E88 not the best head?

[ZmeFly]

like anything with performance comes money.

i like the early E88 head on a F54 block. port polish the head polisht the combustion chambers, insert larger valves ss steel seats, a good cam and you have a great gas pump ready engine that will kick some arse

[onuthin]

hi all i was told that the E88 head was 2nd best. if im wrong correct me please but is there a better head if so where can i buy it? let me know plz and thanks

I just ran up on a F 54 block with P90 heads. I understand with flat top pistons it will have plenty of compression. I am new to this part of performance so I would like any input I cah get.

[ncz]

Hey guys I suck at searching for old threads but there was one here that linked to a guys web site that went through all of the combinations that you are talking about. He described all blocks, heads and the combinations. Sorry I can't be more specific but he had it all down, very informative. Maybe someone else knows how to get to that thread. I will keep looking

[Fun_in_my_z]

Would a L31 bolt right on to a L28? Or would you have to change something?

[ncz]

Hey what do you know, found it. Hope it helps

http://www.geocities.com/zgarage2001/engine.html

[Mr Camouflage]

Would a L31 bolt right on to a L28? Or would you have to change something?

Yes. :classic:

[onuthin]

I got my info from that sight but have been to other sites that say different. I wanted input from others that have tried combinations to see how they work

[SteveInOakland]

Quote: "I have two different E88 heads, the early E88 head and a later one (at least this is what i've been told). The casting marks are different between the two and makes identification abit easier. The early head has a skinny E and a uniform 88 casting mark where as the later head is uniform through out the three characters (same size and thickness)."

The uniform lettering of E and 88 on the later E88 heads -- was that used only on the emissions-oriented 1973 heads? I suspect it began earlier, but does anybody know? If a known 1972 head were found to have that lettering, that would tell us. (Uniform versus the skinny E.)

thanks,

Steve

[SteveInOakland]

PS -- On the E88 lettering question, there's a photo on this Zhome page:

http://zhome.com/ZCMnL/tech/E31andE88Heads.htm

showing the chamber side of a 1973-type head vs. the 1972-type. If anybody's got an E88 head loose, it would be interesting to see if any with the 1972-type chamber side have the later casting mark. (Royce?)

[Piper]

I have both a 1970 E31 head and a late 1971 (72 model year) E88 head with the small combustion chambers. The E88 is almost identical but has very slightly larger combustion chambers and flows a little better since the valves arent shrouded like the E31. The E31 bone stock produces slightly more power, but I am in the process of doing a full race build on the E88. I had it shaved .050 and shimmed the cam towers. Schneider stage 3 cam and alloy springs as well as 44mm intake and 38 mm exhaust SI racing valves. The E88 is almost done and my E31 is a fresh rebuild with less than 200 miles on it. I'm using the E31 for driving around while I am finishing the E88. After I'm done with the E31 I might be willing to sell it.

[SteveInOakland]

I have both a 1970 E31 head and a late 1971 (72 model year) E88 head with the small combustion chambers. The E88 is almost identical but has very slightly larger combustion chambers and flows a little better since the valves arent shrouded like the E31.

So on your E88 -- what's the 'E88' lettering like? Is the 'E' skinny or is it full width like the two 8s?

thanks,

Steve

[Piper]

E31 on the car right now

E88 E is as wide as 8s

Valves are pretty big on my E88 (biggest you can fit, they barely made it) and the chamber is notched under the spark plug

stock E88 valves for comparison

I ran the E88 for a few hundred miles with a slightly clogged oiler bar that scarred my stage two cam and instigated the rebuid with an internally oiling stage three cam (reason why it is dirty).