Trick Flow Specialties Introduces Ford FE, “DHC” Small Block Chevy Cylinder Heads at SEMA

LAS VEGAS, NV — Trick Flow Specialties unveiled a pair of new cylinder head designs for classic American performance applications.

Today, the company showed off its new PowerPort 175 Cylinder Heads for Ford 390-428 FE and DHC 175 Cylinder Heads for small block Chevrolet on this first day of the 2016 SEMA Show.

Trick Flow got its start helping big block Ford enthusiasts get more power from their engines, and now the Akron, OH-based company has returned to its big block roots by offering its first Ford FE cylinder heads.

The direct bolt-on heads fit 1961-76 engines and feature Trick Flow’s CNC Street Ported intake and exhaust runners. This CNC porting ensures dimensional accuracy and balance between the runners and helps the heads easily outflow the stock design.

The lightweight aluminum cylinder heads have CNC-profiled 70cc combustion chambers and include bronze alloy valve guides, ductile iron valve seats, and multi-angle valve seat machining. The assembled versions include larger 2.190-inch intake/1.625-inch exhaust valves, PAC racing valve springs, and chromoly or titanium retainer options.

Trick Flow’s new Ford 390-428 FE cylinder heads and matching FE intake manifold on display at the 2016 SEMA Show.

“There are so many different styles of FE heads out there,” said Trick Flow engineering supervisor Cory Roth. “We went with a medium riser design because it accepts more parts. We also went with the larger valve sizes than many comparable FE heads on the market. The factory FE heads that have these same valve sizes won’t fit the 390 bore, but these do.”

According to airflow testing, these larger valves, along with bigger intake ports, help yield significant airflow gains over stock — up to 258 cfm at .500-inch lift.

Roth says customer demand led to the development of the 390-428 FE heads, as well as the DHC small block Chevy heads.

Trick Flow’s DHC 175 Cylinder Heads for small block Chevy combine the best of two worlds: nostalgic appearance and modern performance. The heads take a vintage Chevrolet design and improves upon it by incorporating 60cc CNC-profiled combustion chambers with blended bowl matching under the valves and small cross-section intake runners to promote low-rpm torque increases.

Trick Flow’s DHC Small Block Chevy cylinder heads on display at the 2016 SEMA Show in Las Vegas.

The 175cc intake runners feature Trick Flow’s Fast As Cast treatment, which duplicates the runner profiles of more expensive CNC-ported heads. Although the heads are made from A356-T61 aluminum, they have the exterior styling and straight spark plug holes the provide a nostalgic appearance.

“Some of our heads didn’t look vintage enough for some of our customers,” Roth said. “We’ve never had straight plug heads, but we went with a straight plug here to match that vintage look our customers wanted.”

Other improvements over the original design include bronze alloy valve guides, ductile iron valve seats, and multi-angle valve seat machining. The heads are available bare or fully assembled.

“If you were to recondition an old set of these heads, you could wind up spending $1,000 between seat and guide work and refurbishing the head,” Roth said. “And you’re still not going to get the improved performance and airflow gains of these all-new aluminum heads.”