On my Frankenstein truck, the '84 351W (see sig., internally stock) has D8OE heads, supposedly the worst small block Ford heads made. The truck runs fine but is certainly no powerhouse. I can pick up a set of E7 heads very cheap. I am sure they would need some work, but freshened up, would they represent a good power increase over the D8 heads? I know the E7 heads don't compare to GT40 heads but are they worth doing anything with compared to the D8s?

All comments welcome.

 

Just searching for head info on another thread. I know nothing, thus I link:

https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...7te-heads.html

 

The D8's are not the worst in terms of flow that goes to the E6 heads and the early 221 heads. The stock E7 heads flow less than the D8 heads they only advantage the E7's have is a tighter combustion chamber. Now if you are going to port them yourself then there are gains to be had.
But to be honest the gains you will see with stock E7's over the D8's are not worth the time or the cost of the gasket set to install them, you would gain more with headers or a 4 BBL intake and carb. If you are having to freshen them up just spend the few extra dollars and source GT40 heads. You will gain flow and compression with the GT40 heads.

 

E7 heads will give you a compression bump but otherwise not much if any flow improvement. But if your motor is a factory original 2bbl the BIG bottleneck is the cam, change that to just about anything aftermarket and bolt on some stock E7 heads and you could gain upwards of 100hp.. depending on the cam specs.

 

From the reading I did on the E7 heads they can be made to flow good but everyone that asks this question is always told by everyone that the time or money if you pay someone to do the porting is better put towards the factory GT40 or GT40P heads. Big reason why I decided on switching from the 94-96 302 long block to the 96 explorer. I figured for the extra $$ I can get the factory GT40 heads vs the E7 heads that would have to be removed and worked on to get any kind of gain out of it.

 

I am currently running JBA shorty headers and an Edelbrock manifold, currently 2 bbl ,but convertible to 4BBL. It will soon be switched to an Edelbrock 600 cfm 4 bbl. Engine is originally a 2 BBL engine but rebuilt about 25K miles ago. During the rebuild I had asked for an RV cam to be installed but sadly let the shop talk me out of it. Bad mistake. I may pick up these E7 heads and try to port them myself. The guy only wants $75 for them so how much can I lose if I mess them up while grinding on them?
Any advice on porting etc. is welcome.

 

That's the draw back when you get talked out of something by someone that thinks they know better than you. Im still rolling in my head if I truly want to keep the explorer cam that is in the long block im going to order or if I should swap it out. But I got more to worry about than just that, might not even be a explorer cam in there could be some bs replacement cam and I have no way of knowing how you ID the real deal.

Aside from that if you switch to a 4V I would strongly suggest taking a look at the Summit 600 CFM, its what I got. It doesn't need all these special adapters to make it work with ford linkages. The adapters on the edelbrock once you get them bolted on ends up hanging over the valve cover.

 

You lose half the cost of a set of GT40 heads. GT40's are still easy to find in the U pull it yards so do not rule that out either.

 

I really know nothing about porting heads, but the one thing that seems like it would be easy enough to do would be to remove the thermactor humps. I have no idea what the gains are in removing them if any at all. It might be a waste of time, but it seems like a task one could do without any in-depth porting experience.

The GT40P heads seem to be really common on the used market, and for less money too. I came across several sets of them even out here in the boonies, and they're often on Ebay and Kijiji. I would have gladly tried a set of them, but was not feeling all that fuzzy about header availability. I read stories online of guys removing their headers to change plugs, or even worse, having to change burned plug wires on a semi-regular basis. I didn't want them that badly. The nice thing about them is that they're all the same (I think?). The GT40's do have some slight variances between Cobra, Explorer, and Lightning models.

Still, with a little know-how, and A LOT of patience, you could make something out of the E7 heads if you wanted to. As much as I wanted to try, all I could think of was that the sound and handling of a die-grinder is something that gets old for me very quickly. 8 minutes with one I might be OK, but 8 hrs not so much...lol.

 

Haven't done it, and I don't know the specs on the cam you hope to have in your long block - but I would think you could figure it out with a degree wheel, pointer, and dial indicator while the engine is still mostly assembled. Measure the specs like duration, separation, valve lift, etc. and compare it to what you think you have and the other (less desirable) possibilities for that block.

Or maybe I completely misunderstood your comment Anyways, thought I would try to help!

 

"Aside from that if you switch to a 4V I would strongly suggest taking a look at the Summit 600 CFM, its what I got. It doesn't need all these special adapters to make it work with ford linkages. The adapters on the edelbrock once you get them bolted on ends up hanging over the valve cover."

Too late on the carb. as I already have the Edelbrock. I had just about decided on the Summit carb. but then stumbled on an Edelbock for 1/3 the cost of new. It came off of a beautiful SS 396 Chevelle. The guy decided he needed 750 CFM. I think the Summit is a great carb. but sometimes you have to go with a great deal when it comes up. With adapters and all I have about $150 in the carb

ETA: Not ruling out the GT40 heads at all, but everything I see here is about $400 for GT40, maybe a little less for GT40P. I really don't want to change headers to use GT40P's, so i am only looking at GT40's

 

"E7 heads will give you a compression bump but otherwise not much if any flow improvement. But if your motor is a factory original 2bbl the BIG bottleneck is the cam, change that to just about anything aftermarket and bolt on some stock E7 heads and you could gain upwards of 100hp.. depending on the cam specs."

Conanski: what is your cam recommendation for a carbed 351W in a F250 4x4. I use it like a truck, light hauling, hunting , etc. not like a race car. I am looking for an increase in low to mid-range power more than top speed because this truck will probably never see anything over 80MPH if that.

 

You want something with high lift and shorter duration... something with about 250-260 seat-seat duration like the Comp 35-234-3.
35-234-3 - Xtreme Energy? Hydraulic Flat Tappet Camshafts

This cam will "work" with stock springs.. they can handle that much lift without coil bind, but it's never a bad idea to upgrade springs especially if they have lots of miles on them.

P.S. The "explorer cam" found in all '94+ truck motors would pretty closely match this with the addition of 1.7 rockers, the big difference is with LSA and low lift durations where the emissions friendly factory cam is more conservative, it won't make quite as much torque but will produce higher vacuum and a smoother idle.

 

Oh I have the specs. Just like to know what markings the cam had on it to look for to verify it. But then doesn't mean it couldn't be a regrind from some manufacturer and have different specs than what the markings show.

That is if you can locate the explorer cam. Part number is F4TE-6250-BA for those that are considering it. Ive been looking with the possibility of buying one just incase my long block doesn't have this cam. Nothing on the market right now I could find. Wish Powertrain would get back with me on the specific of what cam is in the '96 explorer 302 long block they offer. They just state stock last time I asked which could mean anything.

 

I think I will pick up the E7 heads to mess with. I'm going to recurve the distributor and install the Edelbrock carb and see what that does for my power output. If I'm not satisfied with that, I may try the E7 heads and a cam swap unless some GT40 heads pop up.
Thanks all for the comments