Problem with GT40p heads!

Yes, I have read all the comments on this website about the problem with GT40p heads, their weird spark plug holes & the problem with hitting headers and exhaust manifolds. I even spoke with Ford Motorsports and they had no good answer. Who has come up with a good fix? Are there headers or good-flowing manifolds that work with our Comets & Mavericks and their narrow shock tower/engine well space? Or, do I need to change heads from the very beginning of my rebuild? We won't even talk about the next problem: headers and the Comet power steering and steering box... & no, I don't want to cut into my shock towers...

 

hooker 6901 is a popular choice for our cars, I'm currently running GT40p style heads and I had to purchase ceramic boots spark plug wires to keep them from melting ever 30 miles, been fine for over a year now. wires are made by Accel and cost around 140ish, I did not have to notch my towers, but you will need to buy PS drop down bracket or remove the cylinder

 

In reading all the responses on this website, I wonder why we don't just buy different heads? It sounds like, by the time one spends all the money on trying to make them work, we are better off just getting normal heads? Yes, you may lose some horsepower with regular GT 40 heads, but is it worth the headache and ongoing problems? Oh well, this is one conclusion I seem to be reaching...

 

I have the P heads as well. I purchased the Ford Racing headers that are designed for those heads. They are beautiful and fit the heads perfect with no issues fitting spark plugs or boots.

But, I am running the Rod & Custom front end so I can not tell you how well they would fit with the shock towers. They do fit tight to the engine, si I would like to think they would work? Not sure though.

Hope that helps some.....

 

I too have read the comments and wonder the same thing. From what I have read it just seems the drawbacks outweigh the benefits.
Aren't their some after market aluminum heads that can work just as good if not better for around the same money?

 

As car-nut said, there ARE headers out there that are supposed to fit, but where a set of hookers run $100 used, or $200 new, those were over $650 when I was looking at them. AND the guy couldn't guarantee me that they would fit around everything else.

I fought with with P heads for several years before giving up and going non-P GT40.

The reduction in horsepower was not noticeable. The ease of changing spark plugs WAS!!!

Only other option is stick with stock manifolds on the P heads. I never tried it, but I have heard it works.

 

Just FYI, you will run into the same clearance issues with the World Products and Roush heads.

 

I know for a fact that neither Hedman or Ford Motorsports can offer a solution. I have been in touch with techs from both organizations and they told me this.

 

What did they say about from Ford? Their headers fit my engine and the P heads perfectly!

As I said, not exactly sure about how they would fit in the car with the shock towers. I wish my there was a car near me to try them on. I would be surprised if a tech at Ford Racing would know if they fit a stock Maverick front end or not?

 

???? You think there are no Ford Racing techs that build Mavericks ? Trust me there are alot of em and they have tried things and done things you couldn't comprehend.

 

Just do your homework on a set of 1969 351W heads, learn where to cut ( i.e. exhaust bumps ) and they can flow just as good, spend $100 on the head-bolt kit from summit and problems solved.

 

I am thinking you didn't read the post correctly.. He said "at Ford Racing". I bet the people "at" Ford Racing have moved on from our cars a loooong time ago IF they even had anything to do with them as an organization.
I do agree that they do some things people don't comprehend..

 

Are you really questioning what I comprehend without knowing who I am or what I do for a living? Or how about how much research I put into the same headers myself? I am most likely the only person on this board with those headers that he and I are referring to.



If I understand his post correctly he is talking about the guys in Tech Service for Ford Motorsports. So then yes, I would be surprised a whole bunch. Look at a new FM catalog, it is all mostly Mustang 5.0 type stuff. Noting vintage at all. I have this exact headers. Nowhere in the catalog does it say what car it fits or doesn't fit. And yes I even called their tech service line. The guy did not have any clue one car to another. All he knew was that those headers were made for GT40P heads.

Now if he was talking about a technician at a Ford dealership, then yes, they might know. But even that I would highly doubt. How many guys are really into Mavericks as compared to most any other car?

I deal with Manufacture Reps all the time, especially the guys on the technical line. Believe me when I tell you that when I call a major automotive paint company and talk with their in house tech line I am probably talking with someone that has never painted a car in his entire life. Half of those guys answering questions are reading out of a technical manual.

 

I think your dreaming, most of them have probably never even seen a Maverick.

 

I see incomprehensible things that automotive engineers think up every day...Since I have to work on the cars they engineered.