Question about Twisted Wedge heads.

[DAVE94LIGHTNING]

Guys..looking into putting some box stock twisted wedge heads on the truck. Opinions on the heads???

What else will I need?

I bought 7.56" pushrods for the roller cam conversion will these work?

What ratio and type of roller rockers should I get?

Do they come with the head bolt holes to fit our trucks? Or will they need to be drilled?

Finally..just spit out anything you feel like telling me about these heads..good/bad...installation glitches...what to look out for...
The cam will be the 1991 mustang roller cam and I might port the intake ports to match the ported lower GT 40.

It really sucks that all that awesome info on the heads was lost from the old board..I know a bunch of you went through this not too long ago.

Thanks

 

[Chris Wood]

I have the Trik Flows on my Capri, I am satisified with them, but here is my input: Use ARP fastners (bolts not studs), I believe the heads come with holes for 7/16" bolts.

I recently had a problem with the valve guides, one broke and several were worn (smoked really bad). On the twisted wedge heads Trick-Flow uses some kind of manganesse guide, have them replaced with bronze guides. If the heads are used, they need freshining up anyway.

My heads are pedistal monunt type, and I used the FMS roller rockers with Trick Flow's pedistals, (1.6:1) and the stock pushrods, I know you are supposed to use longer ones, but my 306 was built by a guy that has made his living (a good one at that) by building performance engines. He degreed my cam in and even put shims under the pedistals, actually making the pushrods seem shorter! He did however mill my heads by .010".

Over all, I am pleased with the heads (except for the valve guide problem, which Trick-Flow has admitted, and supposedly fixed in the later production heads). I would still get them looked at by someone that knows what he is looking at.

My engine guy told me (when I took him my broken heads) that if "someone comes in here with a set of Trick-Flows, we remove the oil seals from the exhaust valve." He says that the problem is that the material the stock valve guides needs some lubrication, the intake valve is lubricated and cooled by the fuel and air mixture, the exhaust vave has very little lubrcation, and is ALWAYS subjected to high heat.

Good luck, hopes this helps!

 

[DAVE94LIGHTNING]

Chris It helped a lot. I knew about removing the exhaust seal from a racing buddy..they did it to all their heads. The new trick flows only come in stud mount so I have to sell my motorsport roller rockers. I think the new heads now come with either 1/2 or 7/16 holes.

One question, why bolts and not studs?

BTW, I now have a set of AFR 185 heads for the same price..any opinions on which head i should go with? I have heard a few things about trick flow using cheap parts in their heads, but I was not sure if this was remedied in their new heads.

I will post a new post about which head to go with. Thanks.

 

[Chris Wood]

Check out the thread "ARP head bolts or studs". Looks like you can use studs.

 

[RaZoR]

trick flow

Great Heads for the money...i run a set of Track Heats on the Stang. BE SURE to check piston to vave clearance..mainly your intake. Unless u flycut your pistons.( which they are not worth it)
Oh and for that sake...stay 1.6 ratio...Another.1 in lift, you'll never notice...look at spending around 250 for some nice roller rockers.

 

[sstock]

If I had the choice between the AFR's and Trickflows , I would definately go AFR. I am not fond of the twisted wedge design. I had a set and they didnt workout, probably part my fault. Anyway, I see you bought the pushrods already, that is a very common mistake. You cannot buy the pushers until you get the heads on and and set up the contact patch on the valve tip with an adjustable pushrod. Geometry is everything on these trickflows. You screw up here and you will be wiping the guides out in no time.
Guys, I found out that there is no cylinder head that you can take out of the box and bolt on without adjustments.
Right now as we speak, I've got the Prussian blue out and bench setting my Steeda rockers(adjustable pedelstals) for correct contact patch.
Never buy your pushrods until the heads are on and the contact patch is setup with the adjustable pushrod. Then measure the adjustable pushrod(machine shop caliper) and call the company to order in person you can get them sent out overnight. There are 3 different ways to measure the rod because of the hole in the end of the rod. Make sure you communicate your method and order the right length the first time.
Good luck Steve

 

[Chris Wood]

Very good info Steve. All good points. For what it's worth, my block was decked at (I think that this is right) .000" and I have the trw forged pistons (stock pin location), the pistons were cut by, and purchaced from www.dssracing.com to fit the Trick-Flow heads, I run a Lunati 292/.512" cam. D.S.S. says that I can go more, but this is a street car.

 

[DAVE94LIGHTNING]

Cool. Good info. The only reason I allready bought the pushrods was because I was initially only going to do the roller cam conversion. Thus I just neede to know if the ones that I had allready bought would work with the new heads. So, now can I just buy one adjustable pushrod? From a shop like PAW? or Autozone?

Thanks again.

 

[HotRod]

With the addition of my polished, NOT ported T/W heads and an Extrude-Honed lower, the Gen1 picked up over 5 mph and over 6/10ths in ET. When I added the CompCam it added another 2 mph and dropped 4/10ths.
To summerize, your going to love those heads. Ive never had any problems with this set as of yet. Very reliable.