I have an old pair of Renegade 205 AFR heads. They are bare and would need to be put together. There is also some pitting in the chambers and around the exhaust ports. Intake ports look fine. I am trying to build a 450+ HP 69 351W. Would it be worth it spend the money on the AFR heads or just buy a new set of edelbrocks or similar?
I can’t imagine that pitting is at all an issue. I’d at least get a price to ‘build’ out what you have. You may even want to see if AFR offers a refresh/rebuild service.
Regarding your target build, I’ve put together a few Windsor motors - I strive for torque builds since generally when you go for higher HP you’re a bit disappointed with the street driving. the 302 in my Cobra replica is 375 ft. lbs. and 330 HP - done with Ford’s E-303 cam, smaller port Edelbrock heads and the GT40 Ford intake with injection. The power band is all below 5500 with a nice flat torque curve. I’ll be building a 347 for my '67 Cougar, but I’m going with AFR 185s (1st gen) I picked up for a good price. I’ve chosen the TFS stage one came due split profile and higher LSA (112 degrees) for better idle. The 205s will definitely give you a better high RPM power option, but are you planning to drive the car much at high revs?
Thank you for the great response. Good ideas to work with and appreciate the info. Car is going to be 90% a 1/4 mile car, so the higher RPM idea with the 205’s seems to make sense.
If 90% is the drags - have you thought of a stroker? That will be a tremendous advantage - and it will still look like a 351 
and while you’re at it - perhaps a reduced base circle cam to accommodate roller lifters? I retrofit the late 80s roller spider hold down, stock roller lifters and a comp cams cam in my 289. It just took careful drilling and tapping of the hold-down screws in the center of the valley (just above the cam bearings - depth matters!). I’d be willing to bet you can find the roller setup from a later 351 and possibly do the same thing. I’ve not researched that option - but did so with the 289. The only thing was careful stackup measurements to make sure with the positive stop OEM rockers on my '88 heads it all worked - sure enough - CompCams had the exact length pushrods needed to make it happen.
Thanks, but trying to keep it simple and not really looking to be the quickest car. Looking to get into the 11.50 range without spending a ton of money with a relatively stock interior/exterior. I appreciate the help though and good information to think about!