Interesting video series on the FE engines. I'm glad to see someone keeping the fire burning for this old workhorse of an engine. Back in the early 80's I built one of these for my 71 Ford pickup and it was a beast. I remember using parts from a 352, 390OR (don't remember what that meant now) and 428 engines. I used an old factory aluminum 4 bbl intake and the large tube cast iron exhaust manifolds from a Galaxie 500, external balancer, Lunati cam and a version of the early medium riser heads that we reworked with larger valves and bigger springs. It was way more engine than a truck needed as most of the power became tire spin. But from a rolling start it was a terror on the street. Maybe the original Farmtruck, haha.
Yeah, my ex girlfriend's Dad had a 68 F100 4wd pickup. 390 375hp heads. He had big 33 mudders on it, but to see that thing jump into action at will was like no other. If I'm not mistaken it was geared 3.90 front and rear, so it overcame the tire size but would still make all 4 of them eat pavement, with an awesome 60' blast...
Another quick way to tell if you have the GT head in the car is to put a straight edge on the middle two top exhaust bolts. The front and back port top bolt should be 1/4-1/2 inch lower. That’s how the made the extra room to fit in those tight spaces.
c4ae heads typically have a larger combustion chamber but bigger intake ports than the c8ae heads which have smaller combustion chambers and smaller intake ports......but the c8ae make more power, so be careful not all larger intake port heads make more power........then there is the velocity debate regarding smaller to large ports....like the clevelanf 4v vs the 2v heads.
Very good information. I own my fathers 1958 ford thunderbird. It has the original 1958 , 352 interceptor engine. It runs great with 32k original miles. I wonder what heads are on this engine? Considering they raced the 1958 Thunderbirds in Dayton of 59 . then they were outlawed after a 1, 2, 3. Finish at the 1959 Dayton 500.
"E.D.C." heads. That's what your 352 would have. They are pretty much the same as like the C4AE-G heads except for your combustion chambers are machined instead of simply cast in the head. But everything else is the same. Same valves & same ports & what not. But if it's original & you look in-between the center spark plugs they should say EDC were the others have what you saw on this video like C4AE-G.
Low ,medium and high riser labels are for the 427 heads only. I like the tall port small chamber early 4 barrel heads you show , But they are very close to the 427 Low riser casting.
Great video. the High riser heads also came on the 427 which is a FE engine too. the smallest FE was a 332 and that came out in 1958 along with the 352 that year. they had a FT engine as well and a example of that is the 330.
The “GT” heads also were on the 1966 & 1967 Fairlane GT & GTA’s, with special GT cast iron headers. These are very rare. The “R” code (427) Fairlane’s had special cast iron headers that had the medium riser heads with the two bolt pattern.
You're close on your casting numbers BUT... Part numbers are assigned for a specific design for the FIRST MODEL YEAR the part will be used. Designs usually happen three years in advance, but the part number will be for the first model year. The design may be carried over for many years (with different revisions, which is the last character) OR the design may be dropped after one or two years. You plainly see there is a difference in DESIGN between your C4 and C6 heads, which is why they have different part numbers. Ford may have produced (carried over) the C4 in subsequent years along with the C6, let's say for Marine engines or Construction engines. By no means does the newer part number mean the old part was dropped. It's not crazy if you understand production and product engineering. Ford made probably 50 different FE heads/intake manifold combinations.Yes, TE is a light 'truck engine'. The 'A' designation shows it was designed for 'Ford' line of cars. Yes, Edsel also shared many Ford parts but the casting will only show the original intended use which was, 'Ford' or 'A' designation.Also, the foundry designation will be cast into the part such as, DIF for Dearborn Iron Foundry or CIF for Cleveland Iron Foundry. MCC is Michigan Casting Center in Flatrock, MI, which came to be after DIF shut down.
simplyconnected I have taken apart 289s with c5 blocks and c3 connecting rods. I was always told the number refers to when the casting (or forging) was designed.
@@andystreets4660 engine designs made it to casting years before production, in minute quantities. Test pieces for engineers, limited production experimenta😊l castings, castings for real world testing but not production. The coveted maximum 100 production units required exclusively for stock car racing. All of these were designed years in advance of the first model production date, but the stock car ones were sometimes cast only few weeks before their first public race. To keep them secret. But previous to that, multiple test castings and engineering runs would have been completed. Most of those were thrown into the furnace after study and testing. A few survived.
Please help, I've got a Ford block, casting numbers as always are kinda herd to read, this us what I'm seeing, any help would be greatly appreciated . AE60158 or B for the last. Thank you
You are missing the first four digits. What are they? All Ford engine blocks have 6015 in the part number. We call this the BASE NUMBER. The first four (prefix) digits are the decade, year, model car (or truck) it was generally made for and the 'engineering number, then the base number, then the revision letter'(suffix). So, if you have a C6AE 6015A, that is a specific model block that was designed in 1966 for Ford cars with a REVISION A. Rev. 'B' could be a drastic change from 'A' intended for a different model, like for taxi or a police car, with slightly different block alloy for constant service. For example, C6AE 6015-A blocks may have been manufactured for many years because the block didn't change.
@@daviddare5550 thanks let me check again the motor originally to my knowledge came from a 68 f100. The guy I got it from said it was a 360 but the intake ports look pretty big.
Great vid, good to write out the numbers so we could see it clearly but you should have shown where the actual number is on the head. Just a tip for future videos.
The GT bolt pattern was needed when a FE was installed in unibody cars. The 428 CJ heads also have the dual exh. pattern. Did you see my 871 blown FE shop truck?
Hi thanks for all the info on FE heads, i just bought a '65 T bird last summer with 390 4 barrel, not sure what the head numbers are yet, i have been told the motor is numbers matching. Looking forward to more videos.
The Low riser, medium Riser and Hi Riser are 427 heads. The low riser was only produced in 63 and 64. The high riser was only produced on 150 car in 1964 only. Those were the 100 Thunderbolts and the 50 Lightweights. Any 427 after 64 was a med riser. The CJ was a lot like a med riser than anything. The rare special CJ head was the Canadian head that was on the 68-1/2 cars.
The high riser heads didn't offer that much performance over the medium riser heads when you take into consideration how high the manifold is, and how high the carburetor sits on it with relation to the hood line. For all out racing high riser heads with a hood scoop was the best Ford had at the time. Later on they came out with a tunnel port head that blew everything else away.
Yes I agree the medium port head like the C4 casting in the video is probably the best all around performance head for street/strip use for all out race stuff it's probably best to go with aftermarket heads anyway the high riser head is kind of a restoration head when you want a numbers correct car and engine they are really a collectors peice
@@Myvintageiron7512 late to the party but C4AE-6090-G head is a low riser head. The C6AE-6090-U head is a medium riser head. The medium riser head has smaller ports than the low riser or high riser heads. The medium riser had advantages over the low riser because the port floor was elevated and offered a much straighter shot in the airflow towards the valve opening. That means that the short side radius has less of a problem an angle and thus better overall flow characteristics. Open up that medium riser port and it will outflow the low riser easily.
So I have a 70 f-250 I was told it’s a 360. Doing some looking it’s an iron 4bbl,number c5ae9425c intake,the heads are C8AE-h and as close as I can see without taking apart the stroke is close to 3.9 curious as to what you think the engine is. It’s coming out anyhow as I’m restoring the truck. But I’d like to know what you think. I thought the 360 was 3.5 inch stroke.
At 4:46 "...the Hi-riser...on the 428 Cobra-jet..." Uh, no. The Hi-riser was all done & done by the time the 428 CJ came out...at least for street applications. The whole of the FE line was a time of intense experimentation, but most all of it was done by about 1969. The Hi-risers were useless for the street, it bitched & moaned when run on the bottom half of the Tach...With the Tunnel-port some of the same problems came up, it was only the SOHC where they realized the various convoluted intake passages could not have been improved much more, only the unimpeded straight shot of the intakes could major-league power be made.
My dad had a 67 or 68 Ford station wagon with a 428. But I think it had a 2b carburetor. Not sure but I don't think it was high compression. I do remember the 428 badge. By the way I remember those smog injectors showing up in 1966 but the Ford Truck did not have them. I remember people just took the belt off the smog pump. It was a big screw up to remove the smog pump because you could not get it passed for registration when they started smog inspections around 1973. I was there.
When I was 15 my best friend bought a 1965 Galaxy police interpreter. It had a 352 FE 4 bbl.and a Cruze amatic.The old car had suprising power .So I had been in process of building a 68 f100 truck with a 390.I was in need of h.p. parts so I purchased the old car from him for 100dollars. Wanting the intake and adjustable rocker set up that was on it .When my father and I tore it down we noticed the massive size of the intake ports .It matched the size of the port hole of the gasket.Upon further inspection the exhaust ports were the same way .The motor had never been broken into that we could tell .The ports were not polished in any way as cast.What did I have ? I have always wonder .As a kid wasn't aware of alot of things about strange or rare parts .they made awesome power on .o30 over 390 and a sidewinder intake my uncle gave me .Both are long gone .My bad .I would still like to know
Those engines were only available in limited special order numbers, in limited models, in limited years. You had a C5AE B engine, the 390 police intercepter high performance with solid lifters. OR the coveted C5AE A E D or H 427.
I got a set of those GT heads From a 68 Torino GT 390 4 speed New York State car I think emissions system was called 'Thermactor' It had a pump that forced air into exhaust port to add O2 and facilitate the combustion of unburnt hydrocarbons
According to my Dad. Ford had many 390's and 352's in around 1965 that weren't allowing the rings to seat. Ford had to take many back and at least hawn the bores and rering. Not sure how many actually had to have the engines replaced. Some even needed bored out to get the oil consumption to end in those blocks.
The C6AE-U head is not a medium riser. Its just a small " velocity port" head common on non performance engines from mid 66 and up. Even the 390 GT which was a massive disappointment in power. We call them smog heads ( I know they don't have the smog bosses but same head) because they suck. Anyway, the C4AE-G heads are low riser big port heads. Very close to CJ heads with smaller valves. Medium Riser terminology was only used on the 427 " Medium Riser" engines. You will know when you see a set of 427 medium riser heads as they have massive combustion chambers by today's standards. Unless being period correct skip the small non performance " velocity port" heads of 66 and later even if they are on a 390 GT. The port size and location on these " small port" heads are OK but the throat area is choked down and restrictive.
Well I found a second set off heads that I picked up years ago , pulled them out hoping they were mid rise atleast , but nope c4ae.. heads low... WAS WONDERING were I might be able to purchase some possibly off of you ...THANKS BUDDY
Hello, didn't hear back on the early heads. Don't want to belittle your work here but some extra information below that is documented online. The T didn't always mean truck. For instance the 68 2 barrel T intake was used on car and pickup truck 2 barrel FE. C6TE-G heads could be found on any FE in mid 66 and pickup FE engines used the same XXAE castings as the cars. You do get into truck specific after 1971 due to FE being the last year it was an option in a car. FT engines found in larger trucks to my knowledge all had the T designation. I don't expect anyone to take my word, do your own research.
I had a c8ae-h head and found there are 4 types. There is the gt with and without smog and non gt with an without smog. All 4 have their own part numbers which tells the different tooling each received.
yes and remember what I described in the video is how it works in general however the factory can do what ever they want I ounce found a set of C6 Heads on a 68 it was a one owner car and had never been apart so sometimes the factory would use new old stock castings
So we're you able to determine what the c8aeh was originally from? I have those heads on a 75 f250 that I thought was an original 360fe but apparently not
dude I've been an engine builder for 40 years your date code decipher is really good well explained but when you were talking about the ports on these engines being a low performance a medium performance and high performance you're talking about 2V heads, 4V heads, truck heads.( I don't exactly remember the CCs but the truck heads had large ports and a higher compression ratio) and then your GT heads... the truck heads we're always the best because they had heavier bosses in the castings where you could do Machining for heavier Springs bigger valve guides etc ect
izzynutz2000 The pickup and passenger car heads were the same castings. When you stepped into the GT only the exhaust bolt hole pattern was drilled in different locations in the center ports. Other than that the GT heads were standard production. The CJ and 427 specific heads were not used in passenger or pickup applications. The 2 barrel and 4 barrel designations did not apply to the FE engine. Take a look at fordfe.com, over the years the group has posted many pictures and experiences there.
Someone is blind here. Truck heads were small intake ports. Cars had taller ports. Gt heads had taller ports and exhaust had 4 bolt wholes on outer ports 3 on inner two ports.
A little blurred ol school memory. I raced a 67 Mustang GT. The class rules required stock iron manifolds. My street engine had a low riser crate motor with the 2 bolt exhaust ports, and I ran headers. Iron 2 bolt manifolds wouldn't fit. I found an article, I don't remember where, that schooled me on 390 heads. According to the article the GT heads where nothing more than standard low risers with revised exhaust ports for Mustang fitment. It was the opinion of the writers the GT head has slightly better flow numbers than the standard port head on the exhaust side. IDK I was lucky and found a set with manifolds and raced them. They worked fine.
Chevy Big Block 348 - Why not the 400? - technically an "M" engine. I know a fellow in Boise, ID who used to race a Vega station wagon with a Ford 400. Used several different transmission a behind it, too, including C-4s, C-6s, and settled on an aftermarket Powerglide.
I have been a fan of FE engines for a very long time. You talked about things that I never knew. Do you or can you go deeper in explaining the 406ci engine. I have had 2, both were out of 62 police autos
I'd love to see you do a video explaining how to ID a 428 and 428CJ motors compared to 390/360. When you buy one, it's nearly impossible to know what you're getting without tearing it down. So essentially anyone can say their motor is a 428 or 428CJ when it's a plain 390 LTD motor, or 360 truck block.
Nice info. I'm building a z FE390 . You have one of the best You Tube channel out their. Love your videos. Learning a lot from them thanks for posting. Thinking very hard to be come a patron.
steve J - By "Z", you mean Mustang? A = full-size Ford, D = Falcon, M = full-size Mercury, O = Fairlane, S = Thunderbird, T = Truck, X = Racing or experimental, Z = Mustang, etc. (others also used).
Great vid. Should do a head review on the GT40s since they are such a common upgrade... I dout you mess with them but a cool vid on the PI heads people swap onto the npi 4.6s.
Car manufacter April, May for the next year cars but dealership gets cars June, July the previous year for the next year models. I had a 71 dodge truck that the 383 motor was cast in 1966. Most of the 383 motor went to the muscle cars. They were not stroker motors either. They were true 383.
Great video but you failed to show where the numbers are at. My heads read C4AE (1964). On the other side of the head bolt it reads 6090G. Under the valve cover the only number I can find is 5C25.
Where do you teach ? I'm a Ford FE nut, but your the king if you really have 300 to 400 sets of FE heads. That's absolutely insane. I'd like to see a video of the best way to pull/remove FE heads since you've most certainly must have that mastered, LoL !!!l
FE heads are pretty easy to pull pretty much like any other V8 the one thing that is a little different is the push rods go through the intake manifold so you need to pull the rocker assemblys B 4 you pull the intake I do have a 390 FE tear down video that includes head removal
The 410 and 428 have the same stroke that requires a external balance flywheel. The rest of the FE have a internal balance flywheel. see my FE powered shop truck?
Does the smog version GT head you show have the medium riser ports? Also I would like to see a pictured comparison of the medium and high riser heads. I knew 427’s had a high riser version but wasn’t aware Cobra Jet 428’s had a high riser head?
I believe the casting numbers wont change until there is an engineering change in the casting pattern. So you can have a C6AE casting on a 68, 69, 70 etc. or in the replacement parts channel. Nice video.
Myvintageiron7512: I appreciated your Angry Customers video. Will you tackle the 58-60 FE, core plug, machined chambers, casting numbers and date codes? If you are but are missing some I might be able to supply some pictures. Thanks for the video.
Isn’t the casting number the year the casting was DESIGNED? Not necessarily the year the head was actually produced. Don’t you have to go by the date code to determine when it was manufactured?
Hi, thanks for the info on FE head casting numbers. from your details I have a 428 FE GT heads on my F100. Where do I find the casting numbers on the FE engine block. Thanks from Keith, UK
Wasn't the low, medium, and high riser strictly for the 427? The low-riser 427 head was the same as the 428 cobra jet except the vertical exhaust bolts versus the staggered exhaust bolts for the 428 cj and some 390's. The cobra jet had an -n cast , the 427 low-riser had the -k.
This is my first time seeing your channel. I'm a big time "FE" guy as I have 3 old Ford trucks. Two with the standard 360, (which I know are glorified paper weights) but my 68 F250 Camper Special, came with the 390. I did not know about the casting numbers or the intake port info.(thanks for that). My stupid question is, where is this number located? Inside? (under the valve cover) or externally? (front of the head, side?) Thanks Razor!
I would take all the "paper weights" your throwing away if you want to send them to me. I have put thousands of miles, in the mountains, on the 360 with loads that would probably get you in jail today....
@@Myvintageiron7512 hello,do you have any c3ae heads 406 heads for sell,they have a smaller combustion chamber, and do you have any 1958 352 heads they got EDC casting, a d fully machined chambers, what is a fhone number I can reach you at in case i need to talk to you about buying a set of heads
Great info. I’m restoring a ‘67 390GT Mustang which was the only 390GT to be approved to race here in Australia (by Bob Jane). The 390 engine that came with it is a rebuilt engine by Cobra but has aluminium Edelbrock heads on it. I can’t run them so I’m on the hunt for a set of cast heads. Would you have a set of correct heads to suit, and is that what you would run in any case for maximum potential?
Hi there. Between a 385 and an FE, which do you think is better? Or maybe you could do a video comparing the two. Just like you did with the windsor vs cleveland.
Great Video. I have a pair of C6AE-F Medium Riser heads. One has a date code of 6K11, November 11, 1966. The second head has a date code of 5M9. The "M" has me puzzled. "M" is the 13th letter of the alphabet so I'm not sure how to decipher this date code correctly. Can you shed some light on this Please. Many Thanks, Rick.
Ok , I have a 55 victoria with a 62 , 406 , factory solid lifters , factory 3 2s , 4 spd , ,,pulled it out of a wrecked 62 in 70 and put it in , what heads would be on this motor , never had to take it apart
Yep the amount of changes they made to the 390's is staggering I am thinking about doing a video with several of these heads on the flow bench maybe an FE head shoot out what do you think
I still have my fathers 1968 Mercury Monterey that came with a 390 2 bbl prem. fuel. It did not have any air injection and it is and was bought here in Pomona Ca. What would make it special that it did not come with air? It came with a C6 trans.
You twice mentioned a "428 CJ high riser head". Ford never made a 428 CJ (with a high riser head) engine. You are also very confused about low and medium riser heads. The low riser heads had taller intake ports than medium risers. This is all well documented by Ford and many FE expert engine builders.
I stumbled across your channel researching the Fe 390... I have a 67 cougar that was originally equipped with a 390 that's since been replaced with a 400. I'm looking to go back to a 390 and wanna be closed to what it should be. I I'm just wondering what heads I should be looking at... My car has a build date of December 1966.
You measured the ports with calipers………. But failed to mention the reading. What measurements did you measure.? It’s like putting two different shoe sizes next to each other and not telling the sizes your recommending …. If we measure …… but what number are we measuring…..
I've got gt heads on my truck moter I'm unsure what size block is I think it's a 428 from what I've been gathering would the gt heads be put on a 428 I'm unsure what the moter is out of but I know it's not the original to the truck course it say it had a 360 in it
Thanks for the info. I have some specific questions about the exhaust port size width and height including the port roof location in relation from the center of the top exhaust manifold bolt hole to the top of the exhaust port roof??? This info will greatly help me to finish a home built exhaust manifold for my 1969 Ford Camper special f250 with a 390 fe, my cylinder head castings are D2TEAA and also are these the small or medium riser heads???
So your saying a true 390 in a truck engine should have medium riser heads with the ports you were showing ? And 2nd question what about spark plug size large or small ???
Still a bit confused. You said heads cast in say the last half of 65 would be 66 heads (C6) The cast # goes higher than the date code or is the same. Then you show a head cast in early 65 that were 64. Is this that they did not release a new model every year? I.e. the early 65's were the same as the '64's so they kept the C4 #
The High Riser head was introduced for 1974 Nascar but the engine was out lawed by Nascar because The engine wouldn't fit under the stock hood! The engine was still sold over the counter but was never installed in a car after 1964. The only cars that had the High riser head was the 427 thunder bolt Fairlane and a R code Galaxy. all 427 engines after 1964 were medium riser or tunnel port. .
Where do you have heads for sale? I'd be interested. This is for a truck application 66 ford f250 fe352. What heads would you recommend with regular pump gas. Depending on price maybe you could build me a set of heads. Thanks, soon I'm gonna become a patron, cause your content is great!
Great series of videos, particularly regarding the FE engines. I have a '65 Galaxie 500 with a 352. I checked the casting numbers on the heads and the passenger side reads C6TEG and the date code looks like braille. Obviously not original to the car or engine and I am assuming it was an aftermarket replacement head. The drivers side casting code is C4AE and the date code looks like 6090, though that doesn't seem to make sense based on what you explained. My question, if you have the time to answer it, is, what affect will mixing the styles of heads have on the engine's performance? I am debating whether to rebuild this engine or swap out for a 390, although either option is down the road.. I any event, keep up the good work. Looking forward to more of the 390 stroker build.
My step son inherited a 1968 fairlane with the 390fe motor he having problems with head gasket leaks and thinks someone might of switch motors on him but he has a crack in lifter valley might need some heads that are gt heads with smog ports his are sticking valves so let me know about price
Hi I got a 68 Mustang GT fastback, and i have a 352 block and it´s a 390 engine, i wonder if i get the right heads for a GT model, the casting number are C6 AE - R, 14, DIF, FR. You have to excuse my english i am from Sweden. I hope you understand my question. I like your videos it´s easy to understand. Regards Ulf Nygren
@@Myvintageiron7512 Yes i know, but is it the right orginal heads? And can you identify the castingnumber, C6 AE - R, 14, DIF, FR. I did a dynotest in a shop and the results was 250hk on the outgoing axel on the engine and 200hk on the backwheels. Ford says 325Hk. Intakemanifold is Edelbrock 427 R and carb is holly fourbarrol. Thanks again. Regards Ulf Nygren
I have a similar situation I have c8ae-r which were "supposedly" 68 mercury. I read that they have similar flow numbers to cobras but they also have the plain 8 hole exhaust pattern. I have issues with 76 2wd truck headers lining up.
Interesting video series on the FE engines. I'm glad to see someone keeping the fire burning for this old workhorse of an engine. Back in the early 80's I built one of these for my 71 Ford pickup and it was a beast. I remember using parts from a 352, 390OR (don't remember what that meant now) and 428 engines. I used an old factory aluminum 4 bbl intake and the large tube cast iron exhaust manifolds from a Galaxie 500, external balancer, Lunati cam and a version of the early medium riser heads that we reworked with larger valves and bigger springs. It was way more engine than a truck needed as most of the power became tire spin. But from a rolling start it was a terror on the street. Maybe the original Farmtruck, haha.
Yeah, my ex girlfriend's Dad had a 68 F100 4wd pickup. 390 375hp heads. He had big 33 mudders on it, but to see that thing jump into action at will was like no other. If I'm not mistaken it was geared 3.90 front and rear, so it overcame the tire size but would still make all 4 of them eat pavement, with an awesome 60' blast...
Another quick way to tell if you have the GT head in the car is to put a straight edge on the middle two top exhaust bolts. The front and back port top bolt should be 1/4-1/2 inch lower. That’s how the made the extra room to fit in those tight spaces.
I will contribute to your patron website, thank you for adding this to your video!
c4ae heads typically have a larger combustion chamber but bigger intake ports than the c8ae heads which have smaller combustion chambers and smaller intake ports......but the c8ae make more power, so be careful not all larger intake port heads make more power........then there is the velocity debate regarding smaller to large ports....like the clevelanf 4v vs the 2v heads.
Very good information. I own my fathers 1958 ford thunderbird. It has the original 1958 , 352 interceptor engine. It runs great with 32k original miles. I wonder what heads are on this engine? Considering they raced the 1958 Thunderbirds in Dayton of 59 . then they were outlawed after a 1, 2, 3. Finish at the 1959 Dayton 500.
"E.D.C." heads. That's what your 352 would have. They are pretty much the same as like the C4AE-G heads except for your combustion chambers are machined instead of simply cast in the head. But everything else is the same. Same valves & same ports & what not. But if it's original & you look in-between the center spark plugs they should say EDC were the others have what you saw on this video like C4AE-G.
Low ,medium and high riser labels are for the 427 heads only. I like the tall port small chamber early 4 barrel heads you show , But they are very close to the 427 Low riser casting.
You are the only one who has it right.
Great video. the High riser heads also came on the 427 which is a FE engine too. the smallest FE was a 332 and that came out in 1958 along with the 352 that year. they had a FT engine as well and a example of that is the 330.
The “GT” heads also were on the 1966 & 1967 Fairlane GT & GTA’s, with special GT cast iron headers. These are very rare. The “R” code (427) Fairlane’s had special cast iron headers that had the medium riser heads with the two bolt pattern.
they were olso in comet cyclone gt cars and gta cars
You're close on your casting numbers BUT... Part numbers are assigned for a specific design for the FIRST MODEL YEAR the part will be used. Designs usually happen three years in advance, but the part number will be for the first model year. The design may be carried over for many years (with different revisions, which is the last character) OR the design may be dropped after one or two years. You plainly see there is a difference in DESIGN between your C4 and C6 heads, which is why they have different part numbers. Ford may have produced (carried over) the C4 in subsequent years along with the C6, let's say for Marine engines or Construction engines. By no means does the newer part number mean the old part was dropped. It's not crazy if you understand production and product engineering. Ford made probably 50 different FE heads/intake manifold combinations.Yes, TE is a light 'truck engine'. The 'A' designation shows it was designed for 'Ford' line of cars. Yes, Edsel also shared many Ford parts but the casting will only show the original intended use which was, 'Ford' or 'A' designation.Also, the foundry designation will be cast into the part such as, DIF for Dearborn Iron Foundry or CIF for Cleveland Iron Foundry. MCC is Michigan Casting Center in Flatrock, MI, which came to be after DIF shut down.
simplyconnected I have taken apart 289s with c5 blocks and c3 connecting rods. I was always told the number refers to when the casting (or forging) was designed.
@@andystreets4660 engine designs made it to casting years before production, in minute quantities. Test pieces for engineers, limited production experimenta😊l castings, castings for real world testing but not production. The coveted maximum 100 production units required exclusively for stock car racing. All of these were designed years in advance of the first model production date, but the stock car ones were sometimes cast only few weeks before their first public race. To keep them secret. But previous to that, multiple test castings and engineering runs would have been completed. Most of those were thrown into the furnace after study and testing. A few survived.
Please help, I've got a Ford block, casting numbers as always are kinda herd to read, this us what I'm seeing, any help would be greatly appreciated . AE60158 or B for the last. Thank you
You are missing the first four digits. What are they? All Ford engine blocks have 6015 in the part number. We call this the BASE NUMBER. The first four (prefix) digits are the decade, year, model car (or truck) it was generally made for and the 'engineering number, then the base number, then the revision letter'(suffix). So, if you have a C6AE 6015A, that is a specific model block that was designed in 1966 for Ford cars with a REVISION A. Rev. 'B' could be a drastic change from 'A' intended for a different model, like for taxi or a police car, with slightly different block alloy for constant service. For example, C6AE 6015-A blocks may have been manufactured for many years because the block didn't change.
@@daviddare5550 thanks let me check again the motor originally to my knowledge came from a 68 f100. The guy I got it from said it was a 360 but the intake ports look pretty big.
Great vid, good to write out the numbers so we could see it clearly but you should have shown where the actual number is on the head. Just a tip for future videos.
The GT bolt pattern was needed when a FE was installed in unibody cars.
The 428 CJ heads also have the dual exh. pattern. Did you see my 871 blown FE shop truck?
Hi thanks for all the info on FE heads, i just bought a '65 T bird last summer with 390 4 barrel, not sure what the head numbers are yet, i have been told the motor is numbers matching. Looking forward to more videos.
The Low riser, medium Riser and Hi Riser are 427 heads. The low riser was only produced in 63 and 64. The high riser was only produced on 150 car in 1964 only. Those were the 100 Thunderbolts and the 50 Lightweights. Any 427 after 64 was a med riser. The CJ was a lot like a med riser than anything. The rare special CJ head was the Canadian head that was on the 68-1/2 cars.
i just pulled the intake on a 66 352 the intake weighs at least 80 pounds, now to pull the heads, love your videos
The high riser heads didn't offer that much performance over the medium riser heads when you take into consideration how high the manifold is, and how high the carburetor sits on it with relation to the hood line. For all out racing high riser heads with a hood scoop was the best Ford had at the time. Later on they came out with a tunnel port head that blew everything else away.
Yes I agree the medium port head like the C4 casting in the video is probably the best all around performance head for street/strip use for all out race stuff it's probably best to go with aftermarket heads anyway the high riser head is kind of a restoration head when you want a numbers correct car and engine they are really a collectors peice
@@Myvintageiron7512 late to the party but C4AE-6090-G head is a low riser head. The C6AE-6090-U head is a medium riser head. The medium riser head has smaller ports than the low riser or high riser heads. The medium riser had advantages over the low riser because the port floor was elevated and offered a much straighter shot in the airflow towards the valve opening. That means that the short side radius has less of a problem an angle and thus better overall flow characteristics. Open up that medium riser port and it will outflow the low riser easily.
So I have a 70 f-250 I was told it’s a 360. Doing some looking it’s an iron 4bbl,number c5ae9425c intake,the heads are C8AE-h and as close as I can see without taking apart the stroke is close to 3.9 curious as to what you think the engine is. It’s coming out anyhow as I’m restoring the truck. But I’d like to know what you think. I thought the 360 was 3.5 inch stroke.
At 4:46 "...the Hi-riser...on the 428 Cobra-jet..." Uh, no. The Hi-riser was all done & done by the time the 428 CJ came out...at least for street applications. The whole of the FE line was a time of intense experimentation, but most all of it was done by about 1969. The Hi-risers were useless for the street, it bitched & moaned when run on the bottom half of the Tach...With the Tunnel-port some of the same problems came up, it was only the SOHC where they realized the various convoluted intake passages could not have been improved much more, only the unimpeded straight shot of the intakes could major-league power be made.
Lots of great knowledge! Definitely gonna subscribe. Just gotta put that in the budget.
My dad had a 67 or 68 Ford station wagon with a 428. But I think it had a 2b carburetor. Not sure but I don't think it was high compression. I do remember the 428 badge. By the way I remember those smog injectors showing up in 1966 but the Ford Truck did not have them. I remember people just took the belt off the smog pump. It was a big screw up to remove the smog pump because you could not get it passed for registration when they started smog inspections around 1973. I was there.
When I was 15 my best friend bought a 1965 Galaxy police interpreter. It had a 352 FE 4 bbl.and a Cruze amatic.The old car had suprising power .So I had been in process of building a 68 f100 truck with a 390.I was in need of h.p. parts so I purchased the old car from him for 100dollars. Wanting the intake and adjustable rocker set up that was on it .When my father and I tore it down we noticed the massive size of the intake ports .It matched the size of the port hole of the gasket.Upon further inspection the exhaust ports were the same way .The motor had never been broken into that we could tell .The ports were not polished in any way as cast.What did I have ? I have always wonder .As a kid wasn't aware of alot of things about strange or rare parts .they made awesome power on .o30 over 390 and a sidewinder intake my uncle gave me .Both are long gone .My bad .I would still like to know
Those engines were only available in limited special order numbers, in limited models, in limited years. You had a C5AE B engine, the 390 police intercepter high performance with solid lifters. OR the coveted C5AE A E D or H 427.
I got a set of those GT heads From a 68 Torino GT 390 4 speed New York State car I think emissions system was called 'Thermactor' It had a pump that forced air into exhaust port to add O2 and facilitate the combustion of unburnt hydrocarbons
According to my Dad. Ford had many 390's and 352's in around 1965 that weren't allowing the rings to seat. Ford had to take many back and at least hawn the bores and rering. Not sure how many actually had to have the engines replaced. Some even needed bored out to get the oil consumption to end in those blocks.
The C6AE-U head is not a medium riser. Its just a small " velocity port" head common on non performance engines from mid 66 and up. Even the 390 GT which was a massive disappointment in power. We call them smog heads ( I know they don't have the smog bosses but same head) because they suck. Anyway, the C4AE-G heads are low riser big port heads. Very close to CJ heads with smaller valves. Medium Riser terminology was only used on the 427 " Medium Riser" engines. You will know when you see a set of 427 medium riser heads as they have massive combustion chambers by today's standards. Unless being period correct skip the small non performance " velocity port" heads of 66 and later even if they are on a 390 GT. The port size and location on these " small port" heads are OK but the throat area is choked down and restrictive.
Yes, your right. I watched this video & have been scrolling through the comments to see if anybody corrected him or not.
Well I found a second set off heads that I picked up years ago , pulled them out hoping they were mid rise atleast , but nope c4ae.. heads low... WAS WONDERING were I might be able to purchase some possibly off of you ...THANKS BUDDY
Hello, didn't hear back on the early heads. Don't want to belittle your work here but some extra information below that is documented online. The T didn't always mean truck. For instance the 68 2 barrel T intake was used on car and pickup truck 2 barrel FE. C6TE-G heads could be found on any FE in mid 66 and pickup FE engines used the same XXAE castings as the cars. You do get into truck specific after 1971 due to FE being the last year it was an option in a car. FT engines found in larger trucks to my knowledge all had the T designation. I don't expect anyone to take my word, do your own research.
Awesome informational video.
I had a c8ae-h head and found there are 4 types. There is the gt with and without smog and non gt with an without smog. All 4 have their own part numbers which tells the different tooling each received.
yes and remember what I described in the video is how it works in general however the factory can do what ever they want I ounce found a set of C6 Heads on a 68 it was a one owner car and had never been apart so sometimes the factory would use new old stock castings
So we're you able to determine what the c8aeh was originally from? I have those heads on a 75 f250 that I thought was an original 360fe but apparently not
dude I've been an engine builder for 40 years your date code decipher is really good well explained but when you were talking about the ports on these engines being a low performance a medium performance and high performance you're talking about 2V heads, 4V heads, truck heads.( I don't exactly remember the CCs but the truck heads had large ports and a higher compression ratio) and then your GT heads... the truck heads we're always the best because they had heavier bosses in the castings where you could do Machining for heavier Springs bigger valve guides etc ect
izzynutz2000 The pickup and passenger car heads were the same castings. When you stepped into the GT only the exhaust bolt hole pattern was drilled in different locations in the center ports. Other than that the GT heads were standard production. The CJ and 427 specific heads were not used in passenger or pickup applications. The 2 barrel and 4 barrel designations did not apply to the FE engine. Take a look at fordfe.com, over the years the group has posted many pictures and experiences there.
Someone is blind here. Truck heads were small intake ports. Cars had taller ports. Gt heads had taller ports and exhaust had 4 bolt wholes on outer ports 3 on inner two ports.
A little blurred ol school memory. I raced a 67 Mustang GT. The class rules required stock iron manifolds. My street engine had a low riser crate motor with the 2 bolt exhaust ports, and I ran headers. Iron 2 bolt manifolds wouldn't fit. I found an article, I don't remember where, that schooled me on 390 heads. According to the article the GT heads where nothing more than standard low risers with revised exhaust ports for Mustang fitment. It was the opinion of the writers the GT head has slightly better flow numbers than the standard port head on the exhaust side. IDK I was lucky and found a set with manifolds and raced them. They worked fine.
Greg Lyle 390 is a great engine.
Right on, great info. I don't know much about Ford engines. I am excited to see the bild up of the 351M.
Chevy Big Block 348 - Why not the 400? - technically an "M" engine. I know a fellow in Boise, ID who used to race a Vega station wagon with a Ford 400. Used several different transmission a behind it, too, including C-4s, C-6s, and settled on an aftermarket Powerglide.
Alan Hardman I just said 351M because Myvintageiron is bilding one. I like the 400M, but would prefer a 429 or 460 myself.
I have been a fan of FE engines for a very long time. You talked about things that I never knew. Do you or can you go deeper in explaining the 406ci engine. I have had 2, both were out of 62 police autos
Man, I just pulled a c5ae-a block out of my 74 ford....it was a junk yard motor we put in my f100 about 20 years ago.
I'd love to see you do a video explaining how to ID a 428 and 428CJ motors compared to 390/360. When you buy one, it's nearly impossible to know what you're getting without tearing it down. So essentially anyone can say their motor is a 428 or 428CJ when it's a plain 390 LTD motor, or 360 truck block.
Mechan Knuckle too bad they where not as easy to tell as a 428 SCJ those are easy to tell :-)
no mention of the 64 high rise 427 heads. apparently none of those for sale. lol
Great video
My 67 Cougar GT had those GT smog heads on it. San Jose built car.
Nice info. I'm building a z FE390 . You have one of the best You Tube channel out their. Love your videos. Learning a lot from them thanks for posting. Thinking very hard to be come a patron.
Thanks
steve J - By "Z", you mean Mustang? A = full-size Ford, D = Falcon, M = full-size Mercury, O = Fairlane, S = Thunderbird, T = Truck, X = Racing or experimental, Z = Mustang, etc. (others also used).
good stuff, great video..if my heads are "U" heads I'm replacing... mine are from a 68 torino GT
Great vid. Should do a head review on the GT40s since they are such a common upgrade... I dout you mess with them but a cool vid on the PI heads people swap onto the npi 4.6s.
Car manufacter April, May for the next year cars but dealership gets cars June, July the previous year for the next year models. I had a 71 dodge truck that the 383 motor was cast in 1966. Most of the 383 motor went to the muscle cars. They were not stroker motors either. They were true 383.
Great video but you failed to show where the numbers are at. My heads read C4AE (1964). On the other side of the head bolt it reads 6090G. Under the valve cover the only number I can find is 5C25.
would love explanation on '64 FE intakes 2B versus 4B
Where do you teach ? I'm a Ford FE nut, but your the king if you really have 300 to 400 sets of FE heads. That's absolutely insane. I'd like to see a video of the best way to pull/remove FE heads since you've most certainly must have that mastered, LoL !!!l
FE heads are pretty easy to pull pretty much like any other V8 the one thing that is a little different is the push rods go through the intake manifold so you need to pull the rocker assemblys B 4 you pull the intake I do have a 390 FE tear down video that includes head removal
Just got 352 can it be made to 390 ?
Thanks great video 🇺🇸
330 through 428 all the different stuff they did it's harder than Chinese arithmetic and then I think the 410 was balanced differently
The 410 and 428 have the same stroke that requires a external balance flywheel. The rest of the FE have a internal balance flywheel. see my FE powered shop truck?
The 66-67 410 is a 390 with a 428 crank. The 1958 410 is a MEL motor. Called the E 475.
Does the smog version GT head you show have the medium riser ports? Also I would like to see a pictured comparison of the medium and high riser heads. I knew 427’s had a high riser version but wasn’t aware Cobra Jet 428’s had a high riser head?
I was under the impression CJ 428 heads were medium riser 427 heads.
I believe the casting numbers wont change until there is an engineering change in the casting pattern. So you can have a C6AE casting on a 68, 69, 70 etc. or in the replacement parts channel. Nice video.
Myvintageiron7512: I appreciated your Angry Customers video. Will you tackle the 58-60 FE, core plug, machined chambers, casting numbers and date codes? If you are but are missing some I might be able to supply some pictures.
Thanks for the video.
Isn’t the casting number the year the casting was DESIGNED? Not necessarily the year the head was actually produced. Don’t you have to go by the date code to determine when it was manufactured?
Hi, thanks for the info on FE head casting numbers. from your details I have a 428 FE GT heads on my F100. Where do I find the casting numbers on the FE engine block. Thanks from Keith, UK
Don't know if you got a reply from him or not. Check fordfe.com and fepower.net both have lots of photo documentation.
Wasn't the low, medium, and high riser strictly for the 427? The low-riser 427 head was the same as the 428 cobra jet except the vertical exhaust bolts versus the staggered exhaust bolts for the 428 cj and some 390's. The cobra jet had an -n cast , the 427 low-riser had the -k.
you should make a video about the "105" FT post '73 and up blocks
Can you speak to the 1971 ford 460 police interceptor and DOVE-C heads?
This is my first time seeing your channel. I'm a big time "FE" guy as I have 3 old Ford trucks. Two with the standard 360, (which I know are glorified paper weights) but my 68 F250 Camper Special, came with the 390. I did not know about the casting numbers or the intake port info.(thanks for that). My stupid question is, where is this number located? Inside? (under the valve cover) or externally? (front of the head, side?)
Thanks Razor!
near the center of the head next to the exhaust manifold you should be able to pop the hood and see them
It is on the outside in plan view just below the valve cover in the center of the head between the spark plugs
I would take all the "paper weights" your throwing away if you want to send them to me. I have put thousands of miles, in the mountains, on the 360 with loads that would probably get you in jail today....
360 with good heads will run heck it short stock it aught to rev up great
@@Myvintageiron7512 hello,do you have any c3ae heads 406 heads for sell,they have a smaller combustion chamber, and do you have any 1958 352 heads they got EDC casting, a d fully machined chambers, what is a fhone number I can reach you at in case i need to talk to you about buying a set of heads
Nice International SV head in the background
Great info. I’m restoring a ‘67 390GT Mustang which was the only 390GT to be approved to race here in Australia (by Bob Jane). The 390 engine that came with it is a rebuilt engine by Cobra but has aluminium Edelbrock heads on it. I can’t run them so I’m on the hunt for a set of cast heads. Would you have a set of correct heads to suit, and is that what you would run in any case for maximum potential?
Find heads yet ?
TOP MAN, VERY INFORMATIVE.VERY,VERY GOOD.
Thank you. C..
What about the tunnel port head . Really really rare. You better have one bad ass motor to support these heads.
I need a set for a 91 f250 460 street driven needs more power thinking of ditching the fuel injection on it for a sniper kit
Hi there. Between a 385 and an FE, which do you think is better? Or maybe you could do a video comparing the two. Just like you did with the windsor vs cleveland.
It seems to be very helpful I enjoy your videos
Great Video. I have a pair of C6AE-F Medium Riser heads. One has a date code of 6K11, November 11, 1966. The second head has a date code of 5M9. The "M" has me puzzled. "M" is the 13th letter of the alphabet so I'm not sure how to decipher this date code correctly. Can you shed some light on this Please. Many Thanks, Rick.
and the low performance 2bbl heads and intake weight more than performance 4bbl stuff ask my hearnea. Rambus
Fantastic video! Thanks for the video. Would this information also apply to engine block casting numbers too?
Yes
Ok , I have a 55 victoria with a 62 , 406 , factory solid lifters , factory 3 2s , 4 spd , ,,pulled it out of a wrecked 62 in 70 and put it in , what heads would be on this motor , never had to take it apart
Wait...I can look up what all these codes mean, I thought you were going to explain it to us
If you'd flipped that C4AE-G head to show the Lifter galley. I could have told you what shift it was mfg. on... eg. 1st, 2nd, or 3rd shift... lol
you do relise fe motors are a 331 block, it can be anything from 331-427
Hi thanks for this video. Can you recommend a book/website where one can compare your parts casting numbers?
u have lots of the 390 last year they made the 390 was 1976 and there r big differences in 2 barrel and 4 barrel heads ty
Yep the amount of changes they made to the 390's is staggering I am thinking about doing a video with several of these heads on the flow bench maybe an FE head shoot out what do you think
cool can't at this time maybe next month but would love to see them even in different stages i'm in canada
I still have my fathers 1968 Mercury Monterey that came with a 390 2 bbl prem. fuel. It did not have any air injection and it is and was bought here in Pomona Ca. What would make it special that it did not come with air? It came with a C6 trans.
looking for good sources for 352 performance rebuilt parts
u do a great job thank you
You twice mentioned a "428 CJ high riser head". Ford never made a 428 CJ (with a high riser head) engine. You are also very confused about low and medium riser heads. The low riser heads had taller intake ports than medium risers.
This is all well documented by Ford and many FE expert engine builders.
Hi glad I found you.... I am looking for a set of non Smog GT heads date code 6L or 6K or 6J or 6H. Thks !
Mess me on facebook at myvintageiron7512
I stumbled across your channel researching the Fe 390... I have a 67 cougar that was originally equipped with a 390 that's since been replaced with a 400. I'm looking to go back to a 390 and wanna be closed to what it should be. I I'm just wondering what heads I should be looking at... My car has a build date of December 1966.
GT heads and exhaust manifold.
i have a question on ford block casting number.
is a d3te block a high deck or low deck?
love the videos have a 390 in my 78 f150.
thanks
You measured the ports with calipers………. But failed to mention the reading. What measurements did you measure.? It’s like putting two different shoe sizes next to each other and not telling the sizes your recommending …. If we measure …… but what number are we measuring…..
I've got gt heads on my truck moter I'm unsure what size block is I think it's a 428 from what I've been gathering would the gt heads be put on a 428 I'm unsure what the moter is out of but I know it's not the original to the truck course it say it had a 360 in it
Keep up the good work buddy
I'm needing some medium riser heads.more than one set.There is no contact info except for patreon,Not trying TOO hard to sell some heads eh?
Thanks for the info. I have some specific questions about the exhaust port size width and height including the port roof location in relation from the center of the top exhaust manifold bolt hole to the top of the exhaust port roof??? This info will greatly help me to finish a home built exhaust manifold for my 1969 Ford Camper special f250 with a 390 fe, my cylinder head castings are D2TEAA and also are these the small or medium riser heads???
What is the difference of 429 & 460 big block ford 7 bolt valve cover.
A is for full size cars o is for mustang Traino ect
Very nice video and information thx. Keith
So your saying a true 390 in a truck engine should have medium riser heads with the ports you were showing ? And 2nd question what about spark plug size large or small ???
Still a bit confused.
You said heads cast in say the last half of 65 would be 66 heads (C6) The cast # goes higher than the date code or is the same.
Then you show a head cast in early 65 that were 64.
Is this that they did not release a new model every year? I.e. the early 65's were the same as the '64's so they kept the C4 #
Great video! Great content
Wow, very informative. Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge. Very cool. Subscribed.
The High Riser head was introduced for 1974 Nascar but the engine was out lawed by Nascar because The engine wouldn't fit under the stock hood! The engine was still sold over the counter but was never installed in a car after 1964. The only cars that had the High riser head was the 427 thunder bolt Fairlane and a R code Galaxy. all 427 engines after 1964 were medium riser or tunnel port. .
Where do you have heads for sale? I'd be interested. This is for a truck application 66 ford f250 fe352. What heads would you recommend with regular pump gas. Depending on price maybe you could build me a set of heads. Thanks, soon I'm gonna become a patron, cause your content is great!
Yes I can build a Set for you shoot me a message on Facebook at myvintageiron7512
Is there any other way I can contact you?
Us Ford Guys Know What The T & A Stand 4 😆 !
Great series of videos, particularly regarding the FE engines. I have a '65 Galaxie 500 with a 352. I checked the casting numbers on the heads and the passenger side reads C6TEG and the date code looks like braille. Obviously not original to the car or engine and I am assuming it was an aftermarket replacement head. The drivers side casting code is C4AE and the date code looks like 6090, though that doesn't seem to make sense based on what you explained. My question, if you have the time to answer it, is, what affect will mixing the styles of heads have on the engine's performance? I am debating whether to rebuild this engine or swap out for a 390, although either option is down the road.. I any event, keep up the good work. Looking forward to more of the 390 stroker build.
6090 is not a date code the date will probably be under the valve cover
Thanks. I will check it out.
My step son inherited a 1968 fairlane with the 390fe motor he having problems with head gasket leaks and thinks someone might of switch motors on him but he has a crack in lifter valley might need some heads that are gt heads with smog ports his are sticking valves so let me know about price
Why do my 1966 C6AE-U heads have the gt bolt pattern???
Love your channel and the info you provide. how do i contact you about a set of fe heads
Message me on facebook at myvintageiron7512
Hi
I got a 68 Mustang GT fastback, and i have a 352 block and it´s a 390 engine, i wonder if i get the right heads for a GT model, the casting number are C6 AE - R, 14, DIF, FR.
You have to excuse my english i am from Sweden. I hope you understand my question.
I like your videos it´s easy to understand.
Regards
Ulf Nygren
yes it will fit
@@Myvintageiron7512 Yes i know, but is it the right orginal heads? And can you identify the castingnumber, C6 AE - R, 14, DIF, FR. I did a dynotest in a shop and the results
was 250hk on the outgoing axel on the engine and 200hk on the backwheels. Ford says 325Hk. Intakemanifold is Edelbrock 427 R and carb is holly fourbarrol.
Thanks again.
Regards
Ulf Nygren
I know this was uploaded quite a while ago, but do you still have heads for sale? Thank you!
No, sorry
How does one contact you to buy cylinder heads?
send me your email it's the best way
My heads say C8ae-h . What does the H mean ? The intake also has a large S on it too ?
I have C8AE-H Heads for my FE 390, I read there GT heads.
My Heads only have 2 bolts, but they are of my 1968 XR7 GT Cougar, so what are u talking about.
I have a similar situation I have c8ae-r which were "supposedly" 68 mercury. I read that they have similar flow numbers to cobras but they also have the plain 8 hole exhaust pattern. I have issues with 76 2wd truck headers lining up.