I have a 429 that i pulled from a 71 LTD. i intend to rebuild this thing for use in a 77 F250 4x4 that im fixing up a little. I have a couple of questions on the heads. 1. Are these desirable heads the D2VE's, i always here talk of DOVE's, but never D2's, are they good for 400hp? 2. how big are the combustion chambers on D2's?
As for the rest of it, your basic .030 overbore, probably 10;1 forged pistons, either a weiand stealth or EDL RPM intake (suggestions), 750 holley, accel ignition and if anybody could suggest a decent hydraulic cam thats good for 400hp but keeps good low end torque as well with a c6 auto. I have built FE motors before but not a 429 so im not familiar with how torquey they are and how much duration and lift they can afford and still make good torque from 1500to 2000 and up.
By the way im sure you get questions like this all the time so i apologize but my searches didnt pull up anything i was looking for. thanks for replies

 

The D2VE heads are considered the absolute worst heads ever used on 385 series engines, sorry not trying to be mean but those are the open chamber 100+cc heads that are seriously prone do detonation, almost any other head that you can find and bolt onto your block will be a improvement.

 

that stands to reason, if i have them they must be worthless. In that case then, besides DOVE heads, what other numbers should i be looking for for the motor i talked about building? What could i expect to pay for some used cast iron heads?

 

I just recently scored a set of C9Ve's off E-bay for 227.50.They came off of a 40,000 mile engine and are complete.If you can stand premium fuel,look for the following cast # on the heads
C8VE
C9VE
D0VE
D1VE
some folks say the D3VE work pretty well too,little less compression though.

 

no such head as a D1VE. the rest of those casting numbers are the small chamber high compression heads 74cc nominal chambers and you will have to watch what pistons you have in order to keep the compression down low enough to run pump gas. The D3VE heads will have a 96cc chamber approx, running flat top pistons will easily get you into the 9:1+ range which will work on pump gas and flow as good as the vaunted DOVE heads plus you can get them a lot cheaper. I have bought several 460s with D3VE heads for under $200 for the complete engine. Also the D3VE heads were used from 73 clear up to the advent of fuel injection on the 460s so around 86 so you have 13 yrs worth of engine that will have those heads on them and are easy to come by.
The more desirable and way more scarce heads are the 72 PI heads casting number is D2OA, or the cj, SCJ heads with the DOOE-R casting but your gonna pay a serious premium to find them and still have to rebuild them and what you will have in them you could probably buy a new set of alum aftermarket heads.

 

D2VE heads are the worst you can use.

D2VE-A2A -- This casting shares the same port sizes and shape with the other passenger car castings. It is basically a revised D0VE-C casting with slotted pedestal rocker arm bosses. Beware as this is the only year of the large round OPEN combustion chamber design. Chamber size is near 100cc's. Caution! They are prone to detonation due to the lack of a quench pad and are unsuitable for high performance use! Valve sizes are 2.09" intake and 1.65" exhaust.

The best choices for high performance are as follows:

C8VE-A & E – 1968 was the first year for the 385 series engine. The 429 was introduced in ‘68 Thunderbirds as the "Thunderjet"...the 460 was introduced in the ‘68 Lincoln line up simply as “460”. These heads have 75cc to 77cc combustion chambers. They will give about 10.5 to 1 on pre-'72 blocks assuming factory type pistons...9.5 to 1 to 10 to 1 on later blocks with increased deck height. The Thermact-air boss and passages were not drilled for 49 state emissions. The Thermact-air boss is slightly smaller than on later castings. Like all of the BBF castings the exhaust port needs a lot of help. The heads used positive stop shouldered rocker arm studs and cast iron rail self aligning rocker arms at 1.73 to 1 ratio. Valve sizes are 2.09" intake and 1.65" exhaust.

C9VE-A is basically the same as the '68 unit. Used beginning with the '69 model year vehicles...includes engineering revisions to the '68 casting.

D0VE-C – D0VE heads were a revision of the original casting. Used beginning with the '70 model year through the end of the '71 model year run. These are similar to the preceding listing. Slightly larger Thermact-air boss...all 3 being used for passenger cars. D0VE-A is a less revised version and very similar to the D0VE-C's. The cylinder heads used from '68 to '71 are interchangeable.

D0OE-R -- The fabled Cobra Jet and Super Cobra Jet castings. Combustion chamber volume comes in slightly smaller at 71cc to 75cc...11 to 1+ compression ratio with 429 flat tops, or with the dished 460 pistons. About 1/2 point lower on '72 and up blocks. Cobra Jet engines built before November, 1969 had adjustable valve train. They were non-adjustable after that date. Adjustable castings came with pushrod guide plates, sled fulcrums and stamped steel 1.73 to 1 rocker arms. Adjustable valve trains used non-shouldered rocker studs. Non adjustable valve trains used positive stop shouldered studs with 3/8" fine pitch threads on top. All Super Cobra-Jet engines used a solid lifter camshaft and adjustable valve train. Valve sizes are 2.24" intake and 1.72" exhaust. Intake ports are larger at 2.51" x 2.11" ovals. Exhaust ports are also larger at 2.25" x 1.30" rectangular oval port shape. Although the exhaust ports are larger they share similar architecture with the passenger car castings. Removal of the Thermact-air boss along with blending of some of the weird casting bumps will help flow measurably. All of the 385 series castings suffer from a very poor intake/exhaust flow ratio. This is due to the fact that shock towers in the intermediate line up necessitated tucking the exhaust manifolds as closely as possible to the engine for clearances' sake.

Hope this helps...

 

D2ve head's are 1972 only they are 91cc