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Last fall my car died. Slowing to a stop the car died and I could not start it again. When I tried to start it I had some backfiring so I decided to get the car transported home. Let me just say now that I am an engine moron, so I hope this is not to stupid of a question. Upon pulling off the valve covers, I found that some of the rockers had play in them that would alow a gap between the valve stem and the roller of up to 0.1 in.
the second question is the type of heads I have. I was told that they are probably C302b? under the valve covers the heads had embossed numbers of E2ZM6049 A3. Does this help identify the type of head?
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Where do you live? I would be glad to stop by,replace those junk heads and intake with a pair of stock heads and intake,and get your car running again. It sounds like maybe a distributor problem or you could have the float level too high in the rear bowl and fuel sloshed into the engine when you stopped fowling the plugs and killing the motor.If you have a solid lift cam,there will be a gap(lash) between any of the rockers who's corrisponding lobe is on the base circle(no lift)and the valve tip.But It shouldn't be nearly 0.1"
Just a thought.
Ron
You were probably told they were C302B heads because they are aluminum, and someone wasn't familiar with the variations. The earliest high port aluminum heads were A3 heads. If you go to www.panteraplace.com, and look under technical/315 Cleveland, and scroll down, you will come the head section, and can read about them.

As far as play in the valve train, 0.1 inches seems way too much, but because your engine appears to be extensively modified, you may have either a solid or a hydraulic cam.

Going to high port aluminum heads is an expensive and substantial modification (requires a different intake, and maybe headers.) Someone put a lot of $s into the engine, and it probably would be worth figuring out exactly what you have, and how to make it right.
You appear to have early '80s Ford-SVO A-3 alloy heads with fully adjustable valve train. These heads can run either hydraulic or solid lifter cams. An assembled set of these heads (valves, studs, guideplates etc) currently sells for around $1800-$2000. They are popular with dirt-track, pro-racers of all kinds, drag and others making money racing. They are excellent units, intermediate between 4-V and 2-V heads in terms of valve & port size, are closed chamber probably around 10:1 compression or more, and really work best on big-inch stroker engines. Do NOT throw them away! They can be economically fixed even if broken in two!
> the second question is the type of heads I have. I was told that they are
> probably C302b? under the valve covers the heads had embossed numbers of
> E2ZM6049 A3. Does this help identify the type of head?

Yes, they are Ford Motosport A3 high port heads. The C302B (and B351) are
in the same family but have smaller ports. The early ones had part numbers
like E2ZM 6090 A3. Later ones had part numbers like E2ZM 6049 A3. Some of
the very early ones may also have something like "Phase 1 1/2" cast in and
they all should have a pad with a cast-in date code, something like 11/15/84N.
It'll likely be near a bolt hole. All A3's will have raised circular exhaust
ports and most A3's have a 4V-width intake port with a raised port floor.
There were also some rare narrow port A3's which have C302B-sized intake
ports. I have 3 sets of A3 heads, two are wide port and one is a Phase 1 1/2
narrow port. All of the A3's and B351's and some C302B's will have one head
bolt boss that is shorter in height than the others. Later C302B's went to
equal height bosses.

You should have a matching intake manifold, possibly an A331.

Dan Jones
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