Some of the fellas like Shadow Master, mavman, old guy, etc., can answer that question better than I can. If you want to run 93 octane on a regular basis, the 289 heads may be the way to go. For mys engine, going in the daily driver '73, I prefer to keep the compression ratio around 9 to 1.
Also, there's a good book called "How to make a budget Ford V8" or something like that. It talks about alot of this stuff and says that the E7's are the best for budget heads. If your engine is running good, don't rebuild it, just add the E7 heads (would be a good addition good for 25-30HP the book says), and add a mild cam with your intake, carb, headers, etc.
engine doesnt run at all, and im doing the rebuild because my straight six right now barely runs, oi . ill prolly just do it for as cheap as possible and if it breaks the bank then ill bite the bullet and borrow some money from my parents (thank god im only 16 and still can).
I'm happier now. At least I got everyone talking about heads. Here's some stuff off another forum. The first one is a 347 stroker, he made 415hp at 5700rpm, 440 lbs torque at 4100 rpms. With early 289 heads ported to the max. and bigger valves. Lots of work in the heads, expensive, even though the head was cheap. His flow is great. I like the second one even better because it's not stroked. The flow numbers are close to a bone stock GT40P. Just got mine from UPS- Brand spankin' new, slight porting on intake, good job on exhaust, flow 218/156, more than the 400hp motor below, $395. I got a deal, but I was patient. Now are these kind of numbers worth looking into when all the other stuff is already on the list? And note their compression ratios are not that high. I paid $150 for this 302 engine that came out a 1974 Ranchero with 140HP. I was on a limited budget at the time and decided to have Dave at Flow-Technics work his magic. It goes to show you the potential of stock cast iron heads once they are ported and bigger valves installed. My heads flow now 225cfm Intake/185cfm exhaust @.532 lift where they use to flow 168cfm/120cfm stock. The max lift flow @ .600 lift was 231cfm but I was limited to .532 lift. Edelbrock RPM Aluminum heads flow 214cfm/171cfm @ .500 lift which was impressive to see my cast iron heads outflow an aluminum head off the shelf. I know that later down the road if I decide to put Canfield or Twisted Flow heads the engine will make even more power. But for now I'm going to enjoy this combo. Thanks for all the compliments by the way. Joe Sherman did a 302 buildup a while back that put out 401.5HP @6500rpms and 370 ft lbs of torque @ 5,000 rpms. Here's his combo build..... 302 bored to 306 cubic inches 9:54:1 compression 401.5 HP at 6500rpms 370 Torque at 5,000rpms 280 duration Comp Cam 232/232 @ .050 with .517 intake/.517 exhaust (using 1.6 roller rockers) 289 Heads Ported to 190cfm Intake 146cfm Exhaust This was at .500 lift 1.94 Intake valve cut down to 1.88 due to spark plug hole clearance 1.60 Exhaust valve Total timing was at 41 degrees at 2500 rpms.
original question I'm obsessing over heads but to your orig. question about first time rebuild. Factory service manual is a must have. Get some good bags that you can label and keep things grouped together and label everything, I like ones with the drawstring because I can tie it right to what it goes to. Throw little notes to yourself in the bag if necessary, get some sticky tags and label all wires, vacuum hoses, etc. too. Everything you take off make sure you don't have to rely on memory to put it back. Putting it back together, your torque wrench is your best friend, do everything like the book says. Measure everything, it's slow but necessary. Don't rely on sellers to tell you what will fit, valves get bent that way. (figure out how I know that) That scary moment when your hand is on the key and you're not sure you really want to turn it after you're all done turns to pure elation when it fires right up and you know YOU did it.
We built a '76 302 out of a granada a couple of years ago for my buddies '71 maverick. All we did was have the block bored .030 or .040(can't remember now). Put in sealed power H273CP flattop pistons. Had the crank polished(didn't need turning). Put in a comp cams 268h cam with sealed power lifters. Got rid of the exhaust valve rotater retainers(put on standard non-rotater retainers off an older 302, not sure when those started, but my '72 302 didn't have them). Had a valve job done on heads with new springs that would work with the .456 lift. Got a comp cams kit with spacers and crimped locking nuts to convert rocker arm studs to adjustable. Put on an edelbrock performer 289 intake with a holley 600 double pumper. Stock point type distributor. Stock exhaust manifolds with 2 inch dual exhaust. 3.00 gears with a mini spool(not recommended on street). Stock 14 inch wheels with 205 70 on rear & 185 75 on front. This car runs 14 teens- 14.50s depending on the time of year. You can do as little as you want (or can afford) such as a stock rebuild or a few performance parts to a wild high performance engine. Build the engine for what you want out of it.
I'll probably go down saturday to talk to the machinist, hoping to get it mostly torn down and labeled this weekend, going to buy a howto rebuild smallblock ford book, then im going to make a parts list and start buying, just got a new digital camera so that should help me take inventory.
I'm in the same place as you are but I just got my engine back from the machinist. I found a guy out in the country that knew Fords well. Heck, he has 2 side oiler 427's sitting in the floor. He is a Ford nut like the rest of us. He's been machining for about 40 years and knows more about Fords than I'll ever dream of knowing. I took my stuff to him, told him what it was going in, what gear and trans. etc. I then told him to do what he thought was best concerning the block, heads and cam. I have D8 heads, bout the worst Ford heads made. I used my spiril grinder to smooth out the exhaust ports. He shaved the heads about .035 to bring up the compression. He added hardened exhaust seats plus new valves. Flat tops with a eyebroys. Eveything looks real good and I am ready to put it together. He did all this plus gave me everything I need to put it together for $750. I would look around and find a reliable machinist that you get along with well and tell him what you want. Clint
Also, as far as aftermarket heads go. I'd love to have a nice set but it's not in the bugit right now at all. Besides, this car is for my daughter's first car and I doubt she'll care rather or not it has aftermarket heads in it. I figure a Maverick being as light as it is with a 302 in it ought to have plenty of grunt to allow her to merge with traffic with stock, ported heads. lol clint
I'm going to go talk to a few machinists around the area today and see what ive got around me. Wish me luck.
Went and talked to machinist today, told him i need block machined and i wanted 9:1 compression out of it and his estimate was 1500-2000 does this sound reasonable? I have no idea if it is or not.
You should be able to get all the machine work needed for around $600-$700, unless you're building a stroker engine, which will cost a lot more...
