B heads were from 1993 (Mark VIII) to 1998 (Mark VIII, Cobra, Continental)
1999 got the first C heads (Continental, Cobra) and lasted to 2001 again being Cobra and Continental. 03/04 Cobras and Mach1 got the revised head that had more port volume but same velocities as earlier C heads. There is no such thing as a revised non-ticking 04 head. They are all the same. To help not have the tick you need the head cooling mod as there are hot spots around cylinders 7&8 cause noplace for the coolant to flow.
A B head flows more then a C head but has lower velocities. So ultimatly they can make more power.
The best cams are 96 Cobra cams as they are just slightly more agressive then all other production cams. And I dont meen buying new ones from Ford cause they are the same as the rest, I meen the originally installed cams in 96 Cobras.
As for motors all the Cobras have the forged crank and people swing them to over 1000hp with no problem. The Marks and Mach1s with automatics have a cast crank that can still hold 700ish.
The best block Ford makes, hands down, is the 4.6Teksid block. No American company ever made a better block in my opinion. With forged internals they can handle north of 2000 hp and they are ver very light. The latted Windsor blocks are like 26lbs lighter but not as strong. Even the aluminator block isnt as strong.
The Teksid block was expensive so Ford stopped offfering them. You can find them in 93-98 Mark VIIIs and 96-98 Cobras. The Continental has them too but their engine mounting points are different so they neeed mods to fit in a RWD car.
I happen to have a Teksid 4V B head complete motor on my stand outside that I am about to list online that needs a rebuild.