Tear it down and take it to a good machine shop. They will check it for you. If it's good, it doesn't need to be done.

They will set their micrometers and measure the journals on the crank. If they are in spec and look good they won't need to do anything. The biggest thing with the crank is changing the oil, if it was changed on a regular basis it's probably fine. The crank's main problem is wearing out-of-round. It wears the journals more in the spot when the piston fires and is pushing down on the crank.

The cylinder bores can be checked also. You can do a rough check when you pull the heads off by pushing the piston down in the bore and then run your fingernail up the bore to the top. See how much ridge is at the top of the bore, there is a small area that the ring does not run against. The more ridge you have, the worse the wear is on the bore.

You will just have to hand the heads over to them. Hopefully they will do a good job. If they need a lot of work(some of the seats need replaced, some of the valves need replaced) tell them to stop and give you a final quote on how much money is going to be involved to make them right. You do not want to spend gobs of money on junk Ford heads, when you can spend just a little more and get good aftermarket heads.

 

Turns out the guy I bought the truck from is a member here. Perry aka "Wagonmaster" (station wagon enthusiast) and he is a great person and is interested in the build to come. He may post some pics here later. In the meantime I am going to try to post up the craigslist photos.

 

As far as the camshaft goes. I used the Comp XE250H and have really been liking the very strong low end torque and pretty decent gas mileage (over 10 the majority of the time)

 

Ok, I am going to explore some cylinder head options for the build tomorrow. One of our members here Queesey out in Sapulpa says he has a selection of SBF heads out there. I am wanting to get away from the smog heads that are on the truck, but not necessarily looking for performance heads. Gary was talking as if grinding the humps out of the D70OE heads was a major undertaking as far as time goes. Considering he has already done a set and didn't imply that he had it down or streamlined the process makes me assume there is no quick or easy way.I am already figuring a little head work at the machine shop even if I use the ones on the truck now. So a little extra coin wouldn't hurt my feelings to trade off for not having to spend hours hunched over a set of heads for a minimal gain. Certain angles kill my back such as the height of the sandblaster at Gary's shop. I have even considered an adjustable leg set up for it to get me in a better ergonomic position. However, Gary has a lot of irons in the fire out there and probably doesn't want me modding a sandblaster I use twice a year.

Queesey says he has a set of C9 heads that need everything. That doesn't sound good, but says he has a lot of other SBF heads as well. Is there an issue with some heads not matching accessory holes with the 80's 351 W's? Will using 302 heads hurt my cause on the mpg quest or help it??

 

I was hoping for better than 10

 

Gary's ok with you modding the blast cabinet - especially if you make it a top-open affair. Actually, that's too much to ask. But, what do you need to get it where you can stand comfortably? And, there's not a lot of blast work needed on heads. The machine shop should hot-tank them, and you don't want any grit anywhere around them.

Come get one or more of my books on rebuilding the SBF. That should help you with heads as they spell out what heads have what combustion chamber sizes. As for the 302 heads, many of them had a smaller bolt hole than the 351W heads, so you have to drill them out. Been there, done that, but not too hard on my mill if you want to do it.

As for grinding the humps out, it is all manual work. LOTS of it. And dirty work as well. Lots of pics on my porting the D8OE heads here. And here's the thread on Porting D8OE Heads.

 

I hope you do get better than 10. There are people on here that get better mileage with 460 trucks than my truck does.

 

I use C9 302 heads on my '75 351W. Just drill the head bolt holes out from 7/16 to 5/8. Can't see compression being more than 9.5:1 which is about what mine is. Not the greatest heads but they will do. I had a lot of work done to mine though. Oversize valves, ported etc. By the time you do all that your better off buying aluminum heads.

 

Junior made it home to the shop today. I had AAA pick it up and drop it off instead of taking the trailer there and loading it myself.

The guy that has SBF heads says he has a set off of a 65 Windsor that have been ported with bigger valves. He thinks the CR should work out to 9:1 for $375. He also claims these are read to go as far as just bolting them on. He has a set of 65's that "need everything".I don't know what that means, but he wants $75 for those. I don't know how that would work out for money vs the $375.00. He claimed that he has some other heads that are wrapped up on the shelf and he will have to look at them to see what they are.

Do any of the heads (meaning 289,32,351W) have different valve sizes or valve stem sizes??

 

Sounds like regular 289 heads, not hi-po's. Hopefully he has already drilled the bolt holes out so it becomes a bolt on affair. I don't remember what the stock valve sizes were but in my 302 heads I've got switched 2.02/1.6 valves.

For work on the ones that need everything you'd be better off buying aftermarket aluminum heads. They would yield better performance that both those heads and the $375 heads but you will be paying for them. $375 for all the work he has in them now seems alright as I've seen worked over stock poopy heads go for over $600. Only reason mine are worked is because it was done before aftermarket took off and it was a weekend engine thrown together. Make sure the $375 heads have the intake and exhaust ports ported out as best they can. 3 angle valve job etc.

Ford Trucks Forever!!!

 

Make sure you figure out what rocker system the heads are using and use the correct length pushrods. Ford had 3 different ways of doing it over the years and they require different pushrods for each type.

 

Will it make a difference if they are 302 or 289 heads going on a 351 W Dave? I know the deck height is different between the motors.

Also, I need a tail light lens for the drivers side. If anybody has one laying around for cheap let me know.

Budget for the build $2500.00
cost of truck: $850
heads $340.00
budget remaining $1310.00
Eagle SIR sold + $160.00
budget remaining $1,470.00
Sold dryer +$50.00
Budget remaining $1,520.00
Misc. engine parts$80.00
Budget remaining $1,440.00
Don "Stangracer" bought the connecting rods I had for sale. Thanks Don!! So that adds $160 to the budget.

 

Glad "he" made it home okay. I think it'll be a good truck for what you want it for.

I thought I had a couple shots of the undercarriage, but alas, I am wrong. For the viewing public, I'll try to attach a few pics that I lured you in with, Bruno...

 

I hope it turns out as nicely as the last extended cab I had was - 73K 1 owner miles...still looking for another!

















Hope you take lots of before/after pics of "Jr." Should be an easy "fix-up." Solid truck to start with.

 

Deck height will affect your compression ratio same as combustion chamber size. After 1977, 302 and 351W heads were the same. Before that, combustion chamber, port and valve sizes varied greatly between engines and then there were special heads for say a 289 (k code) on top of that. Earlier usually have higher compression and breathe better than smog heads but its pointless to seek them out now for an everyday daily driver build when aftermarket heads that are tenfold better are so regularly available.

As far as your question of it making a difference, it shouldn't. They are all the same really. Just watch the year and specs of things and you'll be fine.

Ford Trucks Forever!!!