I'm getting ready for a large project. I'm finally going to be removing the fast burn ridges from the chamber of my head. Since I had the 1.94" valves installed, it has shrouded my valves considerably, and now it is time to rectify the situation and enable it to breathe better.

I have purchased a cc kit from summit, as well as a porting kit. I will cc it before and after.

Since Summit dropped the cost of a Howard cam I've been wishing for, I may do a cam swap too, and lifters, along with a new timing cover from a efi years. I'll also be dropping the pan and converting to the one piece pan gasket from the efi years.

I shall also be pulling and patching the radiator.

I will also be installing a new Redhead steering box. My new Michelin tires are
scary on the freeway.

I am also going to be changing to, hate to part with my header, the efi exhaust manifolds, with dual exhaust and new mufflers.

If I can find a ZF overdrive trans in time I'll be installing that too and making a new driveshaft.

I

 

Curious here.....what current cam do you have and was there a noticeable difference with the larger intake valves?

Been thinking about doing that myself, but not sure if I should spend that money elsewhere.

Thanks!!

 

Pretty good sized revamp on the ol' truck. I can understand the desire to go with a ZF5.

I am gathering up stuff to do a repower of my truck, from a 300/C6 to a 5.9L Cummins and 5 speed. Almost twice the torque, and MPG, in the same package....

300 is a great engine, but mine is starting to rattle. Suspect cracked piston skirts.......

 

Hey hey 250! Good luck on your build. If I may ask what cam are you going if you do swap cams?

Any please post pictures!

 

A lot of pricey items you've got listed there. Are we do for another round of heater plate orders??

 

I currently run an Isky 256. I love it but would like to get a slight lope at idle. However, lope means the power band of the cam might be too high for cruising with the ZF. The one I'm looking at is a Howard's cam, on Summit, with about the same lift but bumps the duration from 202* to 209* iirc. It also has a 108* lsa, where my Isky has 112*.

I never ran my engine without cam or larger valves, so I have no point of reference.

The reason I'm doing the chambers is because it is a fast burn style head and has ridges from 8 o'clock on the intake to 4 o'clock on the exhaust that severely shroud the valves. With the installation of the larger valves I believe the benefit of that design went out the window.



The top chamber is my head. The bottom is from another head owned by a member of the other forum. His too was a duplicate of mine, but he has removed the ridges. His intake is also slightly larger than mine, 2.02, iirc.

Hopefully, by removing the ridges, I'll get better performance and mpg. I have spent a lot of time reading and studying about the procedure. I'll also pick up a junk head to practice on first. I don't want to ruin my head. I know I should not have used this type of head to begin with, but I was a beginner at the time.

Regarding the header/efi swap: I love the look of the header, but am tired of the heat and fearing starter failure. If I'm on a trip and the starter goes, it is a major deal to r&r it because I'd have to loosen the int/header and exhaust. So, I think by using a dual pipe, oem to some 4.9's, cutting off the cat and going 2.25" pipe from there, into two turbo mufflers, and out the back on the same side behind the wheel, using walker premade pipes, It will flow well and sound good too. I'll also be able to plug in my afr sensor into the oem bungs on the manifolds. Another complication of the header is that I'm having trouble starting my summit carb when the engine is hot.

With the new steering, no longer using 'bump' steering, and having over drive, it should feel like a new truck.

RogueWolf: Sounds like a great project you have coming up.

 

Funny, I've got a used set of headers I'm fixing to be swapping on in place of the EFI manifolds I've got now.

I've heard a mini starter can be used with headers and still be swapped if it fails. This place sells a 300 mini starter for $54 - DB Electrical - FORD F TRUCK BRONCO 4.9L 300 6CYL NEW STARTER 1965-1996 3223 SFD0012 I'm going to order two and carry one as a spare. Maybe something to think about if starter worries are your primary motivation for losing the headers.

One real nice feature on the EFI exhaust is the cast-in O2 sensor bungs. Makes hooking up the wideband so simple.

Wear a good pair of gloves when you grinding. If you don't, with carbide burrs especially, after about an hour your hands will feel like you've been strangling an electric eel.

Mask around the chambers to save wear and tear on the deck when you're grinding. A junk set of valves you can drop in will save those nice stainless valves and the valve seats. Take your time and have fun.

 

Sounds like a good plan! I would be very careful with cam changes, a lumpy cam can hurt the MPGs quite a bit.

Good luck!

Sam

 

When I had hedmans on my 84 300 I wire tied a coffee can with some holes in the bottom around my starter....Before that I could swap one in under 10 minutes in a parking lot lol...but that homemade shield made quite a difference.

 

Ah, the good old days, when a coffee can was *actually* metal........

 

The starter seems fine, but the coming change with the header bothers me. Yes, the mini might solve the issue. The other issue is the carburetor. My Summit Carb is very bothered with the heat. Neither an autolite 4100, Eddy 500, or a Quadrajet was bothered by the heat. But the Summit is.

 

Not sure why that summit carb has issues with heat, what do you have for a carb spacer and air filter setup?

Sam

 

Hello, Sam: I'm using a one inch aluminum spacer with a plastic insert so the buyer has the option to change the center piece from open to four hole. I'm also using a 10 inch filter with alum. base and lid.

 

Hmmm... that should be ok, but a solid plastic one would block more heat, probably wouldn't make a big difference though.

Do you have one of the big 1/4" thick gaskets on it?

Maybe a factory style air filter housing with the snorkel down to the firewall would cool things off a bit?

Sam

 

F-250 restorer,

Thought of you and your project when I ran across this [see link].

http://www.eurospares.com/graphics/e...he%20Time!.pdf