[RickRacer]

I got these 289 heads awhile back and was looking closer at both heads when I noticed some gold or yellow epoxy in all the intake bowls on one of the heads, I'm wondering if this was to fix mistakes or make the flow better. As you can see they have been ported and have other machine work done to them, I thought these would be great for a mild 280-300 hp build.
Can some of you guys enlighten me as to what that stuff is and is it safe for a daily driver. These heads were for SS class and the valves are stock size.

 

[DanH]

those are not Hi-Po heads , just worked over regular heads

 

[RickRacer]

According to my ford book head number C5AE is a Hi-Po head unless they printed the book wrong. I know there are no valve spring pockets but they do have the smaller 52-55cc chamber which is good.

 

[RickRacer]

Here's a list of ford heads and it clearly says C5AE is a Hi-po head.

http://raceabilene.com/kelly/hotrod/engine3.html

I'm wondering if Ford used regular 289 heads for awhile and modified them and called them hi-po heads. There's no double bump 289 marks or spring pockets so maybe Ford went cheap?

 

[blkfrd]

those are not Hi-Po heads , just worked over regular heads

I think they are Hi Po heads. I can make out the slotted pushrod holes in the first pic.

That looks like brazing in the exhaust ports...not epoxy

 

[KULTULZ]

According to my ford book head number C5AE is a Hi-Po head unless they printed the book wrong. I know there are no valve spring pockets but they do have the smaller 52-55cc chamber which is good.

The HP head is C5AE-E.

 

[dennis112]

Whether they are Hipo or not doesn't really matter much now except as a conversation piece. Since they were ported, even if they were no doubt true HiPo's with the cast-in spring pockets, they are not worth much more than any other modified 289 head.

I think they are Hi Po heads. I can make out the slotted pushrod holes in the first pic.

All early SBF Ford heads through 65' have slotted pushrod holes. The 289 HiPo's continued it through 67'.

 

[DanH]

Here's a list of ford heads and it clearly says C5AE is a Hi-po head.

http://raceabilene.com/kelly/hotrod/engine3.html

I'm wondering if Ford used regular 289 heads for awhile and modified them and called them hi-po heads. There's no double bump 289 marks or spring pockets so maybe Ford went cheap?

you want them to be HiPo's , then they are ,
never try to sell them as hi po's

 

[RickRacer]

Since there not hi-po heads they'll still work as good, sometimes wishing just isn't enough but Dan I wouldn't pass them off as hi-po likes like the guy I bought them from did to me. Of course it's my fault for not doing a better check and like Dennis said it doesn't really matter.

Anyone know how much getting bigging valves put in them might cost?

 

[Hottarod]

Install hard seats starts around $125 or so last time I checked. Just putting in larger seats won't do it though. You'll need to grind on the heads or it will be money wasted. To pay somebody to work the heads will be cost prohibitive. It would be better to just get a better set of heads.

 

[blkfrd]

Whether they are Hipo or not doesn't really matter much now except as a conversation piece. Since they were ported, even if they were no doubt true HiPo's with the cast-in spring pockets, they are not worth much more than any other modified 289 head.



All early SBF Ford heads through 65' have slotted pushrod holes. The 289 HiPo's continued it through 67'.

I stand corrected. If the rocker studs are screw in, I think this is the other give away for Hi Po 289 heads, but trying to tell some 45 years later if they came that way and haven't been modified is another story. Bottom line is that they are no different in terms of performance than stock 289 heads.

 

[blkfrd]

You asked about larger valves, but the valves look larger than stock already. Have you measured their diameter?

 

[KULTULZ]

I stand corrected. If the rocker studs are screw in, I think this is the other give away for Hi Po 289 heads, but trying to tell some 45 years later if they came that way and haven't been modified is another story. Bottom line is that they are no different in terms of performance than stock 289 heads.

Correct. As to whether they are correct HP heads or a production deviation is immaterial as the technology is ancient and the only true value of a set of untouched heads would be to a restorer or numbers correct freak like myself.

They were actually nothing special when they were introduced except maybe on the very first 260/289 performance engines.

 

[RickRacer]

I know the valves look bigger but there stock for sure.....I had to measure them twice...LOL!

 

[turbo2256b]

The only thing special were the exhaust ports were bigger and shaped better. Ford copied them for the GT40 heads. Been a while since porting a set but I think the intake runner was a bit straighter less of a bump around the guie hole. This kinda varried over the year casing to castings overr the years of SBF small port heads. Ported they flow up to 220isn at .500 lift so do the others. Exhaust can hit in the 190 range.
The other special thing was the small combustion chamber. A few years ago stock classes at the drags were hot for those heads and the 260 heads. Work best with the DOOE 351 size valves in them.

 

[RickRacer]

Since I'm into these heads for only a few hundred I might put the larger 351 windsor valves in, that should utilize the port job better.

 

[Hottarod]

I run 1.94/1.60 valves but these are after market heads. I've been trying now for about 4 months to get these things cleaned up and to the machine shop for rebuild.

You can see they almost touch and this is a 58 cc chamber head. Spark plug angles are also more to the exhaust which is supposed to help. I had to clearance some of my header flanges for them to fit. I have read that 1.84/1.54's will work but you should mic the heads to see for sure.

 

[turbo2256b]

I have tried actually spent months of flow testing small port SBF heads before finding better flow with the 351 DOOE size valves. The small chamber heads shroud the vales too much also. The 1.94 / 1.6
valves work best in the larger port heads like the DOOEs and GT40s.

In the case of the P heads I believe the spark plug is aimed a bit to much towards the exhaust valve which causes it to be spark limited. As most cant run much timing with them.

As for the OP his heads flow well concidering the intake he is planning on upping the valve size wouldnt do all that much. I dont realy know how much cam SBFTECh MIGHT have talked him into.

 

[FEandGoingBroke]

I'd dump them... They look to have been worked over quite enough, and the brass and or epoxy inside probably means that somebody did a boo-boo into a water jacket maybe....

 

[RickRacer]

FE, you think they would have done a boo-boo in every pocket? I could see one or maybe two but not all of them. I'm having a shop check them out and see what they think. If your right then yeah I'll junk them fast!