are older blocks forged ?

ok well i ve been asking about these heads i have that came off a motor i just bought from a guy and i check the casting codes and it looksl ike the motor is a 1986-1990 5.0 i remember somone telling me once the the internals to those motors were forged .. does anyone know if there is any truth to this . by the way the cast code on the heads is e6se -aa

up until 1992 they were using forged pistons on the 5.0

what about the cranks or the rods ... whats the most boost pressure/ nitrous pill you can put to those blocks using stock internals ?

Most i've seen on a stock block car driven at that level regularly is into the low 500's for RWHP. I would keep it below 500 RWHP for longevity.

Also, FWIW the cast crank and rods will handle more power than the weak stock block will, so don't worry about doing anything to them other than maybe throwing in some ARP studs and bolts.

Wouldn't hurt to shave and shot-peen(is that how you spell it?) the rods. You really probably wouldn't even need to that, but that way you could keep the stock internals.

Shot peen/polish/arp bolts. Will make the stock rods very strong.

As for the pistons, first things first. See if they have a slight dish and valve "eyebrows". If so, it's an '87-92 block. If no eyebrows, then it's probably an '86 block, and it's very limited on what heads/cam you can run without changing pistons.

Look at the bottom of the pistons with the oil pan off. The forged ones have TRW stamped on the bottom of them.

There isn't an "86-90" motor. They changed to the TRW's and E7TE heads in 1987, and that engine remained virtually unchanged until 1992 (with the exception of the addition of mass air in 88/89). In '93 they switched to hyper pistons.

Not trying to be negative, but it's cheaper to find out now than it is to put in a bigger cam or too big a nitrous shot on those higher-compression pistons..

ok well i do know that has flattop pistons with no valve clearance reliefs in them .. i havent pulled the oilpan to see if the pistons are stamped underneath i will do that when i pull the crank to have it knifeedged. does anyone know what the compression of that motor is? im assuming in the neighborhood of 9.0to1 .. btw .. thanks for all the help from everyone . im really learning alot

9.2 is stock for that motor. Really sounds to me now like it's an '86. Those heads are worse than your stock heads.

If I were you, I'd save up a little, and put in some SRP or DSS pistons, and get some GT-40 or GT-40P heads used. That will give you a good gain from stockers, and be very reliable.

yeh i dont plan on going with the heads that were on the motor im gonna go with somethings that flows way more... are those pistons any good that come in an 86 motor .. would it be reliable enough to run a 175 -200 shot if i had the fuel to back it .. and re ring the pistons ?

Honestly, 351 4V heads are just as good as the GT40 heads, and much less expensive. In the end, you can get just as much power out of them. You just need a good port and polish. Everyone overlooks these heads, and go for the 40's. Hope this helps. :)

Honestly, 351 4V heads are just as good as the GT40 heads, and much less expensive. In the end, you can get just as much power out of them. You just need a good port and polish. Everyone overlooks these heads, and go for the 40's. Hope this helps. :)

Alot of gear heads will tell you the the 351 4v heads are the best the ford ever produced. I have a set that will be swapped on my mustnag as soon as I port and rebuild them.

Ok, I'm lost on what motor we're talkin about with heads... 351c 4vs or 351w 4vs? 351c 4vs are the best american smallblock factory head. With a home porting job by an amateur, 320+cfm isn't difficult. Professionals have been pushing 375cfm out of stock heads for decades. I don't know much about the windsor 4vs. 351c 2vs are also a good choice if you want more streetable power. Or you could get aftermarket aluminum cleveland heads and use them, they're some of the best aftermarket heads out there. Dave Storlien used them in the Engine Master's Challenge back in 2003 I believe and almost won... He made something like 605hp at 6500rpm on pump gas. The heads were CHI heads, available exactly as he ported them from CHI for around $1500 bare. Any cleveland head is easily retrofitted to a windsor. Called a 'clevor', or 351x, or for a 302, a boss 302 clone. The famous Boss 302 of the '69 used slightly modified 351c 4v heads. 351cs didn't come out until '70, even though the heads debuted in '69. The Boss 302 actually used bigger valves than the 351c 4v's already enormous 2.19/1.71.. I think they were 2.25/1.76. Bigger than most big block valves... I think the best thing for a very cheap 302w would be 302c heads(2bbl closed chamber heads, aka 'Aussie' heads) for what is known as a 'street boss'. There are manifolds available for this combo.

All good, but keep in mind a 302 isn't going to breathe well enough down low for the Cleveland heads...Hell, a 351C didn't breathe well enough for its own 4v heads.

GT-40p's are almost as cheap and easy to find these days. Just have to run special FRPP headers or any MAC header.

All good, but keep in mind a 302 isn't going to breathe well enough down low for the Cleveland heads...Hell, a 351C didn't breathe well enough for its own 4v heads.


I meant to mention that. Thats why I recommended 351c 2v aussie heads, aussie for more compression. It seems whenever I mention a 351c in general people jump on them as having terrible low end, even though the vast majority of them were 2bbl heads, which are a superb street head, excellent low end torque and still flow respectable numbers. Thats why they're on my 351c. Not that I'm blaming you for jumping on them, as I was talking a lot about 351c 4v heads. For race heads, they're some of the best factory heads out there, and compared to others of their era, they're dominantly the best. 351c based engines are the winningest Ford motor ever, and the heads make the motor!

But back on topic, a warmed over 302 will breathe just right for 302c heads with a mild port/cleanup. After all, the heads originally came on factory 302s in australia, hence the term 'aussie heads'. A land where the cleveland was more commonplace than the windsor, seems like a personal paradise to me! And I could have a pet wombat! how cool is that...

(PS: Not that the windsor is anything to scoff at, but if you couldn't tell, I'm a self proclaimed cleveland freak... clevelands are my passion)

Not jumping on them at all. I've done an Aussie Cleveland-headed 400M build (that was one mean sucker). Fact of the matter is, though, there are too many other options right now. Heck, you can pick up used Iron Windsor Jr. or Sr.'s pretty cheap. But, most street 302's will never need more than a 1.94 intake valve. Edelbrock performers, Windsor Jr.s, GT-40X's AFR 165's, Etc. are all great heads and are pure bolt ons on a windsor block. Plus he's using an SN95 chassis, I don't want to get into the PITA that cleveland heads would start there..