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B230F Heads - All the same? ALL 1989

posted by  someone claiming to be Brad on  Fri Dec 8 03:44 CST 2000 [RELATED]

Are all B230F heads the same? What about a B230FT - does the turbo motor use the same head? I know Ford used to hand select the heads that were used for the 2.3 turbo motors by weighing them and using the heaviest (i.e most dense) heads for the turbo motors.

Thanks,

Brad







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    Re: B230F Heads - All the same? ALL 1989

    posted by  someone claiming to be r haire on  Fri Dec 8 04:51 CST 2000 [RELATED]

    The turbo heads have sodium filled (exhaust?) valves for heat dissipation. True of the B21/23 heads (160, 398) and of the B230 (405, 530 castings).

    I do not think the SCP (small coolant passage) BCP difference is an issue with the B230FT. The SCP hangs on to the headgasket much better and is more desirable in the 398 casting series. All 160's are BCP. I think all 530 are SCP, not sure if ALL 405 are SCP.

    There can be differences in the sensor positions and threadings as well as a minor change in the porting area as I recall and of course the K-jet heads have injector ports whereas the LH heads do not but basically the heads for any of the red engines are remarkabley similar.

    Most of this latter is of course beyond your original question.







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      Re: B230F Heads - All the same? ALL 1989

      posted by  someone claiming to be philip bradley on  Fri Dec 8 06:48 CST 2000 [RELATED]

      All B230F heads should be the -530 head in the US. There is a rare -531 head, but I doubt you will find any in the US. It is a higher flowing head. Stock it flows as well as most ported -530 heads. On a fairly stock motor, however, you may not want such a head. A head from a turbo would work on a non turbo motor. The lower compression ratio of the turbos is derived from different pistons. Camshafts vary, and play an important role in making power. A Turbo cam is too short for high naturally aspirated power. You would want one of the higher performing Volvo camshafts or an aftermarket cam. Putting an aftermarket cam in your stock head might be the most bang for the buck. If you have to remove your head for some reason, you could do some basic work on it then, like a multi angle valve job and light clean up and port matching. If you have to buy a new or rebuilt head and would also be willing to buy a performance cam, you should consider something like Unitek's head package with cam and gasket, assembled and shipped. I think the total cost, shipped is just under $2000. You would probably pay $1200 or more for a rebuilt head, gasket, and performance cam and would get probably 2/3 the benefits. I think there is a link to Unitek from the www.turbobricks.org under links.

      Philip Bradley







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        Re: B230F Heads - All the same? ALL 1989

        posted by  someone claiming to be Brad on  Sat Dec 9 04:31 CST 2000 [RELATED]

        Thanks for the details. My plans for this head are somewhat experimental at this point (see earlier message). If I go with the 8v head, I'll likely keep it a blown motor, if I opt for the 16v, I'm thinking high compression N/A.

        Has anyone ever tried dual-plugging the 8v head? I've already got a dual-plug ignition on the setup this would be used on, so there'd be nothing to do on the ignition side, just a matter of re-drilling the CC. I realize there'd be no value in doing this to the 16v, since the plug it optimally located at dead center.

        Brad







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        Re: B230F Heads - All the same? 200 1991

        posted by  someone claiming to be Andrew on  Fri Dec 8 19:39 CST 2000 [RELATED]

        philip bradley wrote:

        > All B230F heads should be the -530 head in the US. There is a rare

        > -531 head, but I doubt you will find any in the US. It is a higher

        > flowing head. Stock it flows as well as most ported -530 heads. On a

        > fairly stock motor, however, you may not want such a head.

        Why not? 531 was a stock head for European 940 B230FB's (or G's), works great on those engines. They had a different cam, though. Is that the reason?

        Regards

        Andrew







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        Re: B230F Heads - All the same? ALL 1989

        posted by  someone claiming to be r haire on  Fri Dec 8 07:29 CST 2000 [RELATED]

        Thanks PB for mentioning cams, something I forgot to get into. I myself put a 160 turbo head with a K cam on my B21F(non-T) 242 GT and like it a lot.

        And the 530/531 thing has always been an uncertainty for me as well. However one thing we all do occassionally on the board is forget to put our comments adjacent to the original posters reply so that he will receive them directly. I certainly benefitted this time and will forward your comments to Brad. He has pointed out that our heads are a direct bolt up for certain Ford applications.






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