[65BlueHorse]

I have a '66 289 that i rebuilt with stock bottom end (dished pistons), edl performer intake, holley 600cfm carb, and a comp cams cam and lifters (adv.Dur.-262/270, lift-.493/.500, LSA-110). I didn't have money for heads at the time and needed to be able to drive the car so i cleaned up the stock 289 heads and reground the valve seats and put them on. The motor has been running great but i got some money now and would like to put a set of heads on that will work good with my set up to produce power. The car is a daily driver though so i don't need anything to crazy. I had originally looked into aftermarket aluminum heads but couldn't find any with small enough combustion chambers (54cc) so i thought i would get the stock ones ported and polished. I went to 2 shops and both said that I was probably better off to go with aftermarket aluminum heads even though it would drop the compression. I have found some heads with 58cc chambers and think that is what i will go with. So here is my question to all of you: What heads would you recommend? I am looking for assembled aluminum heads with 54-58cc chambers for under $1500 a pair.

One other question. My motor has dished pistons in it. Is that what came in the '66 289 2v originally? I would like to know so i can guess my compression closer.

[cindys_sn95]

you can get the EDELBROCK RPMs in 58cc. perfect!

[fast 50]

edelbrock Rpm or the gt40x ford racing

[65BlueHorse]

Originally Posted by cindys_sn95

you can get the EDELBROCK RPMs in 58cc. perfect!

I was looking at those but i could only find them with 60cc. Where can i get them with 58cc chambers?

[cindys_sn95]

i'm sorry the head i was thinking about is the jegs.com head. very good heads, made by canfield.

[gtjoe]

Also look into the AFR heads, TFS, and World Products.

[fast 50]

TFS got sum 58cc but their 2 grand

[PaulS]

AFR 165s have a small chamber and big valves. They also make more power in the tests I have seen than any comparable heads. They are not cheap but you get them complete fitted with springs for your cam.

[65BlueHorse]

i'm leaning toward the AFR 165s but i'm not sure yet.

[Jonk67]

I've got the AFR 165's on a 289 stroked to 331 with flat top pistons notched for the valves, supposed to be 9.5>10:1. I will be picking it up tomorrow but it probably won't be in and fired for another month, however i don't expect to be disappointed as they tested very well in many magazine articles.

What amount of dish do you have? Do you know the part #of the piston?
You may also be able to use a thinner head gasket I believe which will help pull it up a little or get the heads milled to lower the cc of the chamber.

I picked my AFR's up used on corral.net for <$1K with shipping, deals are out there you just have to look. A well kept head will look it most times or if they're local you could always have a shop look them over before buying.
Jon

[65BlueHorse]

I'm not sure how much dish is in the pistons. There is a good chance the pistons are still original beacuse they were in good shape so i just cleaned them up and put them back in. The motor was apart when i bought the car but the crank and pistons had not been removed yet (they could have been changed before though) The dish doesn't look like much but then it doesn't take much either. I did think about getting them milled but that bumps the cost up a little and i am afraid of the pistons hitting the valves. I may go with a thinner head gasket. i hadn't thought of that before.

[jspagna1]

You really need to shop around. There are some good deals out there right now. Also found this link:

5.0L Cylinder Heads