I purchased a set of edelbrock RPM heads and i was wondering if anyone knew if i need special head gaskets for these heads, a machine shop around here said i do but i dont think i do. can anyone let me know if this is true or not. also, can anyone tell me what the torque specs are on them? thanks in advance.

 

Call Edelbrock.

They will be able to get you all the facts you need, They will also tell you where and what angle to drill for steam holes.

Maybe they can even fax you the instructions, I run E-Tec heads and the insructions are very comprehensive, however they may not be exact for your application, so i dont want to give out the specs on the sheet.

They could probably fax you a copy.

 

i have the number, but i have no long distance carrier i was hoping someone had the specs, i have the heads down to PMS(plattsburgh Motor Service) now DMO's and they are drilling them for me. they are gonna charge me 20 bucks.

 

Why would you need long distance to dial a 1-800#?

 

I dont have a 1800 number i have like a 1 315 or something

 

Crud, can't post them on here I guess... I'll e-mail them to ya...

 

thirdgen88-Thanks for the instructions on it. it really helped me alot!:yourock:

 

I have Edelbrock PErformer RPM aluminum heads on my motor, a 355. I just use the regular old felpro loctite head gaskets (with steel ring around chamber) and they have always worked fine. these heads have been on 3 different motors, never blew a headgasket once even with 15PSI of boost on one motor, but i have overheated and warped them causing a coolant leak down the middle. .015 shaved off the heads cured it, however. the valvetrain components also seem very strong, never replaced anything up there, and been through 5-7 different cam profiles.

 

its nice to know that someone else actually has ran these heads on this board. do you have specs and e/t's?

 

I'm running the Performer RPMs too, 60739s using regular FelPro head gaskets.

Never had a problem. I do re-torque mine though after leaning on the engine a few times and then allowing it to completely cool overnight.

Jake

 

ok good, im glad that i dont have to go out and buy new head gaskets. that would just add onto the cost of this already

 

Felpro 1003 on my E-Tec 170, as recomended by Edelbrock.

 

yup thats what the files thirdgen88 sent to me 1003 and 1014 or something i dont remember off hand.

 

Did he send you the full instruction sheet?

Mine has every spec included you could ever need.

 

yup he did, it was like 4 pages. the engines going together today!

 

I also used Head Studs on mine; never retorqued them though.

Ah, specs and ETs well I know they flow 230~235CFM @ .500 lift
mine are still unported, but have a 3 angle valve job and I polished everything up real nice. out of the box they support 420-440 Flywheel horsepower with the right cam, but you wont squeeze much more than that out of them with only 230cfm to work with I dont think. the performer RPM cam that matches the heads is 234/244 @ .050 duration, and with the right intake makes about 420horsepower... that was the combo I had run for a while, until I went EFI now I have TPI on it, but im going to throw a stealthram on there and see what exactly it can do... with the right cam...

As far as ET's so far I've only run this car at the track one time in its life, I ran a 14.4 @ 94 MPH with a 2.2 60' and NO third gear, transmission blew out third... so I basically hit 94 MPH in 2nd gear @ 6200 RPMS or something stupid, with TPI that runs out of breath @ 4500 RPMS, 6200 is pretty steep which would explain the stupid low ET. I ran it again and same thing happened, no third, but I ran a 15.5 @ 94 MPH (6200 RPMS-Rev limiter = 94MPH) with a 2.7 60' time... At that time I also had 6-8* of knock retard (false knock) and Stock tranny/converter with 2.73 gears and bald tires and UN tuned! whew.

I will be running it again this weekend I think, I just built a 700R4 and im running 3000 stall 9.5" converter, 28" tires with a better footprint, but still 2.73 gears.. I want to see before / after the gear swap. Still have TPI. after I run it I will put on my stealthram and 3.73's and my old Lunati cam (234/244 @ .050 - same as performer RPM) and see what it can do.

 

I must have misunderstood your original question.

I thought you were referring to "special" head gaskets, not merely "new" head gaskets.

Special head gaskets aren't called for but I'd definitely buy "new" head gaskets, especially if the old ones have been around for a while.

What's the deal with your "old" head gaskets? How long have you run them? What brand? Etc.

Jake

 

to me those numbers arent very impressive, but then again, considering the problems ect. that you had. must have sucked. anyways i think im going to run the stock gaskets i got from a felpro kit for the 400.

 

no Jake you missunderstood, as in new i mean buying 1014's(have steam hole provisions) i already have new ones, but it came with a kit. so i already had new ones i havnt ran them at all. i just didnt want to buy more new ones is what i meant.

 

Oh no, not impressive, but neither is any mis-matched combo. Im sure that right this second I could pull a low 13 high 12 out of the hat at the track with this converter and new transmission. (now i have 3rd!)

And i plan on low 12's after i put the real stuff on, get rid of this OEM 198CFM 28" long runner stuff. I mean, im losing 35~CFM just because of the runners... not to mention the intake base or plenum. I bet theres a hidden 50-80 horsepower to be had just by dumping the TPI. more with a cam swap.

 

when i put my motor in im going to have to use manifolds for about a week and a regular performer intake(not RPM)which is like stock, and a Q-jet. untill i get my headers and my LT1 intake setup going on. let me know if you go to the track and run it.

 

The only thing you need to be aware of with aluminum heads is that the steel in the head gasket actually leaves a dent in the softer aluminum. So if you go to change the heads or do work on them, use the same gaskets so that the indent is matched up.

Edelbrock recommends a Felpro one as they have had great experience with them. Best to stick with their recommendation. That way if you do have a problem, they can't blame your choice of gaskets.

Mark.
... I run Performer RPMs with my TPI. A great street head

 

IMO, anytime you rip down alluminum heads from a motor with any kind of mileage on it, I would have the heads freshened up before bolting them back up, to include cutting them flat if needed.

It is truely no different than honing a cylinder. Good machine work makes for a good motor.

 

ive just ordered the e-tec 170s from sdpc. does anybody currently have them on a tpi? im just wondering how they perform and what gains i can expect with my set up.

 

What did you pay?

Sallee Chevrolet has them for 850$

 

that sucks.........i looked everywhere for these heads and draino89 told me about sallee chevrolet and i forgot......i paid $1000.00 for mine. i just hope their worth it.......