Austrailian heads project

[Spike Morelli]

I'm gearing up to assemble a modified engine for my '71 Mach 1. The build up will include a handfull of mods which I can do at the shop, and that may very well be of interest to some other 351c owners. This engine will be in a everyday driver, so an all-out assault on power and speed is not the point, however, some of the mods will seem sort of "racey", but I'm doing them because I can, and It's what we do at work.

First up, are the cylinder heads. As a driver, and a tow vehicle, torque and streetability are prime objectives. I've been running the standard 2V heads for years, but, I think the Aussie 302 closed chamber heads are the way to go, along with the appropriate Icon pistons to keep the C/R liveable with todays gasoline, with good quench and torque happy ports at street rpm. To start off here, I had the heads acid dipped to remove the majority of rust in the water jackets. The guy in charge of cylinder heads, at work here, loaded the heads into the mill for me, for some precision machining of the rocker pedestals, and drilling , tapping of the rocker arm bolt holes to accept 7/16ths screw-in studs and Manley guide plates. I will be running a street grind hydraulic flat tappet cam, but why not do 'em up. They will be receiving  stainless single groove valves, along with a port and bowl work, hardened seats,  and combustion chamber relieving ( valve un-shrouding ). Note, the mill is numerically controlled, so angles, depths, and spacing are perfect and repeatable. Ruben, you the man! Here are some photos to start with...more to come.

 

[tony-muscle]

Sounds like a great upgrade for your ride. Keep us posted. What compression ratio and what cam is in your plans?

 

[Spike Morelli]

Tony, I'll have to post the page from Icon's catalog, showing the special piston inverse dome that goes with the Aussie head chamber configuration. These heads have a smaller combustion chamber than the 4V Clevelands do, and therefore, will raise the compression ratio higher than what pump gas can handle, so a special piston is required. If memory serves, the compression ratio with the Icons is somewhere around 9.0 to 9.5:1.  Chamber cc's , deck volume, and gasket volume , can be juggled, and will dictate the final C/R. The dish in the piston top resembles the chamber shape, so the quench area is retained. The cam I have penciled in to use is one of Crower's milder grinds, I believe they call it the "Torque Monster", or some such name. I'm still on the fence as to the final cam choice, I want to do some more investigating. All of my notes are at work, I am on the internet when I get home, so I'll have to make a note to bring home information. 

The car will be used everyday, the car is an automatic and has A/C and power brakes. No "big lopey Hero camshaft" is even considered, rather a smooth idle. My spare block is a 2-bolt main, as is the engine currently in the car. Lifter bore bushing, and oil system mods are scheduled, and will be photographed and posted. Ignition will remain the Pertronix retrofit system, as it has performed flawlessly for so many years now. Induction is an Edelbrock prototype ( I posted photos elsewhere ) 4v intake for 2v heads , Holley 4160 most likely, although I like the Summit shoebox carb ( formerly sold and designed by Holley ), as it has all the features of a Holley and the Autolite 4100 4v carb combined.

As a side note here, I may take the heads into the flow bench room to get a baseline on what they have  un-modified. This would give me a perameter for the camshaft, then, re-flow the Aussie heads after mods, if any, prior to assembly. At work, I am in charge of Assembly. Assembly is the "make-or-break" moment ( no pun intended ), and I will post detailed assembly technique along with cam degreeing, etc.  I built a hot 406 Ford FE for my ski flatbottom, and posted it to a boat site, and many people told me how much they enjoyed it....so that is what I'm going to do again, here, but with the Mustang engine.  

Some fun shots of my handiwork....a '26 Whippet and a Ferrari 250

 

[timachone]

Spike, 

I am looking forward to your in-depth built thread here. Followed by your explanations as an experienced engine builder it will be of much interest! 

Thank you  :thumb:

 

[rio1856]

Awesome Spike!! I will be following this. Thank you for sharing.

 

[71coop]

Good Post! Following this one.

 

[tony-muscle]

Tony, I'll have to post the page from Icon's catalog, showing the special piston inverse dome that goes with the Aussie head chamber configuration. These heads have a smaller combustion chamber than the 4V Clevelands do, and therefore, will raise the compression ratio higher than what pump gas can handle, so a special piston is required. If memory serves, the compression ratio with the Icons is somewhere around 9.0 to 9.5:1.  Chamber cc's , deck volume, and gasket volume , can be juggled, and will dictate the final C/R. The dish in the piston top resembles the chamber shape, so the quench area is retained. The cam I have penciled in to use is one of Crower's milder grinds, I believe they call it the "Torque Monster", or some such name. I'm still on the fence as to the final cam choice, I want to do some more investigating. All of my notes are at work, I am on the internet when I get home, so I'll have to make a note to bring home information. 

The car will be used everyday, the car is an automatic and has A/C and power brakes. No "big lopey Hero camshaft" is even considered, rather a smooth idle. My spare block is a 2-bolt main, as is the engine currently in the car. Lifter bore bushing, and oil system mods are scheduled, and will be photographed and posted. Ignition will remain the Pertronix retrofit system, as it has performed flawlessly for so many years now. Induction is an Edelbrock prototype ( I posted photos elsewhere ) 4v intake for 2v heads , Holley 4160 most likely, although I like the Summit shoebox carb ( formerly sold and designed by Holley ), as it has all the features of a Holley and the Autolite 4100 4v carb combined.

As a side note here, I may take the heads into the flow bench room to get a baseline on what they have  un-modified. This would give me a perameter for the camshaft, then, re-flow the Aussie heads after mods, if any, prior to assembly. At work, I am in charge of Assembly. Assembly is the "make-or-break" moment ( no pun intended ), and I will post detailed assembly technique along with cam degreeing, etc.  I built a hot 406 Ford FE for my ski flatbottom, and posted it to a boat site, and many people told me how much they enjoyed it....so that is what I'm going to do again, here, but with the Mustang engine.  

Some fun shots of my handiwork....a '26 Whippet and a Ferrari 250

Is the ICON piston the IC881 by any chance? I ask because that's the one I have, but I don't have Aussie head.

 

[Carolina_Mountain_Mustangs]

Tony<
Great that you are sharing your knowledge on engine building. I miss the days of being able to walk in my friends engine shop and build an engine. Seems like most of my old racing friends have departed. Back in the 60's we did not have all the great equipment they have today.

 

[c9zx]

Spike, Thanks for taking the time to post the details of the build. I'm especially interested in the before and after head flow numbers as I've never worked with 302C heads before. Chuck

 

[Spike Morelli]

Yeah Chuck, I personally haven't ever flowed any heads at the shop previously, as I am the Engine Assembler, and the head dept is manned by two other guys. One of the head dept guys has been doing heads for 35 years now, is super talented ( Ruben ) not only with the heads, but is a master welder, self-taught no less! So he will show me the ropes with the Superflow Bench. Keep in mind that this will be a street engine, and , depending, I may not be focusing on any flow figures above, say around .500" to .550" lift.

I am doing a Hi-Po 289 con-currently, and looking at moving out of state, so the postings may take longer to put together. Add to all that we're super busy right now at work...Geeeezze, everybody on furlough is digging out projects.

 

[c9zx]

Spike, It sounds like a busy time for you. From what I have read in many places the stock flow seems to plateau at about .450 lift. it will be interesting to see some real data. Where are you considering relocating to? There are a lot of friendly gear heads here in Oklahoma. The cost of living is reasonable, and other than the recent insane cold spell, the weather is moderate. Thanks for keeping us updated. Chuck

 

[Carolina_Mountain_Mustangs]

If you want to relocate I am 100 miles from Charlotte a hot bed for NASCAR. Also lots of drag racers here. One local engine builder Ben Barnes that did lots of boats engines and NASCAR is about to retire. Might be a place to check he is in Asheville, N.C. . Was going to get him to do my machine work, balance and dyno my next build. We use to Kart race at same track. He was two stroke we were 4 stroke. He won 95% fo the races probably. That would be a move coast to coast but no mud slides, fires or earth quakes either. Can snow ski, go to beach and hunt if you are into.

 

[Spike Morelli]

Well, it looks like I'm moving around June 1st, so I have to take a hiatus from the Aussie head work-up, as time is creeping up and I have lots to pack. The 289 heads however, have a head start, are coming along nicely, and will be part of a Hi-Po build. Photos of that process are being taken and will get posted when completed, before the move. I just had 3 engine blocks acid-dipped to remove rust and corrosion, prior to moving, because I'm not aware of any acid dipper where I'm moving to ( sigh ).

For the 289 Hi-Po project, I'll be modifying a set of '65 289 non-Hi-Po castings, as modifying the hard to find and expensive Hi-Po castings, is a travesty for restorers, and there is no advantage, breathing-wise. Four of the pushrod slots in these castings I have are worn, and the pushrods would fit sloppy, so they are good candidates to put guide plates on, and I'm machining for screw-in studs anyway. Heads are acid-dipped. Here's some before photos of the 289 C5AE heads. ARP is the stud manufacturer of choice, and the 5/16th guide plates are Pro-Stock Engineering pieces ( Pro-Stock Engineering is no longer, I've just happened to have the plates in my stock for 30 years). Heads will receive bronze K-liner guides, chambers relieved for larger valves, ( Shelby 1.880/ 1.600 ), hardened exhaust seats, and a full competition port and polish including chambers. Our shop did some work for Carroll Shelby back when, and these will be just as they were done then, save for welding up the "banana ports", not necessary to my build.

 

[Idaho Chris]

Where are you moving?

 

[Spike Morelli]

Boise, Idaho where my wife is from, and all of her family lives there. I've been going there for the last 20 years, and have gotten to know a few miscreants there. I'm gonna have to get another car to drive in Winter inclement weather. That's one of the hardest things to wrap my head around, with the move. I'm not a truck guy at all, most guys there are pick-up minded, I may have to bow to necessity.

 

[c9zx]

Spike, The utility of a full sized pickup truck is amazing. I didn't own one until 1989. I have not, and will not be, without one until I'm too old to drive. Good luck on the relocation and the 289 build. What is the 289 going into? Chuck

 

[Spike Morelli]

The 289 is a Hi-Po/ Shelby engine build up I'm doing for myself...from parts...I don't have a car for it.  I'd like to put it in a '32 roadster eventually. When I see small block Fords in hot rods, it seems I've seen every incarnation except this legendary powerplant, so I got the calling to build one from scratch. I had a C5AE-E block, bought the main caps from a private source, along with the harmonic balancer, centrifical dual point dist, flywheel,  had a Hi-Po crank, rods, early timing set with the counterweight, etc. Holman/Moody supplied the cam ground on a factory Hi-Po core. This will, for all intents be a proper component assembled 289 Hi-Po build ( again, not using the restorer correct heads ), with Shelby's externals and the affore mentioned competition head work. Even using the correct factory fasteners for assembly.

I used to have a '65 Mustang K code GT coupe years ago, also a '66 Gt-350, and I never forgot how that  engine liked to rev. Today, guys can just buy  aftermarket blocks, aluminum heads, stroker kits, rollers, add infinitum , but that's too easy, the modern builds don't have the lineage and soul that  builds used to, at least, it seems to me. Many have asked me why a "High performance 289"? Maybe because very few have one.  I guess it either turns you on, or it doesn't.

As for the pick-up truck deal, who knows, I may go that route.

 

[droptop73]

That sounds like a great build. I wish you the very best on the move, that may be quite the adjustment for a SoCal boy. I think it would be easier to move from north to south, that said I really dislike the cold. 

As for the truck issue... I drove trucks most of my life then went to a car and got a utility trailer. I very seldom used my truck as a truck. Now I get 30 MPG and can haul what I need. To me it's the best of both worlds. It'd be a hoot to see your Mach at the Home Depot with a utility trailer attached... 

 

[Spike Morelli]

I know the blog started out as an Australian Head project heading, but the 289s are further along, so I'll show you those. 

The first photo shows the new hardened exhaust seats installed, sized to accept the 1.600 valves. Chambers are "roughed and relieved". Note gentle radius of chamber wall to seat.