Porting E7TE heads

I have a set of E7TE heads in the garage I got for free. I had no need for them so I just kept them because I knew I would probably use them. Well I stumbled across this company that specializes in porting E7 heads. Im wanting to buy a cheap fox shell to either put a 302 in or a windsor. I already have the windsor, but it leaks this and leaks that, plus just has a small cam and intake. Or I could send my E7 heads to these people in Florida and have a nice high flow head 302. I can find a block and rotating assembly for very cheap. Heres the link to the company, they seem pretty legit and great price for the work. What do you guys think? Thanks

Thumper of Orange Park

Ryan

Thumper has been around for quite a while and has some devout followers and satisfied customers. Here's a couple of things to consider: It really depends a lot on what level of motor (and which) you are going to build.
For a 302 mildly built street machine, these heads can be all you need. Start heading towards a built 351W stroker and they will gasp at higher rpms.
As talented and experienced as Mike is, there is a limit to the amount of performance you can get out of an E7TE stock head, and it is a lot less than a set of Edelbrock Performers, much less AFR's or some of the others out there.
Unless something has changed since I last looked, he won't disclose flow numbers on his heads, and I would be surprised if they outflowed GT-40P's.
That being said, I have to agree with him that there is much more to a heads performance than simple flow numbers. I think it is probably better to have more head than necessary than to be under, but just barely. In other words, too much is nearly as bad as too little. Matching components to achieve the correct balance is crucial to achieving performance in any level of build.
If you are going for a 302 with a cam and induction that's not too radical, they can be a viable option. You may even be able to get by with them on a mild 351W, (especially if you are looking for more low end torque), but there are probably better ways to go for that and IMO that's about the point where these heads are stretched to their limit.

I appreciate your advice. I am definitely doing a budget build, which is why I can't cash out on alum. heads. That would be the route I would take if I had more $$$. However, I feel that just the port on these heads along with a intake, carb, and headers, i would be satisfied for the money I would be spending. It seems like its a good price for the performance. Maybe I'm completely wrong. My friends 302 has cast heads ported like Thumpers ( maybe not as extreme ) and he was runnin 10.10s in the 1000ft. that seemed very impressive to me. I was reading customers responses on heads and they were running 12s with the heads and the b 303 cam. Would it be bad to put these heads on a mostly street driven little track motor?

Originally Posted by 73FordDriver

I appreciate your advice. I am definitely doing a budget build, which is why I can't cash out on alum. heads. That would be the route I would take if I had more $$$. However, I feel that just the port on these heads along with a intake, carb, and headers, i would be satisfied for the money I would be spending. It seems like its a good price for the performance. Maybe I'm completely wrong. My friends 302 has cast heads ported like Thumpers ( maybe not as extreme ) and he was runnin 10.10s in the 1000ft. that seemed very impressive to me. I was reading customers responses on heads and they were running 12s with the heads and the b 303 cam. Would it be bad to put these heads on a mostly street driven little track motor?

I don't think so, like I said, better a little too much than too little. Actually it's better to have quite a bit too much than too little. From what I gather about what you are building, you should be very happy with them until you decide you have more money and want to go a lot bigger and a lot faster.
What parts are you thinking about using ; block, intake, cam, pistons, rods, crank?

Its going to be a budget build so all I was wanting to do was find a a rebuilt block with rotating assembly. Ive seem them floating around for about 800 bucks or so. use those thumper heads with the cam, open plenum intake, edelbrock 650 DP, headers and exhaust. Maybe later down the line spraying a 150 shot or so. I have 1.6 SVO RR in my windsor that i would use for it too. And ill just use the new timing chain and gears from the windsor as well as timing chain cover and water pump since it all switches over. I figured that would suit me good for now. Til next year then Ill probably do something different

Did a little research. Found that B303 is mainly for manual and E303 is mainly for auto. And that if I use a b303 cam with 1.72 RR I should be fine with Piston to Valve clearance.

Ryan

I followed the link you posted and apparently Thumper does post flow numbers and (at least according to him) his heads outflow GT40P's by a little bit. I stand corrected.
As for the parts and pieces: I'm not sure what you mean by "open plenum manifold", is that a single plane? You might be a lot happier with an Edelbrock RPM Air Gap with that B303 cam and 650 DP.
Speaking of cams... I think Ford's letter/number cams suck, and if you PM me I can provide mucho back-up to support my position.
There are 2 ways to move more air through a head: more duration, (valve stays open longer) and lift ( valve opens more).
If you look at all the flow numbers on those Ford heads, you will notice that every one of them flows more on the intake side than the exhaust. Why then, would you have a cam that has the same lift and duration for both like the B303?
IMHO, Comp Cams makes the most awesome grinds available short of custom grinds. Their Extreme Energy grinds, in particular, are in a class by themselves. I would think maybe a 35-328-8 (XE-276-HR) might be close for your app.Although this is an EFI grind, they work well in carbed vehicles as well.
Here's another option:COMP Cams® - Cam Details.
If you go to the top of the page, there should be a Comp Cams help line that you can call and give all your info to a Tech and he will recommend a grind for you. After months of research, I called and they recommended the exact same grinds I was considering for my 399W stroker.

Doug is throwing you some great advice here, and I won't undercut it, but rather give you an option I just found. These are often overlooked heads that really run very well. Ford's 'special offer' is two assembled Z304A heads and FRPP roller rockers for about the same price as a single bare head! Very good deal. Whatever Thumper would charge, say $200 in quality rockers and the other $1000 for these 204cc heads is worth the step-up. Yeah, they may be a bit big for now - but you'll have the room to grow pretty darned fat.

Just throwing it at you for chewing. Ford uses these heads on a streetable hydro-cam 393 crate motor conservatively rated at 475 HP.

David

While we're throwing out options, here's something to consider:SBF FORD ALUMINUM CYLINDER HEADS 190CC ASSEMBLED #3037:eBay Motors (item 370246894715 end time Sep-16-09 17:18:41 PDT).
I have no personal experience with Pro Comp heads. Some swear by them-others at them. Personally, I believe it is like most other Chinese products, they will never rival American made, but the price is so darn attractive, and they can serve the purpose well for the right application.I think the biggest problem is quality control, which isn't what it used to be here, either.
This ad says they are the latest design, which has got to be an improvement over the old ones, which were great by some peoples measure.
The advertised flow numbers are good, and the port CC is a good match for a 302.
Finally, I have seen quite a few of these heads for resale on Ebay by individuals, (both new and used), and they always seem to fetch more than I think they are worth considering the sellers. So it appears you can get most of your money back out of them should you decide to sell.
Naturally, you can find lots of folks totally upset with them, but seeing the numbers of these heads that are sold, and the resale value of them, and the relatively small percentage of dissatisfied customers, I can't believe that they are as bad as some make out. Undoubtedly, they got a bad set of heads. But I have seen a customer get burned by a bad set of AFR's and since they cost about twice as much, that must have hurt twice as bad.
If I was considering spending over $800 in a set of heads, but didn't have the $1200+ it takes to get into the upper end aftermarket heads, I would probably give these a spin.
Additionally, don't discount the posibilty of used aluminum heads.Many people are reluctant to buy used aluminum heads, fearing the worst, but usually you will get a good set of heads. The other thing to look at is when you buy a set of used heads, they are essentially depreciation proof, (unless they were very low miles and you use them for a long time) because they were used when you buy them and they are used when you sell them.
If the person you buy from on Ebay has a high number of transactions and a good rating, chances are better than not that they will do anything to keep it that way, and aren't going to rip you off.

Man both of you guys have provided so much information for me. I was just expecting a few answers and opinions. But you guys have followed through and gone into detail and research. I really appreciate it, thanks a lot! I am, however, a little overwhelmed on all the information too. This is my first time actually going forward on doing a build like this. I have no experience in aluminum heads and how to treat them for daily use. Piston to valve clearances and stuff like that I need to do more research on so Ill know how to measure everything out.

Doug- yes by open plenum I meant a single plane, not dual plane manifold. I could go with an airgap if thats what you think I would need. I will be using a cowl hood since I love the way they look. ( BTW this motor will be going in a fox body once I get the motor together and sell my Torino ) I have heard about the alphabet cams being kind of crappy, but I also heard very good things about them as well. Apparently, they go great with what THumper has to offer. I have not used these cams so I wouldn't know. So I will take your advice. I will PM you about the Comp Cams and your info about them. About those Pro Comp heads, they seem like a great deal. I wasnt planning on spending 1200+ on some heads. Because I still need money for the bottom end and intake, cam, headers, exhaust, extra money for the swap, and of course, buying the car. I should have about 3500 to work with. Found a 89 4cyl 5spd fox for 700 bucks! Anyways, off topic, I'm just trying to shoot for an easy set up for a beginner, on a fairly decent budget, and to make about as close to 325-350hp as I can. I maybe thinking a bit too much but hey you never know. I plan on spraying a 150 shot along with it. I hope a stock bottom end will handle it.

PSIG- Thank you for your advice and looking out. Those are indeed some nice looking heads. What you said about aluminium heads is you can go bigger with alum. heads than what I would pay for with the Thumper package. Im just not sure on spending that much money on heads.

FORD 302 306 308 SHORT BLOCK 350HP + SBF ENGINE MOTOR:eBay Motors (item 130328157653 end time Sep-10-09 06:22:47 PDT)
thought this was a pretty good deal for a roller block and rotating assembly

Ryan

be very aware of ebay junk ... also you need to read more about the pro comp heads .....