I got a quote today to redo the heads off of my Coug. Hardened seals, springs, valves, rockers and rods for just South of $400 for the pair. Fair price?
That is pretty fair with rockers and rods. I would not put 400 into a set of stock heads but that is me.
Maybe because the difference between getting the original heads done vs AFR 165’s is a thousand dollars?
No not really. I just would not put a stock rebuild on a stock head when for a bit more you can improve them. It does not take much to improve a stock head because Ford left a lot on the table. They are about the worse small block head out there. They got better in some years (GT40) but still left a lot to be desired. And yes there is a dollar point in that step up on the stock heads, where you have to consider going aftermarket.
And I can afford to do this now and get the car back on the road. It’s fairly rare so I’d like to keep it as stock as possible.
Then that $400 price is a pretty good one. “Leave 'er stock and let it live” I have heard said. I can say there are a few time I should have heeded that!