Reply to "351C Al Head options"

Julian,

Its late in the evening, I'll try to give a quick answer & then back to bed for this old mechanic.

Any SB Ford head will bolt to any SB Ford block, because the bolt pattern is the same. But that's were the similarities end.

Whether or not either head is desirable for YOU depends upon your intended goals for your motor. How much power do you want to get out of it, how much money do you want to spend, how much drivability are you willing to sacrifice, how much reliability are you willing to lose, what are ther many ways you plan to use the car?

The notches in your pistons are cut for a canted valve head, a non-canted valve head will require new pistons. The Yates head is a non-canted valve head. Without knowing anything else, it sounds as though the Brodix head is NOT their canted valve head (BF300, BF301) because of the size of the intake valve. It is most likely the ST 5.0 R head.

I know nothing about your current motor, if it is a 30 year old short block, you do not want to base a major reconfiguration of the motor on that short block, as it would be bound to fail on you. Even a simple installation of new or reconditioned heads will likely result in oil burning on an old set of rings with many miles on them.

Any of the high port heads will require different intake manifolding, and all but 1 will require different exhaust manifolding as well, the exception being the Blue Thunder heads with the lower exhaust port configuration (theres 2 different ex ports to choose from).

If the Brodix head is anything other than a BF200 series (Yates) or a BF300 series (Cleveland) it is not a desireable head for your Pantera, unless you intend to build a 100% Windsor motor. The Yates head is a good, high flowing, power making head.

How about answering the questions about your car, the motor, the budget, how you'll use it, etc & we'll go from there.

Perhaps the pictures below will help identify the Brodix head.

Your friend on the DTBB