[rallyusa]

Soo got my quote back for having my 2.5 heads rebuilt and 3 liter valves swapped, total comes out to $970. That's a bit more than I expected so I'm going to do some shopping around to try and find a better price. Does that seem reasonable to you fine folks? I'll attach the quote PDF

 

[mmc757]

Thats why nobody does it. That's more than most of our cars are worth, and twice the cost of a reasonable mileage 3.0.
If you don't have reason to suspect a head problem, I would skip it.

 

[B3NN3TT]

More than I would want to spend, but I'm just being realistic about this worthless old car, LOL.

Seriously, I'm making 200 wheel with the same old 2.5 valves. I did have my heads pressure tested and the surface milled though; I think it was $100.

 

[rallyusa]

What's up ya'll, I'm finally getting around to doing some work on the Cougar, I've ordered headers off of ebay.co.uk that fit a Mondeo ST200 (not sure if the link works outside of my Ebay account so I'm uploading an image too). My first step is going to be blasting the headers and then using some VHT ceramic no-bake coating to help protect them from rust. After that, it's really a matter of taking the 3.0 donor engine apart, swapping out the cams and cam bearing caps into the 2.5 heads, then taking it to a machine shop to get the heads decked and cam journals/bearings polished. I have new valves on the way, and will be doing some minor porting/polishing to the heads when they come back. Once that's done, the re-assembly begins, I'll keep this thread updated with pics and I'm going to do a YouTube video when I'm done to pull it all together. Stay tuned!

 

[rallyusa]

Some more news, just ordered a new set of 2.5 cylinder heads for $120 (for both!) brand-new, just did "make an offer" on eBay, so this is going to save me a lot of time since I don't have to worry about ordering valves/seats etc... I'm going to do some basic port/gasket matching on these new heads, and do a full port/polish on the old heads after I get them decked. I think I'm also going to try and find a place that will widen the valve seats to 3.0 spec for a decent price. The next step for me is dropping the subframe and I'm going to make a custom rolling dolly for it so I can easily move it around, then I'm going to start building it back up.

I'll also be gutting the old engine mounts and making my own, I'll probably make a YouTube video of that and post it here, stay tuned.

 

[rallyusa]

Question for ya'll, since I'll be using the 2.5 heads on the 3.0 block, I know my compression is going to be pretty high (11.2:1 IIRC). I see that ARP has some head studs available that would be ideal, but do I really need to worry about this or am I being over-cautious?

ARP stud kit: summitracing.com/parts/arp-253-4701#overview

 

[mmc757]

I couldn't imagine paying ARP prices when multiple other suppliers have them for under $25/set.

 

[B3NN3TT]

I think I paid around $80 for a head stud kit for my build, with 2.5 heads on the 3.0 block. It’s been driven hard for a few years now.

 

[dallarace2]

Hi,
glad to see that there are other mad guys who buy old cougars even in 2020 and spend money on it

My first step is going to be blasting the headers and then using some VHT ceramic no-bake coating to help protect them from rust.

i got the headers in the pictures, they are stainless steel made so no rust at all,
the only good thing to do is to bend the two section near the oil pan to avoid heating of the pan

I think I'm also going to try and find a place that will widen the valve seats to 3.0 spec for a decent price.

i've done that valve swap, i'm repented
an advice? don't do it, you will kill the flow speed at the end of the port
if you already bought the valves....keep it for your next project, maybe you will do a full 3.0 in future...who knows

Question for ya'll, since I'll be using the 2.5 heads on the 3.0 block, I know my compression is going to be pretty high (11.2:1 IIRC). I see that ARP has some head studs available that would be ideal, but do I really need to worry about this or am I being over-cautious?

yes, arp head studs is overkill for your engine output
and start thinking that 11.2:1 means revving only with premium fuel (ron98)