Very nice indeed!

11 years have passed and I finally have data to share but first a quick recap.
This thread was started as I upgraded from a set of mildly ported C6AE-R iron heads with CJ valves to a set of BBM heads from the first production run, prepped by Rob McQuarie of Blue Oval Performance.
My '66 Comet Caliente with its iron headed 445 stroker went onto the chassis dyno just prior to disassembly in 2014, recording 309 rwhp. When built, the engine had dynoed at 465 bhp with the iron heads and with the BBM heads it was "gonkulated" to put out 539 bhp and 365 rwhp.
Other than the passage of time this is a straight forward comparison as there were only two changes made, the BBM heads, and Harland Sharp roller tipped rockers that replaced OE 427 adjustables with POP stands. The engine was reinstalled in 2025 then dynoed on the same chassis dyno where it recorded 366hp for a gain of 57 rwhp.

Please read the full thread for more details
 

Good Luck Jay.

I have been off the sight as I have had to put my car on moth balls for the time being and don't want to frustrate myself reading others posts and desiring to have mine on the road so consequently I missed that you were passing through town and missed the opportunity to say hello. (read into the above; photo op and opportunity to see your ride in person)

After considerable delay I am back on track. I had all of the parts for the suspension upgrade except for the lower control arms, Moog had discontinued the K8121 replacing it with an RK8121 which I ordered from Summit only to learn that they had the wrong bushing size for the roller bearing kit. I talked with John at Opentracker and he suggested that I send them to him and he would weld them up for me. Upon receiving them he notified me that they were an off shore (Taiwan) repop with no grease provision and suggested that I not use them so I bought a completed set him and he sent the sub par ones back so that I could return to Summit along with the completed pair. Yesterday I had set about to filling in the upper control arm holes before installing the rebuilt uppers into their new Shelby drop location and the new roller control arms along with the new sterring components. As I was doing so the mail lady dropped off the spring compressor I had ordered off Ebay as suggested, thank you gtxpress.


The front suspension is now installed with the exception of another small glitch. The drivers side spindle had been replaced with a large bearing spindle so while I was gathering parts for the front end upgrade I had also purchased an NOS spindle. While I had the new bearings and races I had not even considered that the washer and nut used to retain the rotor would also be larger so a trip into town tomorrow for some more parts should see that upgrade complete and I will be ready to proceed. A quick touch up of the engine bay paint and it will be time to drop the engine back into its rightful place, hoping to be running by next weekend. Some exhaust work and realignment will be needed before I can test things out on the road then it will be time to setup a return to the chassis dyno for data and tuning. One last cruise planned and possibly a trip down the track before it will be time to put it away for winter.

Thank you guys for the compliments, I'd waited a long time to have it. It's a 48 x 64 x 16 with a second floor along the back with a game room and home gym/storage with 4 bays beneath and the 4 post lift also serves as an elevator hence the second floor garage door.

Don't judge me too harshly for the sign, lol, I had a chance to buy an 8' lighted Citco sign very cheaply but passed. In my view it's an automotive sign that all are familiar with, it's vintage, it and the wall are both large and the price was right. Besides Michelin is the largest tire maker in the world and the makers of American brands BF Goodrich and Uniroyal. Besides you'll note its at the bottom of the wall waiting for a Shell sign to be hung above it.

I've been working a lot of overtime the past couple weeks so not much time on the Comet this past weekend, I did manage to mount the intake and probably used too much RTV in the process. I ended with a difference of between .021 and .033 between intake and head at the valve cover surface. Port alignment looks good, bolts were not aligned well at first but my weight applied to the intake displaced the sealant enough that they lined back up. Engine is just about ready to go back in but first a little front end work. Hope that I never need to take it off again.

I took a little time out and worked on starting the '63 Fairlane that will be the next project. Planning to build it into a gasser using the 390 that was once in the Comet. It has been sitting for more than 25 years. pulled the plugs and fogged cylinders with WD-40 allowed it to sit over night then spun the engine with plugs out. reinstalled the plugs bypassed the tank, poured a bit of gas down the carb, cranked it and its little 260 came to life.

Thanks to the kindness and generosity of good friends and fellow FE enthusiasts I now have two sets of headers for the CJ pattern. Thank you to Bill n Diane (other forum) and David Jameson without your help this project would have had a very long delay.
Today saw the valve clearance checked  and the heads installed, I did find a clearance issue with the Harland Sharp end stand hitting the ARP head bolt but a quick pass on the bench grinder and cleanup with a file was all that was needed. I have decided that while the engine is out I will do the front end upgrades, I've had the parts but had been waiting for winter but with the engine out it will make doing the Shelby drop much easier not to mention how much easier the engine will be to drop in without the steering in the way.

GT vs CJ ports-

Engine pulled for swap-

Head on-

End stand clearanced for ARP stud-

Intake sits roughly .030 above head at valve cover-

Day one of the swap and it was just short of a disaster. Got a late start and I was a bit apprehensive but slowly and methodically removed and disconnected everything that needed to be. First snafu, I used a different lifting device which I would not use again but with persistence and perseverance and just a little damage to the core support that will be easily straightened but will require repainting I was finally able to get the engine out. The tear down went smoothly with no surprises nor issues other than the mess which was expected and once that was dealt with prepping for the new heads was begun. Second snafu, I compared the header to the gasket for the new heads and discovered that this header absolutely will not work. Several people have made statements that the two would interchange but that a bolt hole or two `would require being elongated and others have suggested that this was not the case. Those in the latter group are correct.
A) the difference in the floor and ceilings are close to a quarter inch off from one another.
B) the FPA's headers flange is already slotted and ends below the ceiling of the CJ port and so would require being plug welded so as not to have a huge leak.
Given the mismatch and how that would kill the flow I will be ordering new headers next Tuesday. In the mean time engine reassembly and installation will continue and some of those things which were waiting for winter may be completed dependent upon how long it will take for the new headers to arrive.

Anyone looking for a set of headers to fit GT heads?