Six Budget Ford Heads That Work

Ford Racing X307
The Ford Racing X307 head is not the casting that comes on the Boss 302 crate engine, but its affordable price made it a natural choice for this test. It's important to note that this was the only head in our test that required its own separate valvetrain. The Ford head uses a net lash design that makes the valvetrain non-adjustable. The Ford roller rockers use a fulcrum base and a 5⁄16-inch bolt to attach the rockers to the head. We used Comp roller rockers for the remaining heads to level the playing field, but if you are considering a set of these heads, be aware that the rockers and fulcrums need to be considered as well. The Ford heads did well during the testing, making a peak of 362 hp. Much of this gain over the stock 345 hp Boss 302 rating can be attributed to Westech's lower 140 degree engine coolant test procedure and open dyno headers. These Ford heads tied with the Edelbrock heads for Third Place in average torque and were extremely close to the RHS head's Second Place power level.

Ford Racing 178cc
PN M-6049-X307, $1,119.90

Speedway Motors/Flo-Tek
The most notable thing about the Flo-Tek heads available through Speedway Motors is the price—that's $739.98 for a complete, ready-to-bolt-on pair of aluminum heads for a small-block Ford. While the average power was down compared to the TFS, RHS, and Edelbrock heads, the power is still acceptable, especially if you are more interested in a nice pair of aluminum heads rather than ultimate power. Peak power was good at 349 hp and torque is also reasonable. These are certainly worthy of attention at this excellent price.

Flo-Tek 180cc, Speedway Motors
PN 7223000, $739.98

Racing Head Service (RHS)
The RHS heads come out of the box with a very nice-looking casting that backs this image up with respectable performance. The heads offered an excellent midrange power curve behind only the Twisted Wedge casting between 4,000 and 5,500 rpm. RHS shipped the heads with what should have been a sufficient single 1.460-inch-diameter valvespring, but the horsepower graph reveals that above 5,800 rpm the power trailed off, leading us to think that perhaps with a better spring this head could have carried the power out beyond 6,000 rpm, which would have improved its peak horsepower number. Nevertheless, for a street engine, this head delivers excellent midrange power. Its biggest weakness may be the price. It was the most expensive of all the heads we tested.

RHS 180cc
PN 35011-01, $1,326

TFS Twisted Wedge 180
The TFS heads appeared to be the big dog in the room when it came time for testing. We were smart enough to test-fit the heads on the Boss 302 block before testing began and discovered these heads are designed to be used with 7⁄16-inch head bolts, using restrictors in the head bolt holes. This was a simple fix, using a drill press to open up the restrictors before we could use the 1⁄2-inch ARP head bolts. The heads also required custom-length Comp Cams pushrods to compensate for the relocated valves. Once those two tasks were completed, the heads delivered the best peak horsepower and torque numbers of the entire test, knocking down an excellent 380 hp at 6,000 rpm. The Twisted Wedge heads also had the strongest horsepower curve above 4,000 rpm of all the heads tested. The only caveat to all this is the Twisted Wedge heads do limit valve lift (0.600 inch) and duration on stock pistons due to their repositioned intake valve—just so you know.

TFS 180cc
PN 51410004 M58, $1,099.96

World Products Windsor, Jr.
World contributed the lone cast-iron head to our Ford small-block test. This head is intended for a flat-tappet camshaft, so it was outfitted with a small-diameter spring that might have limited its performance in the midrange slightly. If we were going to use these heads on a street engine, we'd disassemble them and spend the extra bucks to add a 30-degree back cut to the intake and exhaust valves to improve their overall flow. This minor tune up would really improve the flow curve and add a measureable amount of torque. If weight is a consideration, keep in mind that these iron castings weigh considerably more than the rest of the aluminum heads. If you are looking for a set of World aluminum heads, you can find them at Bill Mitchell Products.

World Products 180cc
PN 053030-1, $1,183.90