Thread:

Canfield bbc heads are back!

Looks like Canfield is open a running again, not only with the original head for now, but they are also coming out with the next generation of conventional layout BBC heads soon. Seems as though one of Performance Boat's very own is not only deeply involved in the new head's design, but will be the exclusive distrubitor for the heads as well. Looks like they are aiming for heads that are application specific, including not only port shape and size but even relocating the valves themselves.
These new heads could prove to be a very interesting alternative to the cookie cutter heads that are currently out there. Can't wait to see what they have in store.
Maybe we can get a little more inside intell on the new pieces from the man himself.

Dibs on the first set!!

LINK: Next Generation Canfield BBC Heads

Love them Canfields!!!! I'll take the next set


Thanks for the info GN

I was over at the"dealers" house yesterday ..he had my build mocked up.heads are looking GREAT!
Ok, we do have a build going on, not releasing details yet, but Scott does some great work

John Fenton is very nice to deal with,when i first laid eyes on my 195cc Alum SBF heads i was a little skeptic looking at the port design till i felt the torque of the puny little 347

The original Canfield can be be better than the AFR's if they are ported for a specfic application. AFR has the widest selection of conventional layout heads on the market, and for good reason. They understand that there is no such thing as "one size fits all!"
The Canfields were one of the best "bang for the buck" head son the market. Thats exactly what Steelcomp said in the thread on the Yellowbullet thread. It looks like they are going to get away from that and start making application specific heads. What this will mean is that the heads AND camshaft will be specific to your engine instead of a head that is close and a cam out of a catalog. The benefits of this are stressed on these pages all the time but seems to fall on deaf ears because it does cost a little more. I have no idea how much the new run of the original Canfields is but I think Steel could tell you. It looks like the NEWER next generation heads won't be ready for alittle while. But I seriously doubt that most non racing applications will benefit greatly from them over the original head.
The original Canfields are a 24^o head as are all of the better conventional BBC heads. Your 345 Merlins are a 26^o head. There is a flow VS port size/lift improvement right there.
The orginal Canfield head was a great head when properly prepared. It is sorely missed by many people. It was the casting of choice for Carl Foltz's BMF series heads which were very god heads. Any head is only as good as the person that prep'd it. A bad valve job can destroy even the best port works flow numbers. Something as simple as a valve seat insert cut too deep into the chamber roof will kill the flow.



The AFR is a very nice head. I own a set. I also have a new set of the orginal Canfields setup by Steelcomp as well. I haven't run the Canfields yet because I need to get off my ass and built the engine I told Steel I would be putting them on. But I have no doubt they will live up to my expectations.

I got the newer castings on my engine in the winger and came across a set of the older castings that I bought for the other boat. There at Steels house now for alittle work. I've done alot of reading all over the web and the people that run Canfields seem to really like them. Can't wait to see what the new and improved Canfields come out runnin like.

Hey, thanks for posting that Bob and thanks for the interest guys. This is exciting to say the least, but it's still a ways off before the "new" heads will be ready. The original design 310cc "as cast" heads is what we have several sets of and will be ready in the next month or so. The heads Folts used for the BMF were a dedicated CNC casting which is what we'll start with when we design the new ports and chambers. When we run out of the old style 310's, that'll be the last of them. As I said in the announcement, we'll probably target the three major engine families with our first designs; up to 500", 540-565ci, and 588-632" engines and we'll offer as cast versions and fully CNC'd versions of each.. They're going to retain their same outward appearance, but that's going to be about all there is in common with the old heads. I'm also considering a marine-specific head for the large displacement, lower rpm apps with specific cross sections and valve sizes.
As far as comparing these to other heads...our goal will be to have the highest quality, all US-made, leading edge performance available. We have several real world test platforms available from 1000+hp recreational and dedicated race marine engines, and a mid 8 sec. WCHR/PSCA class championship Camaro. Hopefully this year my associate Craig Gerfen at Race Engine Systems (who builds and maintains the engine for the Camaro) will have his dyno up and running, so we'll have in-house dyno testing and real world results, both available. Stay tuned.

Maybe I am wrong but the last time someone took a look at the existing heads on the market was Engine Prototype Development(EPD) versions of the Brodix head, and they were the shiznit back then. Everything now is pretty much monkey see monkey do and a name/price war.
The next gen heads could be a refreshing change to whats currently available.

These guys are doing some conv. heads as well but they are extremely expensive, and require their own design of T&D rockers & hardware.
Scott, are your heads going to be this "over the top" out of reach expensive or will they be cpable of the same outcome yet retain the normal harware & carry a lower price range?
Happy to see you doing this.

Originally Posted by Hass828

These guys are doing some conv. heads as well but they are extremely expensive, and require their own design of T&D rockers & hardware.
Scott, are your heads going to be this "over the top" out of reach expensive or will they be cpable of the same outcome yet retain the normal harware & carry a lower price range?
Happy to see you doing this.

You can't have the same outcome and not go "over the top". The TPS heads you linked to are an all out, max effort drag race head for a specific class of racing. Like any other venue, when you want to win, you have to keep up with the curve. I don't know that we're going to go that direction specifically since I don't know anyone with a TPS car right now, but I hope to get into the higher end, BIG displacement conventional head market which does require shifted valve centers and less valve angle. Fortunately there is already valve tain available form Jessel and T&D for the Brodix and Edelbrock shifted valve heads. This will be a ways down the road though. Our conventional valve layout heads are going to be really good.

Originally Posted by Hass828

These guys are doing some conv. heads as well but they are extremely expensive, and require their own design of T&D rockers & hardware.
Scott, are your heads going to be this "over the top" out of reach expensive or will they be cpable of the same outcome yet retain the normal harware & carry a lower price range?
Happy to see you doing this.

Tsk tsk Hass. How many times do I need to tell you. There are no free lunches and tee ball is for kids. You can't get the big flow with the heads in their standard arrangement. The industry has done a pretty good job with what they have to work with. right now the standard seems to be to make the port bigger and bigger. Thats a band aid, not a soulution. The valve is still a problem. If you're looking for big flow you have to move some stuff. Like Steel said, Brodix and Edelbrock have already come out with a relocated valve head.
The entire industry has adopted the 24^o valve angle. But there is alot left in that head in its current layout. Big inch BBCs suffer from lack of intake valve, and the current location has them pretty much hand cuffed. The valve angle could be improved as well as shown by the BBF and the LS series small blocks.
None of that is going to be without some expense in both R&D and related hardware.

What are you so concerned about anyway. Don't you have a dash knob in that thing?

Originally Posted by gn7

Tsk tsk Hass. How many times do I need to tell you. There are no free lunches and tee ball is for kids. You can't get the big flow with the heads in their standard arrangement. The industry has done a pretty good job with what they have to work with. right now the standard seems to be to make the port bigger and bigger. Thats a band aid, not a soulution. The valve is still a problem. If you're looking for big flow you have to move some stuff. Like Steel said, Brodix and Edelbrock have already come out with a relocated valve head.
The entire industry has adopted the 24^o valve angle. But there is alot left in that head in its current layout. Big inch BBCs suffer from lack of intake valve, and the current location has them pretty much hand cuffed. The valve angle could be improved as well as shown by the BBF and the LS series small blocks.
None of that is going to be without some expense in both R&D and related hardware.

What are you so concerned about anyway. Don't you have a dash knob in that thing?

I'm not concerned, I can make way more power than what is needed with the old junk thats been available for yrs (with the boost knob,lol).
But I do think thats its pretty cool to see these guys knocking on the 1300hp mark N/A with conv. heads.But i dont expect to run on to anyone on the lake or rivers running around with one of these. Sounds like valve lift is usually in excess of 1"