So any year EFI head will be compatible?
Im doing a complete build, 1st build
heads, intake, pistons, cam and so on. Hopefully using stock crank.

Plan was to keep EFI and throw in an old f100

Will it be better/easier to carb? For 1st time engine build

If going carbed, any head 87 or earlier, with compatible intake, and exhaust components?

looking for some direction. I appreciate the quick response. Thanks

 

The EFI style heads are only necessary if you intend to keep the factory EFI setup. If you're using something that's aftermarket you can use any style of cylinder head.

Some pre '87 heads are more desirable than others just depending on the rest of the build. The D3VE will be the most common big Ford head and it can work fine on a moderate compression, moderate RPM application especially with some preparation. Earlier style C8, C9 and DOVE style heads have smaller combustion chambers and a stud mounted valvetrain that might have some advantages if you want to use a roller rocker arm and an adjustable valvetrain. The heads to avoid are the D2VE with the fully open combustion chambers. They are not that common and were mostly only used in 1972.

 

The earlier 88-92 EFI heads, E7s, have a slightly larger chamber and smaller valves than the F3s found on '93-97s. 93-up have a deeper dish piston, but also a higher compression height to make the compression ratio the same. The higher compression height pistons were used to tighten up the piston-to-cylinder head in the quench area, which helps promote swirl in the chamber-and better combustion/and less chance of detonation/ping. A nice thing about EFI heads is that they did away with the thermactor bump in the exhaust port - moving the thermactor passages to the exhaust manifolds.

Another thing to consider is EFI heads use center-bolt valve covers, Carb heads use perimeter bolt covers.

 

I know so little about these engines, other than I have not had any overheating issues ever with my 429, now 460.
The engine builder said it was a 429. He stroked it up to 460 and balanced it. The block is a D9 casing. I didn't know Ford produced 429's in 1979.
The engine came out of a '78 Ford E250 Van rated at 8,900 GVWR and had tall highway gears. Maybe Ford put 429's in the vans for the short stroke.
Probably @NumberDummy could set us straight on the usage of the 385 series 429's.

Been so long since I've looked at my head casting numbers, I'm not sure of what i'm running except I do have Crane roller rockers.

 

After '73 the 429 was only used in Lima engine truck form and never in any light truck or van application. D9TE blocks were used for 429 truck engine production as well as 460s.

 

What would be the best OE head to put on my 1978 460 in a truck ? Looking to get as close to or better performance as the original 1969 460's !!!!

 

What kind of performance? Low end truck type? Or high rpm power?

Does your engine have the original dished pistons? are you ok with running 93 octane? or 87?

All the castings that will bolt on and work flow about the same cfm 68-87. The only real difference will be the increased compression from the smaller chambered 68-70 heads. Unless you spend the $$ for Cobrajet heads that used larger intake ports. These flow a decent bit better but exhaust still needs some work. PI heads would also flow a bit better, but be alot of coin.

Your best bet would be to buy a set of remanned ported D3 heads from parkland auto machine or mpg etc.

 

I recently acquired a set of NOS heads that were from a Ford dealer that had closed years ago. I was told that they were for an 86 429. They still look brand new. There are no casting numbers on the outside of the heads. The dealer had written "D9HZ-B" on the ends of the heads, which I have tried to find online with no luck. The castings that I have found in the spring valleys are "1K19" on one head, and what looks like 8F8 on the other. If anyone can decipher, I would greatly appreciate the help.

 

Is there a casting such as "E6TE"" on the bottom of the head, under the exhaust side?

 

IF they are for an '86 429 that would have been a medium truck "Lima" engine and I'd bet the valves are smaller than car and pickup (460) engines.

 

Other than a "2" on one and a "5' on the other, there are no other castings

 

As far as I know the Lima 429 engines used the same cylinder head castings as the pickup truck 460 engine. The other hardware like the valves tend to be different. They used a Stelite faced exhaust valve with a sodium filled stem(very expensive) but I'm not sure about the intake valves. I'm not sure if they used a factory installed hardened exhaust seat like was used on the FT engines or not.

Later after EFI came out the 429 again used the same head casting as the 460 of the same era.

 

Back in the 80s,a friend was in the heavy construction equipment business. He sold these air compressors based on the 460,4 cylinders to run,4 cylinders for air compression. The manufacturer had pallet loads of heads,other parts of the engine not used. We bought 3 sets for basically scrap price,stuck them on service trucks. Worked great but never checked any specs. No help to you but your heads are probably some kind of deal like this.

 

You just never know what's sitting around on old dealership parts shelves. A couple of years ago a guy came by with a brand new set of Lincoln 317 heads that he picked up when an old dealership closed. He thought they were for a small block Chevy. They looked just like normal Y block heads but they didn't have the over and under intake port layout.

That's interesting about the 460 based air compressors. I've never seen one but I have worked on one made from a 351 Windsor and one from a flathead V8.

 

Nothing here??