were the 416 casting 305 heads billed as highperformance or is this guy trying to pull something

true they have benn redone to improve them but are they going to be that much betterlooky here
what do you guys think

 

Sort of.... they were the stock head son the L69, which was all the motor you could get in alot of those years, and still held its own pretty well against the TPI 350s (thank TPI for that)

Of course, they also came on the pitiful LG4s and LU5s, and in grandma's sled Caprices, and stuff like that.

They don't say anythign about port work, which is what would make one set of heads better than another. They have at least jammed the larger valves in them, which is good; but if the area behind the valves hasn't been opened up, that won't make a whole lot of difference. They do look ready for that last all-important prep step, at a reasonable price though, as far as all that goes.

 

Yes by upgrading to a larger valve, these heads are improved.
I do up these heads and am getting impressive flow numbers
with just larger valves combined with a good valve job annd bowl hog. Further improvments can be had with hand porting.
( doesn't say this is done to these heads)
These heads are a good buy for replacement on a 305 or
for a 350 when you want higher compression.
Especially when you are replaceing old 882's etc on a low compression motor.
If you want this head I'd do some further hand porting
when you get them.
Me and a friend have a few sets of theses modifyed 305 heads out on customers motors now and they are happy with the "performance for the price". Makes a good snappy Street performance budget head. With good power. Just don't expect 500hp.
Looks like a good deal, to me.

 

ya i have the 416's on my car with the HO, i just never thought about them being billed as a performance head

i guess if your running a low compression motor they would be a good way to boost it up

 

i guess they were alright , does anyone no which aftermarket heads would be great on a 1986 305 tpi i'm also going with 212-218 449 456 112 lsa cam from comp , are sr 's better than afr heads , what else needs to be changed ect
thanks

 

Oh yes, very nice 416s! All they need for that final touch are porting and polishing.

While you ought not expect 500 hp from them, if you had the resources to build the IDEAL engine around them they would probably support over 450 hp. And that is just as good as the vaunted Vortecs, but at a fraction of the price

 

For a 305 you are in a tight spot. You must find a set of heads that have a 58cc combustion chamber or so, or else the compression will go down a lot. Even 64cc is iffy. Thus the World SRs for 305s are a good option. Five7kid can help you out with his knowledge of them. But the ones this fellow is offering on eBay are very nice too. With a little extra hand porting and polishing, done by your own hand, you can come in with a very fine set of heads for your 305 tpi. And for only about $400 tops.

You can't beat that with a stick

Follow the link at the end of my sig for the low down

 

i talked to a mechanic yesterday on porting heads, he told me its an art , not anyone can do that, he told me just to go and buy an aftermarket set he said it would cost about the same, and he said atleast they will run better , where i live no one has the knowledge to do the job right , and if there is one guy here he would want an arm and a leg to do the work,

i would like to just buy a 350 ho , but in my case i have a stock 86 ta with 23,000 original miles,

 

What a load of BS. Anyone can do a decent port job. As long as you don't get too crazy it's very easy to improve flow. I will admit that knowing where and how much to port goes a long way to getting the most out of heads, but to just get a little more isn't a big deal. With a decent double cut burr you can blend the area right above the valves and match the intake to the head without messing anything up. That's all you really need to do. There's not much sense in trying to hog out the entire runner. Since they've already had a valve job done you'd have to be very very careful to not hit a seat. Then it's just a matter of knocking down sharp edges and casting lines. Polishing isn't really necessary unless you're looking for 5 extra HP. The only problem with doing your own porting is the initial $1500 you have to put into a decent compressor, burrs, die grinder, etc.

 

Like he said, BALONEY! You can do it yourself.

And all you need to do is RENT and electric die grinder for like $30/week and buy 3 carbide cutters for about another $30.

If you get busy and read WHAT I TOLD YOU TO, you would realise how easy it is.

 

Read that eBay item description carefully. It describes the heads as "high velocity". The implication there is that the port runners are small to keep intake flow velocity up, which is exactly the way the factory cast them. To me, it sounds like the guys in the Quad Cities just cut the seats for 1.94 valves (which MAY have been the stock size) and 3-angled the seats (which is NOT th egreatest treatment for a street engine) and unshrouded them a bit. Install some new springs and seals, and they can make them sound pretty good to an unsuspecting eBay shopper. Caveat emptor, dudes.

If you really want to know what was done and what they have, call their "800" number, run up their phone bill, and ask for a manufacturer and part number for the springs. Ask what the measured port volumes are. Ask what the intake port dimensions at the gasket flange are. Ask if they polished the exhaust runners. They might not have hardened the valve seats if they enlarged them from 1.72" or 1.84" valves. I'd be curious.

Then ask about shipping costs from the Mississippi River to your door.

You might also want to get the phone numbers for GMPP and World Castings, so you can compare prices on an equal footing.

 

Vader: The biggest problem with these heads is the misinformation and undeserved reputation.
These are not the 267/305 small valve head from the '70's.

305 head =junk, low perf small ports.
Not true. The ports on these heads are the same size as the rest of factory small block heads. In fact they are a little larger
in volume than some 350 sb heads. Just about 165cc's stock.
The exhaust ports are the same as 350 head exhaust ports.
Once ported with 350 sized valves, they are pretty good.
Even with just the larger valves and some proper bowl work
They come right up in flow. about 220cfm@28" with a 2.02.
thats not bad at all. The exhaust needs some porting but nothing someone can't handle at home. Even the intake can be finished ported at home to about 234/240cfm.
Yes they could be considered a High volocity head, which is just what you want on a street 350. A huge head will be lazy at low rpm.
These heads are a good buy for the money and a new set of S/R's will cost more and flow less (out of the box).
As long as the rebuild quality is good, I give then the thumbs up.

 

Yes, Vader bad! Now go to your room and later we might let you have some dessert--if you recant your heresy