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OLD GASKET MATCH PORTED HEADS & PORTING INFORMATION
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I have wanted to add some info on what and how I reworked my stock heads. Since I just had to redo my old heads due to a crack in the valve bowls, I was finally able to get pics and add a section about my old gasket match ported heads. For comparison, I got pics of the stock heads I used for replacements!

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Porting Overview
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First off let me give you a brief overview about doing general porting on your own set of heads...I have done all my own porting on my heads. Iron heads are a bear. They take forever and you must not rush it. Patience is the key... A safety mask, gloves, and a face mask are a MUST! The iron, if gotten in your eyes or lungs, WILL rust!!

I recommend you go to Google and search on "Standard Abrasives". They have a site with detailed pics and instructions on porting heads! This is what I did and how I learned! Porting your own heads is something I would recommend only to the dedicated serious person. And yes do practice on some junk pieces as you have to get used to working with the tool and get used to what pressure removes how much material. You DO NOT want to cut thru the chambers into a coolant passage or such! You also want to be sure you really want to do this... as once you start you have to finish!

This page will discuss my second go at porting a set of heads. The first time I ported, I ordered the Standard Abrasives head porting kit. My only complaint was that the bits were too large to get into alot of places on our tinny v-6 ports... hence I had to do some dremel work. The key is to keep the tool under 10,000 rpms! The dremel is a supposed NONO, but one thing in my favor... mine has variable speed and I kept it below the recommended 10,000 RPMS. As time was the prob this time, I could not order a kit and wait, so I used the dremel from the start.

One thing I recommend to limit the vehicle down time... You may go to a yard and try to get a good replacement set of heads to port. You may have to have a machine shop check them, BEFORE YOU PORT, to be sure they are not flawed or cracked. Port the new ones, have a valve job done, and resurfacing. Then you can just swap them on. For a machine shop to rework your heads... mine was $430, but I had a ton of extras! Call around and see!

For the average person trying to get a bit better performance, the main goal is to gasket match the ports to match each other. The idea would be to place the gasket on both the lower intake as well as the intake port on the heads and mark the surface where the metal shows to the inside of the gasket hole. By matching both surfaces to the gasket, you can be sure they in turn match each other. You want to eliminate any large steps or extreme change in surface to avoid unnecessary turbulence.

You want to get rid of the casting bumps in the intake ports of the heads as well as on the exhaust side. Remove any sharp angles or casting ridges. The bump in the intake port on the 2.8/3.1/3.4 heads is there for a reason... DO NOT REMOVE IT! It helps with air flow as it has been explained 2 me & as I understand it!

When porting the intake side, you leave a mild rough texture... this is to help keep the fuel mist suspended and mixing with the incoming air. The exhaust ports & combustion chamber you want to polish as smooth as you can. This will help keep carbon from adhering to the surface and causing a buildup that can hinder performance. When polishing the combustion chamber, you need to do the work with a set of junk valves in. You do not want to hit a valve seal surface or you will be in for a valve job. If you hit it bad you may ruin the heads to the point that even a valve job can't fix it!!

Since I was porting iron, I used a tungsten carbide cutter to rough in the porting where I had to remove alot of material. Then moved on to a pink grinding stone. Took quite a few of these. Then to the sanding rolls. This is where I stopped on the intake ports. On the exhaust and combustion chamber I then used a Scotchbrite wheel then followed with a sand paper flapper wheel (This barely fit in the exhaust ports! LOL!)

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Stock Heads
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Here are some pics of a stock set of heads to give you an idea what they look like in raw form! These are the set I had to use to replace mine when a crack was found in them. Fr the pics I will follow the air flow track...

Intake port

Intake port pic from the combustion chamber...

Another...

Now to the exhaust from the combustion chamber...

Another...

Finally out thru the exhaust port

You can see all the casting bumps that will have to be removed to get better flow in all these pics. I tried to even get good shots down in the ports thru the exhaust port...

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Gasket Match Ported Heads
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To let give you a better idea what you will be getting into...Here is one of my old gasket match ported heads sitting on the stock head. You can clearly see there is a good bit of material removed out of the top ported one!

Here are some further pictures of the port job on my old heads. Again flowing the air flow path...

The intake ports

The intake track from the combustion chamber...

Combustion chamber

The exhaust ports

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Crack in the heads...
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Well my old heads came off for a valve job and all seemed well. The parts were to the machinist and the waiting began. Well then came the call. One of my heads were cracked... Right b/w the exhaust and intake valve!

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HOME PAGE

Follow this link to additional information on the car not found on this site!
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DIRECTORY FOR RAIF'S ENGINE PERFORMANCE SITE
01 Site Overview
02 Most Current Dyno and Track run
03 Early Cold Air Induction System
04 2001 Modifications
05 2001 Track Times
06 2002 Modifications
07 2002 Dyno & Track Times
08 2002 Fall Modifications
09 2002 Fall Dyno & Track Times
10 2003 Distributor rebuild
11 2003 Transgo Shift Kit & Stall Converter
12 2003 May Dyno
13 2003 3.4L Engine Swap
14 2003 3.73 Disc Rearend Swap
15 2003 December Dyno
16 2004 Cutout & PF&E Headers
17 2004 Dyno
18 2004 / 2005 Transmission
19 2005 3in Mandrel Bent Exhaust & Dyno Results
20 2005 Truleo Intake, 65mm Ford Throttle body, Stock, & Disassembly Pictures
21 2005 Truleo Intake, Ford TB, & Fuel Rail Installation
22 2005 Truleo Intake & Ford TB Vacuum Line Routing
23 2005 Truleo Intake & Ford TB Custom Linkage Installation
24 2006 MSD Box & New fuel Pump
25 2006 Old Heads: Gasket Match Ported, & General Porting Information <<<
26 2006 New Heads: Extreme Porting
27 2006 New Heads: Multiangle Valve Job, 1.6 Roller Tip Rockers, Beefier Valve springs
28 2006 Lower Runner (Intake Base) Gasket Match Porting
29 2006 Extreme Lower Runner (Intake Base) Porting
30 2006 Dyno Results: Truleo & New Head Combo
31 Future Plans

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