i'm finally in the process of building my 355. i have been looking at ebay and around some salvage yards but, what casting numbers should i look for in a good set heads? i would like a fairlly high compression with 2.02 valves! i'm planning on having a 3 angle valve done on em and could have 202's installed but would rather prefer not. i have heard good things about the old double hump heads but don't know much about them! any help from all you motor heads would be great

 

Man those old double hump heads were good back in the day, but by todays standards they are pretty much below average. Save your money and get a good set of heads from AFR, dart or some one like that. You want be sorry.

 

Don't bother.

By the time you spend enough money working up a set of old stock heads to be competetive, you will have as much money in them, as a ready-to-run set of aftermarket ones. And the aftermarket ones, for the same money, will outrun the old stockers.

As an example:
http://store.summitracing.com/partde...RT%2D10311112P

These will make upwards of 450 HP on a properly set up 350. By the time you buy a set of double-hump cores, have them cut for the larger valves, buy the valves, have them cut for screw-in studs and guide plates, buy the studs and plates, have the push rod holes set up for guide plates, have the guides replaced with new bronze ones, buy the Teflon seals, have the spring pockets cut for the larger springs, buy the springs and all their hardware, I can just about gurantee that they will have cost you within $100 of the Dart ones.

And you'll make at least 25-50 less HP with the old stockers, depending on what's around them, even fully prepped like that which makes them equivalent to the Darts in terms of prep work.

Spend the same, get less..... Why would anybody not want to do that?

The double-humps were great when they were new, back before CNC casting made the entire aftermarket head industry possible. Those days are long gone. I can see the "dad" part of your userID showing through.... speaking strictly for myself as well, I have a 17-yr-old son. I used to work those old heads up myself. But not any more. I don't like getting beat.

 

The 23* TrickFlow heads are VERY good heads, and they are fairly cheap, especially for aluminum heads. They come with 62cc, 64cc (CNC) and 72cc (CNC) chambers and 2.02/1.60 valves. They also have 195cc intake ports. From what I've read, thats about 30-35cc bigger than the old double hump heads. They also have screw-in rocker studs, big spring pockets for larger springs, guideplates, and a few different valve spring options.

Dart Iron Eagles are also very good heads. They are cast iron, unlike the TrickFlow heads, so the cost a little bit less than the TrickFlows. They have 64cc or 72cc chambers. You can get them with 165cc, 180cc, and 200cc intake port sizes (theres also larger, but I wouldn't go much bigger than 200cc on a street motor). These heads also have 2.02/1.60 valves. Like the TrickFlows, they also have screw-in rocker studs, big spring pockets for larger springs, guideplates, and a few different valve spring options.

Even if you did find a good set of junkyard heads, the cost of machine work and rebuilding on them would bring you near or over the cost of either of these two sets of heads. I would strongly suggest checking out these heads for your motor instead of junkyard parts.

 

don't forget things like Vortecs, or the L98 stock heads, 083s?
Both good factory heads, better if you aren't afraid the the 'ol die grinder.

 

It also depends if the car needs to pass emissions or not.

I got a set of the Dart Iron Eagle 180's for $900 shipped to my front door. However, these heads are not emissions legal because they do not have the heat risers for the EGR valve.

If you have to pass emissions then I would look at a set of Trick Flow or AFR's. I believe the Dart Aluminums also have the heat riser but I am not 100% sure.

If you dont have to pass emissions then the possibilites are endless. The Vortec heads put out a good amount of power as well. Summit sells the ZZ5 Vortec head with larger valves, screw in studs and guides ready for something like .550" or .600" lift. The pair is $750 or so. The difference with the Vortecs is they require a different intake so depending on your plans that might make it not worth the investment.

What are you going to run for a fuel system? Are you running carb? TPI? TBI?

 

Yes, I forgot about that... if you have to pass emitions, the TrickFlow heads are emitions legal.

 

i live in oklahoma so i don't need to pass emissions. i have heard that the vortec heads are good and can pick up a pair fairly cheap. my problem is i'm definitely on a budget. my 91rs had a 3.1 in it before it went south for the winter. now i plan on a 350 not extreme but something that will perform well if i get a wild hair. my cousin has a 92z with a 350tpi bone stock that i've driven. we used to outrun mustangs all the time i can just imagine what my 91 would be like with a little "tweakin" done to the engine. another question for you, my dad says that if i take my stock 350 heads and just have a 3 angle valve job done on them would get the results i'm looking for! what do you think?
by the way sofakindom, i have 2 onry boys 5 and 6 that are just as crazy about hot rodding as my brother and i are!! must be in their blood

 

joshnryandad1

the money youll spend on a GOOD set of ALUMINUM AFTERMARKET HEADS is money very well spent, and it will in most cases determine the power range limits the engine can reach
heads,cam timing,displacement and cpr, are the MAJOR factors in your engine combo to determine the power levels
you can spend $600-800 on cheaper iron heads and get fair results, or spend $1000-$1400 on good heads and get very impressive results, since youll spend someware between $4000-$6500 or so on the complete engine build ,(parts/machine work, gasakets, etc.) and the differance in cost might be about $600 on average , between the two classes of heads your far better off spending money up front on good heads VS having to swap later when you find out the engine just won,t get to the power level you hoped it would.

heres a site to look over pay very close attention to the results and the cylinder heads that were used, youll quickly see the dependance on good heads to the results, youll also notice that as the heads get better the cam can get milder and still produce good results

http://www.ryanscarpage.50megs.com/combos1.html

heres a sites with flow numbers

http://chevyhiperformance.com/techarticles/41598/

http://users.erols.com/srweiss/tablehdc.htm

youll want a set of heads that flow at least 224 cfm at .400 lift if IMPRESSIVE performance is important, and getting over 240cfm at .500 lift is a big bonus

but keep in mind its foolish to build an engine that makes impressive power at 6000rpm and over if your rear gearing and trans keep the engine WELL under 6000rpm most of the time!

you might want to look at these components

http://www.brodix.com/RaceRiteSmall%20Block.html

http://www.crower.com/misc/cam_spec/...00471&x=22&y=7

and a 3.73 rear gear

 

josh, what casting # is on your current heads? they may be usable.

 

the heads are over at my brothers house so i can't give you the #'s right now but i do know they came off an 69 350. i plan on using a 700r4 (i like the overdrive gas mileage) and i would like to keep my stock gears but would like to add a posi unit! i want a almost daily driver with some excellent performance!

 

i bought a set of these with 190 runners for $749. got them in 2 days. they do need a SMALL amount of gasket matching on the intake side but they seem to be a quality product. i just couldn't see spending $1200 on heads for a street car. i have also bought things from him for my gmc truck for a lot less than the local parts houses.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...AFSEL%3AUS%3A1

 

i have a buddy that i went to high school with that has a machine shop about 30 miles away that can " hook" me up with some great deals (30 pack of beer goes along ways) told me to get a set of vortecs and he could perform some"magic" on them for what i want. so thanks for the help fellers all i need now is a vortec manifold and some headers!

 

I am sure after 30 beer the heads would work like "magic" .