COMET CENTRAL

My 63 is a factory 260 4-speed car with the "fastback" roof. I can't imagine that a lot of them were built that way, so I really don't want to do an engine swap. I have a set of D0OE heads I'm not using for anything. I am thinking they might provide a little performance boost for street driving. Any advice, thoughts, or comments would be greatly appreciated.

Can the D0OE be shaved enough to get decent compression? The chambers are 64 cc vs. 54 cc for the stock heads.
Do I even need to port the heads to feed a 260? Or can I just gasket match?
There are much better heads available, of course, but the 260 bore size rules out most of them. Would you recommend Gt40s, GT40Ps, E7TEs, etc instead of the D0OEs?

351W heads are no good for you!! You would need a piston with a dome to get any compression back,and custom head bolts as the 351W uses 1/2 bolts where other SBFs used 7/16!I do not believe you could shave then enough to get back to 54 CC!! ROY.

I used a set decades ago. Seem's like .035 had to be milled off, steam holes had to be drilled and grade 8 washer's to make up the difference in head bolt sizes. To Roy's point, there are better option's.

SW

Edelbrock #9680 is a bushing kit that will allow heads with 1/2" holes to be used with 7/16" bolts.

Maybe a cam and rear gear change would give that spirit your looking for,

260 head's have tiny valves.

Not to discount your point about the original engine and the rarity of your car in any way. But have you thought that if your goal is more power putting a 302 based engine in would accomplish that and if you dress the out side of it just like your 260 the average person will never know the difference. You would want to keep the original 260 for a later time such as if you decide to sell the car you can put it back or include with the car. One thought many have expressed is this way you don't take a chance on ruining the original block.

Just something to think about, it might be a way of meeting your goal,

My 2 cents
Ant

Lip Ripper wrote:260 head's have tiny valves.

Ya, they're actually designed to idle,,, lol

I agree with Anthony,keep the 260,then swap in a 289-302 for way more power and parts availability!!The head bolts are the LEAST of your issues!! JMO , ROY.

ON my 64 289,it has 63 289 heads,the man that built them for me,said they had 260 valves and the smallest cc chambers,,thats why it hits so hard...this is the engine that came in the comet when new,,,for the purpose of the comet when I built it ,I was after the rumpity rump camshaft and the whine of the gear drive...and I got it ! right down to a T!!!!!!......and for SONIC cruise's and car shows,,it all works like a clock and gets respectable MPG IF I stay off both carbs, pop

Thanks everyone for your replies.

I know engine swap is the way to go, but I also know that if I open that can of worms, the 302 becomes a 347 or the Windsor gets pulled out of the Pinto and stroked to 408, then the car gets gutted and back-halfed....

Pop- Would the 63 289 head be basically the same as what I have? Maybe there is hope for them after all. I wonder if that is what Shelby used to get 260hp out of the first Cobra.

Pop- Would the 63 289 head be basically the same as what I have? Maybe there is hope for them after all. I wonder if that is what Shelby used to get 260hp out of the first Cobra.[/quote]
WELL,I know for a fact that 63 289 is on my heads,under the VC's,they are the ones that came on my 64 289 ...and it is 60 over,,, with flat tops,and the head rebuilder told me that it had the small 260 valves and the smallest cc chambers,,,,,and I forget the spec's on the camshaft,,,but you can look it up,,it is a EDELBROCK PERFORMER RPM,,,,AND I LIKED IT SO WELL THAT I put the same cam in my 1984 5.0 mercury CAPRI 5-SPD AND THE SAME IS IN my 65 289 2X4 ALUMN HEADED ENGINE for my 65 COBRA kit car.,,,,,,,,I used the performer ,not the RPM cam in the 351 w that son and I put in WIFE'S 1956 FORD,it has a nice sound but but with alumn heads with the bigger CC chambers ,it can't hold a light to my comet on the rumpity rump sound,,but runs good !! DON'T know how hard those 63 289 heads are to come by,but I do remember when the rebuilder called me to come and pick them up.he said he had a lot of FORD GUYS looking at them and offering to buy them,so he said he suggested that I don't waste any time coming to get them,,,I've seen in the past some mighty stout running 260's with a 4spd..it was yrs ago.......if I had a pair ,I would certainly try them,,,,guys on here are much more smarter then OL POP.....

Pop, you ever drive a car with the little 221? I always wondered about those; talk about rare.

Here's a good article on the head's. http://www.mre-books.com/interchange/interchange5.html

SW

STACEY,I have for a fact, it was in a 63 2drht fairlane that I bought from a friend,Glenda saw it and liked it so I bought it,,the fairlane had 260 on the fenders but my friend told me he had replaced the 260 with a 62 221,it was a runnin little dude,had a ford o matic benind it with 5 hole 13inch wheels,dual exhaust,,it didn't matter if you drove it 40 or 80 mph or put it on a trailer and hauled it,,the cotton picking little rascal got 18 mpg.....she drove the whls off that little ford,,it scooted right along all day long....3.58 bore and 2.87stroke.......yrs later I was given a 62 mercury meteor that had a 221 in it,in fact I robbed the rocker arms off it and put on my comet when I brought it home as the rockers were worn out on my comet motor,,that was way before I decided to re-do and keep my comet...but to answer your question ...YES-SIR I HAVE and for what it was,it was good....POP

Well I'll be; same stroke as the 289 and a small bore.