[66coupe289]

Today's way of thinking is THE EASY WAY!
Real work means nothing. Heaven forbid should anyone break a sweat! It's a "throw-away" world, if it don't work, replace it! Repairing something is too much work, too much of a challenge. Besides, according to 90% of the folks on this forum, aluminum heads wil fix anything!
Maybe they should try removing their own head and put an aluminum one on! 🤔

I have a nice set of gasket matched and blended '65 heads...sitting on my shelf. I found a nice set of AFR 165's that had been milled to get the chambers down to 54cc. Did I need to do it? No. Does it make a difference? Yes, and it is significant. What's the logic to having more allegiance to keeping an iron set of heads than keeping an iron intake or exhaust manifolds? Intake and exhaust manifolds are the first things most people change to improve performance. Could my '65s be made to flow as well as the AFRs? Maybe, but not for the same money I have in the AFRs and removing 60# from the front end is a nice bonus. To each his own.

I suppose I have the same nostalgic like for a 289 as people do for iron heads. Yes there are better power options over a 289 by adding more stroke, but there is a certain satisfaction surprising people with it's performance.

 

[66coupe289]

@GT350HR just proves @CJM68GT390 's point. I found that to be the case too.

The '65 heads I have on the shelf need new guides. Despite being home ported and having had screw in studs installed it would take a special person to want to spend $400-$500 on them to get them back on the road with stock 289 valves. I am sure many would like to "have them", not many would want to buy them.

 

[66coupe289]

How many of your cars have this crack?

Not mine. Mine is original California car. T code, but converted to v8 sometime before I bought it in 1983. It has seen plenty of abuse.

 

[66coupe289]

I am staying with my stock 65 heads also. Going to have larger valves and screw in studs put in. I just like the idea of using them, nostalgic I suppose.

In plumber's terms, putting a 3/4" valve on a 1/2" pipe does not make the pipe flow any more. I hope porting is part of your larger valve project.

 

[66coupe289]

BUT YOU GUYS ARE CLUELESS AS TO WHAT I'M TRYING TO GET ACROSS TO U!

Communication is a a two way street. There are some very smart people here. If they are clueless as to what one is trying to convey, then maybe it is the one conveying the message that could take an introspective look.

What I get from your posts is:
1.) Buying aftermarket heads is taking the easy way out to make more power.
2.) Your 330+ HP is all you need (from the tone, apparently it's all anyone needs)

Great if that's YOUR preference and absolutely nothing wrong with it.

The fact is that unless one has their own machine shop and is an expert porter, it is typically more cost effective to increase power via after market heads than to rework factory heads. People have listed costs. Dyno tests are readily available. Those facts should not even be in dispute. Dispute them? then go to AFR's site and see what flow they get out of their smallest head, the 165 (260/215) and compare it to just the LABOR to work a set of 351w heads to get to a measly 210/160 cfm.

Ford 351 Windsor Cylinder Heads - Brzezinski Racing Products

Ford 351W Heads CNC Sportsman Porting to 289 / 302 or 351W factory Ford castings. $1,995.00 labor only to 1 pair of your cleaned ready-to-be-worked-on 289, 302 or 351W castings. Includes CNC machining, … Continue reading →

www.castheads.com

Heck even out of the box Flow-Teks for $1,000 out flow $1,700+ labor + $500-$800 worth of par

Hey, people spend mega bucks to make a 6cyl concours correct, because that's what they want. Great

Others want to improve performance and horsepower on a budget. What's wrong with that? Taking the $1,500 saved vs a nostalgia head will allow one to upgrade suspension to go with the extra horsepower. You call it easy, I call it smart.