Whats Your Iron Head Prefference?

[rockhouse66]

You may want to look at the Stan Weiss cylinder head web site

Very interesting!  Thanks for the tip.  No C6-Rs listed though.  Maybe I'll send mine to Les Schmader and we'll have some data.

[machoneman]

Good point, forgot myself about Stan's great site. Agree that some are apples/oranges due to testing variances but it's still better than nothing and it does provide ballpark info.

I do know that late(r) model SBF head statistics, for Clevelands and Windsor, are pretty much spot on, likely due to the fact that so many shops retail them, the volume sold is quite high, at least for the W heads, and the tests were (mainly) done on very late model flow benches at the now industry standard of 28".   

[fastback 427]

I have a set of the c4ae heads with the cobra jet valves installed, other than that they are bone stock. We took several sets to get flowed, here are the numbers. C4 were 247 cfm at .620. Edelbrock with mild clean up 253 at .600. Also flowed two sets of dove medium risers, stock one flowed 303 at 600 with 30 degree valves while ported head with 45 degree valves flowed 342 cfm at 600. My head guy thought with 45 degree valves in the c4 head with porting he could get in the 280 range.

[cjshaker]

I have a set of the c4ae heads with the cobra jet valves installed, other than that they are bone stock. We took several sets to get flowed, here are the numbers. C4 were 247 cfm at .620. Edelbrock with mild clean up 253 at .600. Also flowed two sets of dove medium risers, stock one flowed 303 at 600 with 30 degree valves while ported head with 45 degree valves flowed 342 cfm at 600. My head guy thought with 45 degree valves in the c4 head with porting he could get in the 280 range.

This is the sort of info that I wish could be gathered into a type of spreadsheet and "stickied" for the forum. That sort of info is priceless, but is so difficult to come across when searching. There has been so much flow data posted over the years, but most is lost over time. Stans sight is nearly impossible to comprehend or organize into useful info unless you hand pick the pieces, write them separately on another piece of paper and try to decipher what is "useable".

[Heo]

I soon getting a set of heads ported either the C1 s or the
C4 s  interesting to see whats the results are

[machoneman]

True but Doug, Stan sells the his copyrighted data (all of it) for a mere $34.00. See the top of the home page and note that he'll even download the data into your fav spreadsheet format. Now for the FE due to limited # of heads available even today, you're right in that it's easier and maybe more cost effective to copy same down and make you own spreadsheet.

When one looks down the page, it's amazing how many SBF (sorry!) Windsor heads are available these days, as it rivals the pages of SBC heads! Where the heck were all these head suppliers I ask in the 70's? I imagine that the SBC would not still be so dominate today had Ford enthusiast had anywhere near this number of heads, and attendant engine parts, to choose from.....yikes!   

[blykins]

I'm having a set of C6AE-R's ported right now.....I'll throw up results as soon as I get them. 

[fastback 427]

I think cjshaker is onto something. Good info is hard to find. That's why stan's head info and jay's intake info is so important for the fe.  It would also be great to have more actual numbers from cam upgrades, ignition,carbs and headers on everything from daily drivers, towing and all out race. It sure would make the fe a more viable choice for rebuild than swapping in a 460 or Windsor which has no shortage of info.

[Ford428CJ]

There are Big "R" heads and small "R" heads.... I remember the Big "R" heads are the ones you want....But I cant remember why.... JMHO

[MT63AFX]

So the C6-R heads have the "misaligned" exhaust ports like the C8AE-H?  So much for the R heads being "poor man's CJ".  Or am I reading this incorrectly?

Ive never owned CJ heads but I can say that the Chicago Foundry C6AE-R heads I had were slightly off from the H, D and G exhaust port location. Learned this when I bought some truck headers and found they would only mate well (compared with the above 3) with the C6AE-R location. Ill dig up the pictures and mesurements in the next couple of weeks and post here.

Cleveland Foundry, not Chicago's....

[mammyjammer]

How can you tell where they were cast?

[Heo]

If there is a DIF cast on them they are cast at
 Detroit Industrial Foundry and if you have a
C encircling an F(if my memory is right)
 they are cast in cleveland

[CaptCobrajet]

I like the G heads, only because I have used alot of them.  They are 12 cc's more volume than the R head.  Closer to the size of a CJ or LR head.  In ported form, they will all flow about the same.  The exhaust port is a little nicer in both early heads, unless you find 6090-R's which do not have the "ledge" at the exhaust flange.  I did a 464 stroker four or five years ago with 352 HiPo heads that I ported some that made 550 hp with a flat tappet cam...........the point being that all of the production FE heads can do that if you do them right, and put the right junk underneath and on top of them.  If it is a truck engine, and a pump gasser, I would lean toward the D2's with some work here and there.  The smaller raised intake port is a plus for a driver, especially if it is not a big stroker.

[bluef100fe]

I've played with the early heads and the later "truck" heads..... rite now im just happy with any of the garden variety heads that hold water... I agree with blair that the smaller engines seem to work well with the later truck heads when worked over correctly... for making more power with something bigger than 400 inches I would probably lean towards the early heads unless max power wasn't a concern.... That being said I have a 450ish inch engine with the later truck heads going on it that is going to see the dyno over the winter... it seemed to be an overachiever before it split a cylinder in the pulling truck...  I guess there aren't any bad fe heads really.... just some are suited to certain combinations better than others. Comes down to what the end user wants the engine to do and not do...

[Ididntdoit]

I've found some heads marked simply c6ae R and some that include the 6090 on the opposite side - dot they both flow the same or are the ports different? Also some are 14 bolt vs 8 if the holes are drilled, will pick up headers line up? Thx