Hum, that's funny, most drag and drive cars have cheese heads and blocks for that matter. They are put through grueling 1000 mile + drives on the street and running down the track for days.
Cast iron easy - just saw a pair of 'freshly taken off' 462's for $100 on local listing.. Pics looked clean. I'd check ' em & bolt 'em on - no biggie - if they need machine work, etc, then on to the next $100 pair
And they drive a stock sbc around 300hp? My point is when running little to moderate hp there is no point going for aluheads. A stock 350 and a boosted race engine are two different worlds. If you read my whole comment i mentioned that race and hunting weight = aluminium. And I got no problem confess i dislike aluminium, thats why I stick with old stuff, I like cast iron. I actually traded my Chevy aluheads for a pair of original cast iron
Looks to me, the only engine that has visual characteristics that would be missing on aftermarket heads is the sbc, and there’s an option for that.
Cost of reconditioning the early heads has been mentioned. Has anyone seen the “rebuilder’s” valves? $87.50 for a complete set, and they have oversized stems and heads. Run a reamer through the guides and the heads are just enough larger to set them back on top. So, if you’re not chasing horse power, this should be a cost effective option!
Another thing that’s been mentioned, exhaust seats. Most of us don’t need hardened seats, and cutting for them can ruin some early heads.
General rule of thumb is .006" tighter cold for first start-up with aluminum heads. then get it running and up to temp, shut down and pull a valvecover and check a cylinder pair HOT and record the number. Once you have your initial cold setting and the actual hot measurement, you can determine what the actual growth is and that becomes your actual engines new cold setting. The Speedway Motors 461 Alum Hump head is made by the same company as Flo-Tek Cylinder Heads.
Video some might find useful. EngineMasters tested this Iron vs Aluminum recently. They address all those myths as well. Watch Engine Masters S05:E04 - Iron vs. Aluminum Heads - Free TV Shows | Tubi
Yeah, I saw that movie...ruined a set of the "turbo" 292 castings, seeping water through the seats on four chambers. I now have aluminum heads.
Went to a well known cyl head shop. Just to see what it costs, went thru pain one time, had em flowed, but when done - pure stupid. So, just buy new... new heads are way past the antiques in so many ways. $700 - new SS valves one piece, new springs. Competition valve job. $1000 - port and flow, improve chambers, cc to 68cc. This was 13yr ago. I wouldn't even ask what it cost today. I think I was trying to duplicate one of my Dad's old race motors, some silly idea.
FYI Last Summer, I priced a cyl head trick port work for a set of $100 cyl heads. This is to work pure stock heads, no porting, for my jr stocker, NHRA legal. $2500 was quote.
Built a mostly swap meet parts sbc 434 engine for my O.T. 3200 lb. drag car in 2005, used the top-proline New Zealand 220 cast iron heads because they fit my budget and were advertised as flowing 272 cfm. @ .600 lift. Raced these heads until 2019 with a best E.T. of 10.81. In-between racing at the Meltdown drags 2018 visiting the Competiton Products trailer and looking at their new stuff, I noticed a new brand of heads, "Power Products", aluminum 220s on the table with 2.080 valves and were advertised to flow 300+ cfm. Purchased them for less than $1500.00, that included the extra cost of a fluff job to get 308 cfm. I've been happy with them so far, with only changing to the new heads got a 00.48 quicker E.T. of 10.33 I also painted them fast orange Engines been waiting for its new Hamb friendly home about 3 years now, hoping to have it running this summer.
Has anyone used this style of rocker on a SBF? I think they provide a little more clearance with the shorter valve covers...https://www.speedwaymotors.com/Smal...bwk2CvNex6LBFBH_HgzPDi0Tk2O6Z1dxoCaNUQAvD_BwE If so any suggestions on a good brand? Is there anything I should keep in mind when ordering like length of the valve stem? Went to the machine shop today, they did some minor bowl work and relief work where the valve sits to run 1.84/1.60 - milled a tad as well $700 out the door.
Roller tip rocker are a waste of good money , nobody " needs" them , they won't do anything for you except rattle , stock stamped rockers are more than sufficient
I some what disagree . Unless you're running a cam that needs heavy valve springs , want to change the rocker ratio, running heads that require a off set rocker , want to run a bigger rocker arms stud say from 3/8 " to 7/16" , need more lift than the standard slot in a stamped rocker can allow , running larger retainers than a stock arm allows. I have broke three rockers on the Corvette over the years running a fairly mild cams and not really revving it hard . I broke stock rockers in the street stock a bunch also running a cam under .500 Lift . that with a SBC that's got about the most reliable valve train around for stamped rockers . Would a set of after market rollers have lasted 200,000 miles ? likely not . In my boats ( Jet and Vdrive with the BBC ) a stock rocker is not even a option running under load near full throttle all the time high Rpm and over reving when ever the prop or impller s out of the water . . Stock engines really don't gain any thing but start getting into high RPM and high lift heavy springs and they defiantly have there place. I know of two DZ 302 chevy blocks destroyed by valve train failure in z28's . one the rocker broke and got off the valve and hit the retainer and the keeper came out and that was it . Never heard any rattle on a hyd cam engine running a roller rocker that was stock or aftermarket . millions of newer cars running roller valve trains on a rocker or cam actuator.
FYI: a pair of those 327 041X Super Stk Elim heads recently posted $3500 used, with the special porting, chamber work. Wow..... Alum heads now legal, expect these to be showing up. Vintage look racers.
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