Engine GT 40 3 bar heads. ( worth the effort ? )

[Rogie Stone]

I am in the process of building a 93 convertible, The goal for this car is for it to be a driver with about 350 HP.
I am almost done with suspension upgrades and provisions for 5 speed swap and it is time to start getting the engine ready to drop back in.
I need to decide on head cam intake combo.
Will I be able to meet my 350HP goal with GT 40 3 bar heads ?

Are the heads discribed in this for sale post worth the $ 400 ?

 

[JD1964]

These things are money pits. Many of us experience that first hand, including me. In this game remember this. Cheap is expensive.

With the power you’re looking for, I recommend a good set of aftermarket aluminum heads.

Those Gt40’s don’t mention any milling that’s been done. If they have been milled, then how much? Too much and you can’t get an intake to line up right unless it’s also milled accordingly. Also, too much milling makes the deck too thin and might cause problems with head gasket sealing.

I have Gt40 on my setup milled .015 and I’m about to change over to new aftermarket aluminum since I’ve had repeated head gasket problems. Trust me, these sbf are notorious for head gasket problems in performance applications.

Spend more money initially and you probably spend less in the long run. If you try and go cheap you might even get frustrated and wind up quitting altogether. We’ve seen that too

 

[Mustang5L5]

In my opinion, no. Not worth it.

I was originally planning a GT40 combo. After pricing out getting the heads worked over I decided to just spring for an aftermarket head.

 

[General karthief]

I'll jump in here with my opinion.
I bought my 4 bar heads many years ago new, $600.
They are going on my engine now. If I needed to buy heads today I would skip right to a quality set of aluminum heads and never look back.

 

[7991LXnSHO]

350 hp sounds too optimistic for Gt-40 heads, even with an intake and cam. There are aluminum ones that will get a lot closer.

I’d like to upgrade to a good set of iron performance heads for reliability reasons. But without knowing the heads’ history, I do not know how to tell if they are good by myself. I’d have to have a good machine shop check them out. How much do you like to gamble?