use. It is common knowledge that Ford engineers struggled a great deal when it came to port
sizing. Ports were typically too large or too small, with not much in between, when Ford was at
its performance peak. Large ports worked exceedingly well at high rpms on the race track,
where they worked best and flowed the most air. When these large ports found their way into
street engines, low- and mid-range torque suffered. Performance buffs have learned through
the years that they can work with off-the-shelf parts to achieve improved levels of low- and mid-
range torque on the street. Sometimes you have to shelve the big-port, closed-chamber heads
to improve street performance. This is a common issue with the 351C/351M/400M small-
blocks. It is also true with the “FE” and 385-series big-blocks.
Proper cylinder head, valvetrain and camshaft selection is everything when it comes to building
a performance engine. These components will have the most direct effect on output. Our
objective is to help you select the right combination for best results.
332/352/360/361/390/406/410/ 427/428
numbers and date code,
there's visual identification. On
the left is the 428 Cobra Jet
head, which is little more than
the 390 GT head (right) with
minor changes. The 390 GT
has slightly larger chambers
with smaller ports. Valve size is
slightly larger (2.08"/1.65"
versus 2.02"/1.55") on the
Cobra Jet head. Power gains
come from better air flow, which
comes from the Cobra Jet head.
castings are rare and decidedly expensive. Others will work as suitable substitutes for the
exotic pieces. You don’t always have to have a set of 427 Medium Risers or 428 Cobra Jets
to infuse performance into your “FE” series big-block.
It is important to remember that most of the “FE” engines had the same valve sizes
throughout. For example, the 332/352/360/361/390 and 410 all had 2.02-inch intake and
1.55-inch exhaust valves. Differences lie mainly in combustion chamber size (compression
ratio) and port size. Port size doesn’t vary much amongst these engines. For example, the
390 High Performance head has the same valve and port sizes as the early 427 High
Performance head. This means you don’t have to pay 427 prices in your quest for power.
Huge differences exist when you step up to the 427 High Riser and Tunnel Port heads. If you’
re building a strong street “FE” engine, then you don’t need anything beyond a Low Riser or
Medium Riser head. And because the Low Riser head isn’t much different than the 390 High
Performance or many of the standard heads, you have a huge playing field with which to work.
we have three basics types,
not including the SOHC and
Tunnel Port. From left to right
are the Low Riser, Medium
Riser and High Riser. The
Low Riser is a fine street
head and isn't much different
than the 390/406 High
Performance casting. The
Medium Riser head gives a
better balance of street and
strip performance. It is a
compromise between the
High and Low Riser pieces.
The High Riser head (on the
right) has huge ports for
high-rpm operation. Its small
chambers yield much higher
compression ratios. These
heads do not interchange
well with other "FE"
displacements due to valve to
block interference. The 427
had the largest bores and
valves of the "FE" series
engines.
chambers. Ford’s bean counters swiftly concluded machined combustion chambers were
costly and abandoned them for “as-cast” chambers. Machined chambers make little
difference in performance. Those first 1958-vintage heads set the standard for “FE” heads to
follow. Aside from combustion chamber size, standard “FE” heads didn’t change much. Valve
sizes remained the same (2.02"/1.55") for standard “FE” heads. So did port size. This makes
interchangeability a snap, and with very few exceptions.
for heads, keep the
exhaust ports in mind.
"FE" and "FT" heads
were configured with
three possible
exhaust manifold bolt
scenarios - 16-bolt,
14-bolt and 8-bolt.
This is a 428 Cobra
Jet head, which is a
16-bolt pattern. It fits
most "FE" and "FT"
engines.