Is it an NA head or Turbo?

Topic: Is it an NA head or Turbo? (Read 645 times) previous topic - next topic

Is it an NA head or Turbo?

December 17, 2009, 12:21:02 PM

I picked up this rebuilt head from the jy from a turbo mustang that was made into a NA car. it had NHRA stickers so they could have made it NA for a certain class. It still had the turbo oil return line(but it was block off), disconnected VAM, and turbo computer, . You can tell it ran rich because of the carbon build up. The car was not even run that long-oil still clean and piston walls were just done. I say the car had less than 200 miles on it IF EVEN THAT. I took pics of head in every angle. Help me out with this one. Is it a turbo head made NA or is it just a NA head? Is it a turbo head with NA valves? It even has small holes drilled in it on the exhaust side. Bowls look like turbo bowls. All insight appreciated

http://i158.photobucket.com/albums/t97/biggrgivens/exhaustside.jpg
http://i158.photobucket.com/albums/t97/biggrgivens/headbottom.jpg
http://i158.photobucket.com/albums/t97/biggrgivens/headintakesideDport.jpg
http://i158.photobucket.com/albums/t97/biggrgivens/headfront.jpg

Here is a side by side comparison with known turbo head on left
http://i158.photobucket.com/albums/t97/biggrgivens/sidebysideturboonleft.jpg

(Excuse the writing on head saying, "Bad Head" or "cabeza Malo" or "cracked". I do that to keep the competition from pulling it. Hehehehehe)

Is it an NA head or Turbo?

Reply #1 – December 17, 2009, 05:58:23 PM

Looks like a turbo head to me. The combustion chamber is "D" shaped and not "heart" shaped like a N/A head.
BTW, turbo & N/A heads used the same size valves (1.735" & 1.500"), it was just that the valves in a turbo head were made of a material that would withstand much higher temperatures.

Here is a picture of a N/A heads "heart" shaped combustion chamber that I pulled from the merkurencyclopedia website:

Brent

Is it an NA head or Turbo?

Reply #2 – December 17, 2009, 06:27:00 PM

well just my 2 cents... that is an oval port head. with open combustion chamber (hence d shaped) i do beleive for N/A 2.3 there was both oval and d-port intake ports, as well as open and closed chamber heads (d shaped and heart shaped) combonations dependant on the year of the motor. as far as knowing if its a turbo head or not. i couldnt tell you. i know an 86 2.3 was d-port closed chamber head for n/a which was only about 9-9.6:1 compression

Is it an NA head or Turbo?

Reply #3 – December 17, 2009, 06:35:55 PM

my experience with the heads NA was oval and turbo was D-shaped you could take the casting numbers to Ford and see for sure. I just now saw the side by side pic the blue one is definitely an NA head look at the difference in the valves.

Is it an NA head or Turbo?

Reply #4 – December 17, 2009, 09:52:33 PM

Sorry, I missed the oval port pic. Oval port with a "D" shaped combustion chamber would mean that it's a 1981 or older head.

Brent

Is it an NA head or Turbo?

Reply #5 – December 20, 2009, 12:21:08 AM

Take a magnet to the exhaust valves. The turbo valves, which are made from inconel, won't be magnetic. Dead give away. Just the valve head will be inconel, not the stem. Also another dead give away is that the early carbed turbo's that used an oval intake port head will have the oil drain back in the head, by the #4 spark plug.
That's an N/A head.