I found a local gent on craigslist selling a 240 head and was able to get by and pick it up today. Hate to pay $60 for a head that hasn't been cleaned and checked for cracks but from what I've seen it was a pretty fair price.

Casting says D2AE, so it's from ~1972. I'd assume it would need to have hardened exhaust seats installed, but does anyone know for sure when Ford started heat treating the valve seats on 240/300 heads?

One thing that really bugs me about my big six is the lack of aftermarket heads vs. a SBF. Knowing how much I'm going to have to spend on head work and ending up with something that breathes significantly less than aluminum SBF heads I see all the time for ~$500 freaking kills me. C'est la vie.

Then again it is a truck engine and will probably never see 5,000 rpm, so no worries. I've pretty much decided I'll be swapping to an Isky Mile-A-Mor cam once it's time to swap the head. Isky says the Mile-a-Mor is strong from idle to ~4,500rpm and with a little more compression it should be pretty snappy around town and on the highway.

 

BaronVonAutomatic, I've ben trying to find the same answer. I did a search on Fordsix about hardened valve seats, The Frenchtown Flyer responded to a question stating "all light duty 240/300 came stock with flame-hardened ex seats. That is a heat treating process on the head parent metal, not separate inserts." Does this help you and if it does can you expand on it?
The other thing that keeps coming to my mind is that I'm sure these heads have been used with unleaded gas and not sitting for the last 40yrs. What damage do you look for?
Brian

 

I'm pretty sure that by 1972, all Ford engines had hardened seats in them. By around 1968 it was pretty common knowledge amongst the auto industry that the lead content in gasoline was being reduced, and eventually eliminated.

 

Being a belt-and-suspenders type when it comes to engine rebuilds I'll probably just drop the extra $60 for inserts. If FTF says all light duty 240/300s had hardened seats I would pretty much take it as gospel. Inserts are cheap insurance, though. With my luck the head I got came from a dump truck.

 

I dropped the head off at my local shop today. They're going to vat and Magnaflux/pressure test it. Then, assuming no cracks, etc. pull the studs and drill/tap for screw-ins and cut the valve pockets for 1.94/1.60 valves. They quoted me ~$250. Seemed fair enough to me - especially since the shop does good work and is less than five minutes from my door.

I talked to the cat who runs the place about porting and he guessed ~$400 which, again, seems like a pretty fair price. Cutting new valve pockets should clean up the bowls quite a bit anyway, I figure. So I'm thinking I may do some rough porting like knocking down the valve guide bosses and smoothing the thermactor humps to save a few bills then take it back to him for finish porting, matching the ports to an Offy intake and Hedman headers I've got sitting around plus new guides, a three-angle valve job and a bit of milling.

 

dumb question...how do you tell a 240 head from a 300 head?

 

You've got to look at the combustion chambers, on the 240 they're much smaller.

 

The two ways to tell a 240 head from the 300 head are:

#1 Like Baron said the 240 head has a Smaller combustion chamber.


#2 The casting #, every 240 head I've seen has had the "AE" while the 300 heads say "TE". For example my ole 72 240 head was a "D2AE" head. The # is located at the bottom front edge of the head below the thermostat opening.

 

... a three-angle valve job and a bit of milling.[/quote]

Do a 30* back cut on the intakes. There is a co. called SI valves who makes the 1.94/1.60's for the 300, oem length, tip, shaft diameter, etc.

I'm curious. Are you going to use Isky v.springs? Isky recommends their double springs which are 134 lbs at the seat. I took the center spring out and ended with 120 lbs at installed height. Also, if you use the isky springs, you may need their hole saw to get the 1.75" installed height.

Of course you know that if you use the sbc valves, you need sbc keepers and retainers. Also, that the sbc valves are IIRC .095" longer than oem ford, and that throws the geo of the v.train off, thereby requiring longer p.rods, made by Crane.

You'll be very happy with the performance.

 

Ya know, I'm not fixed on a cam yet so not sure about the springs. I was kind of leaning towards the Mil-A-Mor. Is it worth doing all the head work for a cam that the manufacturer says is good to 3,800 rpm, though? Decisions, decisions...

I was looking at SI valves but I think the guy at the shop might just reach into a bin and give me a set of Chevy valves/retainers. No real worry on the pushrods since I was planning on getting some hardened ones anyway.

 

You know, I wrote all that because I thought it would save you some trouble. I should have saved my breath. Live and learn. I don't know why I bother. I'm tired of this frickin' forum.

 

I looked at those SI valves you mentioned F-250, it looks like those can be used on the 240 and 300. Is the whole benefit of getting a 240 head just to increase the CR a little?

SI VALVES

 

F-250 restorer,

Take a breath and realize that not all [in this or any other forum] will respond the way you expected. I, for one, enjoy what you have written [many threads] and have learned and hopefully will continue to do so.

Have a good day and a Merry Christmas!

 

Of course. I'm recovering from a migraine, and sometimes things seem distorted.

Regarding the 240 head: It will bump your c.r. about half a point. If you have 9.0:1 with a 300 head, it will jump to about 9.5:1 with a 240 head. That is the only difference I know of.

I used the sbc valves and have been 'learning' from them ever since. With the SI valves (if you're going to use the over-size valves), they are exactly the same size, length, diameter, tip length, etc., as the oem valves. That is not the case with the sbc valves. I have found that the difference of .010" in an engine turning 2500rpm for hours, can make a world of difference. I am now ordering the SI valves to replace my sbc ones.

Also, you need to be very careful with the c.r., IMO. I love using the inexpensive gas in my engine. I took .020 off the block, and .020 off the head, and when it is hot and I get on it, it pings a bit. The reason I mention that is so you know that each engine is slightly different. There is no c.r. set where it will ping or not. Try to keep it as close to 9.0 as possible for the cheap gas. The only way to know for certain is to cc your chambers, because these old heads may have been 'cleaned up' .010" several times over the years.

Good luck. And remember, it is always best to get the v.springs the cam co. recommends for the cam. And have the machinist install to the recommended height, with the recommended seat pressure.

 

Thanks for your input, F-250 restorer!