My brother has a 302 and recently read did the head gasket and saw a 351w marked on his heads. So we assume this means they are Windsor heads? Or do they mark all heads that fit these motors like this?

If they are 351w heads, is this a performance advantage? Would 302 heads be better? Sorry if these are easy questions. Thanks for the help.

-j.banks-

 

" >My brother has a 302 and recently read did the head gasket
>and saw a 351w marked on his heads. So we assume this means
>they are Windsor heads? Or do they mark all heads that fit
>these motors like this?
>
>If they are 351w heads, is this a performance advantage?
>Would 302 heads be better? Sorry if these are easy
>questions. Thanks for the help.
>
>-j.banks-


I'm not sure I've ever seen 302/351 etc marked on heads. It's usually a casting #. The only 351 head that comes to mind that would be an advantage would be a '69 head which would have "C9" somewhere in the #.

Check the bolt holes. A true 351 head will have 1/2" bolt holes which are larger than the 302 holes.

 

I'm having trouble recalling exactly where I saw this, but I think it was on either late 70's or early 80's heads. But I could be way off. Anyway, yeah, at some point Ford was casting this into heads. As far as are they performance heads, I don't think so, I think they were doing this because they were using the same head castings on both 302s and 351s.

The point about the head bolt sized is a good one. Were there sleeves that went into the heads to help the bolts fit? 302s have 7/16" head bolts, 351s have 1/2" head bolts.
best regards,

 

So the 302 and 351w heads are the same for the most part? I think he's just curious if having 351w heads on his 302 is of any advantage.

BTW, he informed me that he just bought a Holly Hi-Rise Alluminum 4bl intake and a carb with it from a junkyard for a 100 bucks. Sounds like a steal to me (if no problems) what do you guys think?

-j.banks-

 

[updated:LAST EDITED ON 30-Mar-02 AT 02:13 AM (EST)]JD, I've given you the wrong impression. What I meant to say was that the cylinder heads of 302s and 351 from the late 70s were almost identical. But if you go back to the mid 70s and earlier, the 351s had bigger valves and ports.

Oh, and that's a good deal for the high-rise and carb.

BTW, what year is this 302?

 

[updated:LAST EDITED ON 02-Apr-02 AT 04:44 PM (EST)]Honestly, I'm not sure what year the 302 is. It's in a 69 Ranger, but the motor was a boat motor before we got it. So that complicates things. I'll ask my brother for more info on the history of the motor. From what he says, boat motors have performance advantages. I don't know about that, probably him just talking up his motor. He's got work to do on it still.

That intake he got, turned out to be for a 350. My brother I can forgive for not being an expert, but the guy at the yard should have known better. But they did exchange the intake for a bench seat out of a 95 Ford with a fold down center piece. That and the carb for $100, still not too bad. Now if he'd just find a good Chilton's manual instead of bugging me for mine.

So to clarify. The 302 and 351w heads are mostly the same, but if the heads came from mid 70's or sooner they would be of a performance advantage? Otherwise no difference either way? I've asked him to get me casting numbers and such, so hopefully those won't be long in coming. Thanks.

-j.banks-

 

>
>So to clarify. The 302 and 351w heads are mostly the same,
>but if the heads came from mid 70's or sooner they would be
>of a performance advantage? Otherwise no difference either
>way? I've asked him to get me casting numbers and such, so
>hopefully those won't be long in coming. Thanks.
>

Casting numbers will tell the full story.

The first two years of 351 heads are very good except that they don't have hardened seats. The casting numbers are C9AE and D0OE. I'm not certain about the last two letters, but I am sure of the first two characters. C9=1969 and D0=1970. They have small chambers (<64cc), big (1.84I/1.54E) valves, and decent ports. 351 heads in the mid-70s are often recommended because they have the valves and smallish chambers, plus hardened seats and thermactor ports. I think they casting numbers are D4xx or D5xx. The late 70s switched to 302 sized valves, and had bigger chambers. I don't know about the ports on these but I's suspect that they're just like the 302 ports of that time.

I know little about 80's 351 heads.

There are many 221/255/260/289/302 heads. The C6AE heads have very small chambers, 54cc's, and can be ported to flow well. They have broached push-rod slots and don't require rail-type rockers. I've heard of putting Chevy valves and rockers on these heads. The chambers of later heads quickly get larger, up into the 69cc+ range.

Any casting numbers yet?

Best regards,

 

[updated:LAST EDITED ON 06-Apr-02 AT 09:57&nbsp;AM (EST)]J. Banks mentioned that the engine came from a boat. I had a 1974 boat with a Mercruiser/Ford based 302 engine. I bought the boat new. When I eventually rebuilt it years later, I found it to have 351W heads with stainless steel exhaust valves. Boat engines are built to a little higher standards then engines for cars and trucks, and made to handle extended periods of 4,200-4,500 RPM's. Incidently, the cover on my carb said to use premium fuel only. I don't know for sure why, but I would guess that something was done to give a higher compression ratio.

 

 

I have a 351W in my boat, and the soft valve seats wore out with the years of unleaded gas. I decided to replace the heads with GT-40P heads for a little more power. I bored out the head bolts (it had holes for 7/16 bolts but my block has 1/2 inch bolts) and I was unsure what head gasket to install. I went to O'Reilley's and we looked at the different gaskets available for the small block fords, they all had different part numbers (depending if they were for Explorers or for crown victorias or pickup trucks, and depending on the year). But after a very carefull look, we figured out all the gaskets were the same! They even had different prices! I bought the cheapest one, tried it on top of the block and on the head, it worked fine. I've been wakeboarding and slalom skiing behind my boat since August and had no problem whatsoever. The heads not only improved power, but also my engine now is suprisingly fuel efficient (about 8 to 10 gallons per ski session). I'd recommend this heads to anybody who has a 351W. Now, if I could only bold these to the 350 in my old Chevy pick up...

 

The best possible head combo is AFR 205 heads, ARP head studs (I have them, what a joy to use), Fel-Pro P/N 1011-2 gaskets (for 302, with Windsor heads), and Crane Gold Race Rockers. This setup is the horsepower king, MM&FF tried to defeat this with the baddest Trick Flow heads on the market, and failed at every RPM, even with bigger ports and valves. If you want more drivable torque, go with AFR 185's, same studs and gaskets. I have Worlds's Windsor Jr's, and they absolutely rock for me, they are probably not as good as the AFR on the bottom, they might be though, b/c they are iron (heat retention), but they are much closer than any Ford Heads are capable of. If you're looking for 6000 RPM+, go with the Windsor Sr. heads if you want to stay Iron, they have 200cc ports, and 2"+ intake valves. They're probably the best iron heads out there, unless you can get AFR to make iron heads. The Windsor Jr's only cost about $800/pair, which is slightly more than Gt-40p's, but you get what you pay for. AFR heads usually sell for around $1100, but they are the supreme. I question the longevity of Aluminum heads, and their ability to warp, and expand due to heat, so iron works for me. I have Crane Energizer roller rockers, they are around $180/set, which you'll need when you upgrade to screw in stud rockers. The Windsor Jr's have ultra-sturdy 7/16" rocker studs, I'm not sure what Ford heads have, probably the smaller 3/8", but it really doesn't make too much difference, except for high RPM valvetrain stability. Good Luck,

The TorqueKing