does d80e stock heads repond well to porting?

[lg's67coupe]

hi, im a new member but have been around as a guest from time to time, and come to value some members experence and knowledge. Anyways, enough butt kissing lol . Ive got a problem maybe you guys could possibly help me out with. Ive heard the d80e heads were
crap due to poor flow, my question is how well do these heads respond to a good porting job? Reason being ive sent these heads to a machine shop and now have several dollars tied up in these fine
pieces. Any POSITIVE lol feedback would be helpfull. Thanks

[smokedchevy]

Any head porting would help with flow, but unfortunately those aren't the best heads for making power. How much power are you trying to make?

[lg's67coupe]

i know this is a long shot, but im shootin for 400

[lg's67coupe]

im sure ive got what it takes, just wondering if those heads are going to hold me back.
10:1 flat top k&b's, lanatti 488 lift 298 dur hyd. cam, lanatti lifters,springs,locks,keepers, roller rockers, gasket matched wieand stealth intake, 650 edelbrock carb,1 5/8 hooker header comp w/3 inch collector to 2 1/2 h pipes 40 series flows all behind 4 speed top loader... in case your wondering why im using d8's i thought they were d7's and found this out after i got them back from machine shop. and I know some ones going to say
just save up and get some good aluminum heads, i will in due time. My buddy (machinist) just gave me an offer i could not refuse. port&polished,little bowl work,
3 angle valve job,teflon guides,installed springs&and ext. all for resheet rocking a small bedroom 16 hours over a couple of weekends. sweet deal

[rwhite65]

U could probably make decent power with those heads, but they are not gonna be what you want if u are shooting for 400 hp. I am not saying you have to save up for aluminum heads, but if u use those D80e's they are going to hold back ur engines potential.

I ported the e7's and have no money in them, but now I want some better flowing heads. Personally, I would unload the ones you have now and bump up to a set of e7's at least. Put them on ebay for what you have in them and see if anyone bites.

If you want to do it with those heads, go for it. Just hate to see you go and put it all together only to wish you had used a better head the first time around.
Ryan

[smokedchevy]

400 horses is pretty healthy for a naturally aspirated motor. Is it a 302 or 351 you have? To me it looks like your combo will yield around 260-275hp if it's a 302, IMHO. 400 horses out of a 302 is going to have to spin around 6500rpm. Head flow will probably have to be around 280cfm on the intake side. Victor Jrs, AFR 185's, Ford Racing Z head..... Have your buddy flow test your heads when he is done. You'll know exactly how much power you can make with the flow numbers. 650 carb is perfect. Victor Jr heads with a victor jr intake and a more aggressive cam in the 560-580" lift area with around 260@.050 solid lifter....that'll hit 400! Just my two cents.....

Im a good bench racer.

[lg's67coupe]

smokedchevy, dont you think those numbers are alittle light for a 302,considering a stock 302 is rated at 225 hp? If not how did you come up with that conclusion?

[lg's67coupe]

rwhite65, You ever run your 65' at the track? If so whats your et?

[smokedchevy]

Alow me to try to explain my gibberish!! LoL....D80e stock heads will probably flow around 140-150cfm at .500 lift. Since your cam is opening the valve at a max of .488, it'll probably be a little lower. Without flow testing them, we wont know. A stock 302 with e7t heads will flow around 164cfm. Considering airflow with e7t's yields 220hp...the smaller d80e head will make less power. The stock roller cams are very efficient in the 302. Your cam is slightly bigger, but the head does not flow as good. If your buddy gets em to flow better, over 164cfm you'll be able to make more power. The fact that you have higher compression and a bigger cam will yield more power, but those heads are going to bottle neck you. I figured, with the baseline of 220hp, add some power with the intake, cam, and compression, but take away power with those restrictive heads. My guess around 270 hp.

The highly sought after GT40P heads flow around 190cfm at .500 lift. Those heads flow nowhere near enough to make 400 hp. The edelbrock Victor Jr flow 266cfm @ .500 lift and 288cfm @.600 lift. They pick up another 20cfm by getting a cam that lifts the valve another .100". Beyond that, getting a bigger cam will not yield the flow to offset the radical cam design.

Getting a 302 to make 400 horses will require making 1.32hp per cubic inch. That's alot!! If it were a 460 big block, that'd be equivalent to making that engine make 607.2hp. That's a pure race motor. In your particular combo, the compression is there, and that manifold will probably do it. In my humble opinion, you're going to need a bigger cam and a set of Grade AA heads. Whether it be Victors, World Sr, AFR 185s, etc.....

[lg's67coupe]

smokedchevy, what lift cam do you suggest, now that im running a manual tranny and brakes i could possibly handle a larger lift?

[lg's67coupe]

By the way I was not doubting your calculations a was just thinking alittle more,did you come up with these numbers after the heads being hogged out? just curious.

[rwhite65]

lg's67coupe
No, I have not run the car at the track in the last 7 or so years. After having a cam issue this year with the new combo, the car needs some tuning that I put off until the cold weather was here and it was time to put her away. Come spring though, she will get to the track ASAP.

I personally have learned the hard way it is not the amount of power I want, but how fast do I want to go. Weight can be taken out of the car; suspension tuning can be done fro traction, etc. Just as important, I have learned it is not the size of one particular component, but how well u match all of the components together.

Look at it this way, some knowledge I have learned from this board has helped me a lot. Your engine is basically an air pump. The more air u can get in and then get out will equal better hp. Now try blowing thru one of those little coffee stirrer straws, then try blowing thru a regular sized Burger King (or similar) straw. Your heads are for stirring coffee, not washing down that Whopper. To be honest, my heads are not much better.

So if you want to keep those heads, again, I say go for it. Just be ready to have to spend a lot more money maybe to come up short in the long run anyhow. I will tell you there are a couple of guys on this board running some pretty sick times with some pretty basic set-ups. But their parts have been matched together incredibly well.

Ryan

[rwhite65]

Keep one thing in mind though, your buddy may be good at porting, but there are more principals to getting good flow over just opening up the ports. Try this link, some good reading. If this is stuff you already know, I apologize and just ignore. http://thumperoforangepark.com/
Ryan

[smokedchevy]

My horsepower guess was with those heads ported.

Unfortunately, I can't suggest a cam. You need to call a cam company with your cylinder head flow numbers, weight of the car, rear end gears, gears in 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th in the tranny, carb size, etc..... The cam you have looks like a good street grind. The heads you have probably cannot handle too much more cam. Your car will run worse and not make that much more power with a bigger cam. It'll sound cool though!!

Rwhite65 makes a good point in that the key is matching everything. The NMRA Factory Stock racers are gettin 330 horses at the rear wheel with stock pieces like cast iron GT40 and Explorer heads. They spend bucks on the dyno tweaking everything though. It wouldn't be cost effective to you to go that route because you're not restrcited in what head you can run. I think you'll be totally blown away with the power if you leave everything else the same and get some good heads. Maybe you can sell those heads and get some other ones.

World products makes some pretty good iron heads that are cheap. You're going to want the Windsor Sr. if you're going for 400 hp. Since you have heads already, maybe you can buy them bare. Summit sells them for around $300 a piece bare. $400 a piece assembled. For around $800, you can have heads that flow 220cfm! You'll be shredding the tires off your stang.

[rwhite65]

Originally Posted by smokedchevy

My horsepower guess was with those heads ported.

World products makes some pretty good iron heads that are cheap. You're going to want the Windsor Sr. if you're going for 400 hp. Since you have heads already, maybe you can buy them bare. Summit sells them for around $300 a piece bare. $400 a piece assembled. For around $800, you can have heads that flow 220cfm! You'll be shredding the tires off your stang.

This is the route I am leaning towards this next year. It has been between a nitrous system or some better heads. Since I am looking to buy a house in the near future, the Sr heads seem to be a budget oriented way to get the power I am lookin for.

I am then gonna turn around and try and sell the e7's on Ebay.
Ryan

[smokedchevy]

Good job! Don't sacrifice house money for car money. Having your cash tied up in a house will yield far more money than those heads! Especially out here in southern CA. A message from your local Realtor.....

[lg's67coupe]

thanks for the info guys, you know i think i might just hold off on assembling this motor untill i get some heads, you guys talked me into it. lol i just want as much power as i can get for as little money as possible,and im sure im not alone. man its weird i hear everybody putting there cars up for the winter. were i live there is no winter. except for last christmas first time its snowed on christmas since 18.. something. dont know exactlly but well over one hundred years