Does anyone know if there is a difference between a C8AE-H head with 8 bolts versus the 14 bolt style other than the obvious.
I believe the castings themselves are the same, other than the exhaust bolt pattern, however how they were assembled can be different. The 14 exhaust bolt heads were used on both standard performance 390's in shock tower cars, like a 390 2V, and on the 390 GT engine, and the 390 GT used different valve springs & single piece retainers for instance. Many people mistakenly think all the 14 exhaust bolt heads are 390 GT heads, but that is not true. Also, the C8AE-H head castings were used on 428 Police engines in full size cars, 8 bolt exhaust pattern, but also fitted with a different valve train. What we have seen people report with those is that Ford ground off the "-H" at the end of the casting number, probably to note the difference.
