Aluminum Cylinder Heads

Installing Them is Basically an Easy Bolt-On Procedure

By Miles Cook

photographer: Miles Cook

Edelbrock’s Ford Performer RPM heads come totally assembled and ready to install on a 289, 302, or 351W. They include 1.90/1.60 valves and have 60cc combustion chambers. The heads (PN 6022) do not have passages for EGR and are for early Ford engines that are not emissions controlled. Edelbrock also has a complete line of 50-state-legal Ford heads for Mustang 5.0s and other late-model cars and trucks.

We had the stock heads off this 289 in about an hour. Begin by disconnecting the battery and draining all the coolant from the radiator. While not mandatory on a small-block Ford, it’s easiest to remove the distributor from the engine. There’s no need to mark the position of the distributor in the engine, as you’ll need to later turn the engine to set valve lash.

Six bolts hold down each valve cover. With the valve covers off, remove the 12 intake bolts with a 3/8-inch drive ratchet and a 1/2-inch socket. There’s no need to remove the carb from the intake. Use masking tape to label any wires that need removing; if you’re also swapping intakes, note the location of vacuum tees and water-temp sensors.

With the carb throttle- linkage, fuel line, upper radiator hose, intake bolts, and a few other items disconnected, the intake is ready to come off. If the manifold sticks to the gaskets, use a flat-blade screwdriver at the front of the intake to gently pry it upward.

The 10 bolts on each cylinder head are easiest to loosen with a 1/2-inch drive breaker bar connected to a 5/8-inch socket with an extension. The bar gives considerably more leverage than a shorter ratchet. Once the bolts are loose, you can finish removing them with the ratchet. On some engines the rocker arms may need to be removed to get to all the head bolts.

You’ll also need to unbolt the exhaust manifolds or headers--on some engines this will be necessary just to get to the lower head bolts. Here, six bolts were accessible with a 3/8-drive ratchet and socket. The two that are close to the shock towers can be accessed with a combination wrench. While circumstances vary on every car, we were able to get the driver-side head off this 󈨄 Fairlane without removing the exhaust manifold from the exhaust pipe.

We did, however, have to remove the passenger-side manifold. Don’t even think about trying remove the manifold without removing the spark plugs first. With the head bolts, exhaust-manifold bolts, dipstick tube, and alternator mounting bracket removed, the heads are ready to come off. We left the rocker arms in place and simply removed the pushrods once the heads were off.

The last thing you want to do is mess up the spark plug threads in the new aluminum heads. Before installation, we installed a new spark plug in each hole to check the threads and make sure they were clean. (Before installation of the plugs, always use anti-seize on the plug threads.) We performed the same process with the head-bolt holes in the block, installing and removing a new motor oil-coated ARP bolt in all 20 holes.

On our trips to the auto parts store, a complete Fel-Pro engine gasket set was our biggest purchase. Be sure you install the head gaskets correctly on the engine with the end marked "front" at the front of the engine so that the water passages are properly gasketed. The head gaskets we used were blue on one side and gray on the other. With the gaskets on the right way, you’ll have the gray side up on one side of the engine and the blue side up on the other. Make sure to check with your head manufacturer to make sure the gaskets used are compatible with aluminum heads.

The head gasket drops onto the deck surface of the block. There are two dowel pins at the front and rear of the deck surface to hold the gaskets in position. Be sure the deck surface is clean and free of oil and old gasket material before installing the new gaskets.

The much lighter (by about 25 pounds each) Edelbrock aluminum heads install onto the block and use the dowel pins, as shown in photo 10, to hold them in place.

All Edelbrock Ford heads have 1/2-inch bolt holes for 351W motors. To install them on a 289 or 302 (which use 7/16-inch bolts) you must use a set of Edelbrock head-bolt bushings (PN 9680, right). Use them in place of the supplied ARP washers (left) that come with ARP’s 7/16-inch Ford head bolts (center).

With the heads already on the engine, the Edelbrock bushings slip into each head-bolt hole.

Lightly coat each head-bolt thread with motor oil before torquing to spec. The correct order and specs for tightening the bolts is included in the Edelbrock instructions. They also need to be tightened in three steps, and we found the specs for those steps in the 1996 Comet, Falcon, Fairlane, and Mustang shop manual. Following the sequence during each step, torque first to 50 lb-ft, then 60, then 70. The final step in the tightening procedure is to torque the long (upper) head bolts to 80 lb-ft. If you’re installing the heads on a 351W, the final torque specs for its 1/2-inch bolts are 100 and 110 lb-ft. Be aware that in many cases aluminum heads are torqued to different specs (often lower) than cast-iron heads. Read the instructions carefully!

We used Crane’s heat-treated and hardened chrome-moly pushrods (the same 6.875-inch length as stock), which drop into place through the heads and guideplates. The hardened pushrods are required for use with the guide plates that come on the Edelbrock heads.

There’s plenty of valvespring clearance on the Edelbrock heads when using aftermarket rocker arms such as these Crane 1.6:1 ratio roller rockers. Be sure the flat side of the fulcrum is facing up to receive the rocker nut and its locking Allen screw. If money’s tight, you can reuse the stock rocker arms that were used with the factory cast-iron heads. However, if you’re going to run a higher lift cam (anything more than 0.480-inch, according to Edelbrock), the stock rockers won’t work because the slot will bind on the stud.

Make sure each pushrod is properly seated in the lifter and rocker arm. Also be certain the lifter is on the base circle of the cam before adjustment. With a hydraulic cam, adjust the rocker arm nut until you obtain zero lash with no lifter preload, then turn the nut down one-half to one turn more. Once adjusted, tighten the set screw with an Allen wrench. Detailed instructions are included with the Crane rockers.

Once installed and adjusted, liberally coat each rocker arm, pushrod, valvespring, and lifter with oil before installing the valve covers. Don’t install the valve covers before the intake, since they may get in the way.

Here’s another reason why it’s so crucial you install the head gaskets correctly: They have a tab that protrudes up to receive a groove in the intake gaskets. This trick works great to keep the gaskets from moving while installing the manifold. Rather than use the intake end seals, we prefer to use a tall bead of RTV silicone.

20 Apply high-temperature anti-seize compound to the intake bolt threads and torque them to 16-18 lb-ft. The proper torque sequence can be found in most Ford shop manuals.

The exhaust manifold we removed on the passenger-side of the car is ready for reinstallation. The tight confines of the Fairlane engine bay and its shock towers require the long bolt near the shock tower to be inserted in the hole before the manifold is put back on the car. With most other Fords (or with headers), you’ll likely have more room. Don’t forget to use anti-seize compound on the exhaust manifold bolts.

With the front and rear exhaust manifold bolts installed, the exhaust manifold gasket drops into place. Reinstall the carb, distributor, valve covers, radiator hoses, and other ancillary items, and you’ll soon be ready to go. After setting valve lash, leave the engine at TDC on the compression stroke of the number one cylinder to simplify proper reinstallation of the distributor. CC

We've done our share of supposedly easy performance bolt-ons that turned out to be not so easy. It seemed that a cylinder head swap on our carbureted 289 Ford might turn into a fiasco. However, we found that installing a pair of Edelbrock aluminum heads wasn't really that tough. While they can't be slapped on in an hour, if you gather all the tools and parts we've listed here before you begin, two people could have them installed and the car running in about three to five hours.

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