them to 50 bucks and I will relieve you of the pain!!

actually get them ported, have 1.94/1.60 valves installed and screw in studs put in and have hardened seats put it if they are still stock seats for leaded gas

FivePointOhh

i will check first but in your best opinion will1.94 and 1.60 valves on these 289 heads+ b303 cam + 1.6 RR's clear the stock forged pistons?

how much does it cost to have hardened seat installed? how long would it run without them?

mjr46

leaded gas is what lubricated the soft seats back in the day so if they haven't been changed then not long at all.... you can buy a lead substitute I believe at your local parts store as long as your not running cats.. check before adding substitutes to gas if they are o/2 safe and cat safe... stock pistons should clear 1.90/1.94 valves no prob without flycutting and b-cam should work but you still need to check ptv

FivePointOhh

thank you very much. i was trying to buy all my parts ahead of time before going down to the shop. i found the head studs, found RR's i want, found the guideplates. there are a bunch of choices for valve seats....should i just let the shop do it and i dont need to worry about it?

as far as the valves are they really ~100 dollars per set? i really dont want to have 500 dollars into these heads but i do want them to perform well. will an injector upgrade be needed now since i have full h/c/i?

considering i do all the ideal/ necessary upgrades to these heads....what kind of gains are we lookin at? i know it'll just be an estimation.

b303 cam, ported typhoon intake, 289 heads(considering we do all the ideal upgrades) 70mm egr and tb, 73mm c&l mass.

FivePointOhh

also i was looking for valves to purchase, i found summit valves, the correct diameter but it says for chevy....they're 60 dollars per set cheaper than the ford ones. does it really matter? i really dont wanna drop a ton of money into these heads. i just got a quote today.

$325 for service includes:
cleaning, crack check, bigger valves milled, valve job,milled androcker armstuds installed(i provide studs)

Joel5.0

Suggestion..... save some $$ and go with aftermarket heads instead..... TFS, Canfield, etc. I have a similar set on my junk and it's not worth spending that $$ on them.

FivePointOhh

i dont have an extra 1k to spend heads. 75 dollars for these heads and a little extra $$ for reconditioning....i think i'll just go this route. i'm trying to keep it around 500 bones

mjr46

if you keep it under 500 ..you'll still be ahead of the game....you can put the chevy valves in them.. mine have 1.94/ 1.50 manley chevy valves in my c90e heads.. and I bought them from a friend 300.00 ready to go.....anywhere over 500 and yo might as well go aluminum

Hamutoff

whats the casting number on those heads
no work on them? I should say you should get them mag checked, checked for straightness
1)what springs, your question is impossible to answer withougt knowing... are you going to use a roller hyd cam?
2)that is another thing you have to pay for before you know if the heads are ...economical in the way you hope they will be. You have to pay to find out if the heads are junk and if not junk then you pay more to answer the question: what do I HAVE to get done to run these heads

4) this means you have to buy guide plates and studs and rocker arms
...and springs, keepers retainers, valves
machine valves, valve job
and if you want to go cheap you can get the guides knurled instead of replace but I would not recommend it

I just want to say that I do not believe you will hit your target cost unless the heads are in quite good shape already & you are going to run a small hyd FLAT TAPPET cam if you do you can change less stuff

and you still wont have hardened seats: I know quite a few folks that just say ahh @#$#@$ it and run their old cars on new gas and get by for years and years but this is stock engine no performance

I would say that if you were to get it done right and you finished and are driving around on these heads you will have spent more than $500 to get there. Significantly more if by % of $500