Is there more than one CJ head as far as combustion chamber size goes and location of the exhaust ports? I have noticed that there are a bunch of different 390 heads out there, is it the same with CJ heads? Will they work with the 410 bore? I ask because I want to switch from my GT heads to CJ heads. Or would I be better off to get some Edelbrock aluminum heads? Can anyone vouch for the aluminum heads on FE's and do they require machining or are they a right outta the box application? Thanks for any help

 

99.9% of the CJ heads you will find out there are casting # C8OE-N. It has the 16 bolt exhaust pattern with the top holes all lined up.

The other 0.1% of the CJ heads are the very early casting # C8AE-J that came in both 14 and 16 bolt patterns.

The combustion chambers and the exhaust ports are all the same.

Something interesting is the Canadian CJ heads had the same casting # C8OE-N but they had much larger intake runners along with larger bowls under the intake valves. What’s funny is the regular and Canadian heads used the same intake gasket, those Ford engineers were pretty tricky. My guess is most of the Canadian heads have probably been used up in S/S drag racing on the CJ’s.

You might hear about the “SK” heads but these were for the 427MR, not intended for production on the CJ.

Barry

 

Geez, Henry didn't make it easy for us did he?!

 

Tell me about it, I think FE really stands for Freaking Enigma!

Hey those CJ heads will fit the 4.05 bore blocks but the valves come pretty close to the cyl. walls. Put 'em on a bare block and you'll see what I mean. It can't hurt to do a little notching, should help out with the flow too. Going from a C8AE-H or D2TE-AA head to a CJ head will drop the compression by about a 1/2 point depending on the CR you are running.

I don't have hands-on experience with the ed heads but the other guys will be chiming in soon.

Barry

 

[updated:LAST EDITED ON 23-Oct-02 AT 05:11 AM (EST)]The Eds are supposed to be bolt on but I had trouble with the Heli-Coils coming loose for the header bolts. Then they got stuck when I tried to remove the bolts. I sent them back in frustration. Other folks have made them work and most folks reccomend a good valve job before installing.

 

I bought my edel heads assembled and they have been great to me right out of the box. There are many like Gtex who have had problems with the heilicoils popping out. The best wat to prevent this is to run studs for your rockerstands instead of bolts. You may be able to find some intake studs also. They flow much better than stock 390 heads and a good bit better than 428CJ heads. According to some flow data I got on the 427MR heads they flow better than them also but I'm kind of sceptical there. Nonetheless you can't run MR heads on anything except a 427 anyway. As of right now they are the best obtainable head for performance you can get. There is a rumor going around that Blue thunder is going to be making a set better than the edels but I have no proof of any kind.