MP Aluminum Heads

[dkn1997]

I am looking into buying a set of aluminum heads for my 440.  The catch is that I want to run stock manifolds.  I know, I know, headers will be better, but it's not my thing.  I want to swap the cam/heads and see where it takes me (10:1 440, auto, 3k stall,3.91's (may go back to 3.55's) I intend to reuse my performer rpm intake and mighty demon 750 carb.

My goal is mid to low 12's with the stock manifolds.  anywho, I see that MP makes a head that, on paper, appears identical to the edelbrock performer rpm's, except for straight plugs instead of angled, pn# 5153524.  mancini has them. 

anyone running these?  I read a huge thread over at moparts about them and the consensus is that they should perform as well as the eddy's.  they cost a bit more, but since you don't have to go out and by 700 dollar tti's, they seem like a better deal. 

I will probably have the shop that did my motor get them for me, I will pay more, but I want them checked and the guy has been good to me and I would like to throw him the business. unless he blows me out of the water and tells me they are 2 grand or something like that.

firefighter?  chrycho psycho?  anyone?  beuller...bueller...anyone?

[firefighter3931]

Kevin, i think these heads are the miracle we've been looking for !  The straight plug will make the exhaust system a whole bunch easier to deal with. For guys with manifolds or non angled plug compatible headers (basicly anything but TTI)....these are the answer.

Restrictive exhaust systems don't work well with tight lsa camshaft profiles, fwiw. To really get the most out of the engine combination you should spec out a custom cam with a 112* lsa and more lift to take advantage of the increased cylinder head flow. Low 12's shouldn't be that difficult to achieve with the right parts.


Ron

[dkn1997]

Ron, thanks for responding.  I have not gone too crazy looking for a cam yet, but from what little I have read, it seems like the MP 528 solid looks to be a very good grind.  Andy F over at moparts did an article for PHR a while back using his manifold/eddy headed big block as a mule.  he swapped all sorts of different cams and the 528 was right near the top as far as low end torque and peak power.  his combo is a bit different, possibley ported heads, and I think it's a 466 inch motor, not a 446 like mine.

or I may just call Jim at Racer Brown and have him grind me another one.  I actually never got to use the last one he did for me, still on my shelf and probably not right for this combo, it was spec'd out for stock heads and headers on this same motor and is similar to the MP 474 cam I run now.

I don't drive the car too much, so the solid should not be total hassle.  I run stock HD rockers with aftermarket stock type pushrods not, if I go solid, do I have to change them?  (may have to change anyway when changing heads anyway)

[firefighter3931]

Hey Kev, the mp 528 solid is an excellent cam....but installing it means new pushrods, rocker arms and a 3 bolt timing chain. You could get similar type performance with an Engle k58 ground on a 112* lsa and keep all your valvetrain goodies which should be pretty fresh given the low mileage on the engine.

Ultimately it's your call, but i don't think you'd be disappointed with the Engle cam....i bet there's less than 10hp between the two. 


Ron

[dkn1997]

hey ron, I did not see it listed on their site, maybe just a part number thing, do you have specs on that cam?

[firefighter3931]

Kevin, the grind # is : k58hyd and it specs out at:

276* advertised
230*@ .050 valve lift
.520 lift with a 1.5:1 rocker ratio

It would have to be custom ordered with a 112* Lsa and whatever cam bolt arrangement you wanted. (3-bolt or single bolt)


Ron

[dkn1997]

thanks ron.  I found it.  looks like a deal for $155 bucks too.

[Chryco Psycho]

I use a lot of  the K 58 grind with different Cl depending on headers or maniflds but they are a good cam choice 

[dkn1997]

thanks, Neil. 

[deputycrawford]

I have heard that the MP aluminum heads can crack in certain areas. Has anyone else heard of this? I am also thinking about using them because I plan to keep my 383 in the car for the next 5 or so years. I believe they look exactly stock so they can be painted the stock engine color to hide them. Am I on the right track? What kind of power difference am I looking at from the ported milled 906's I have on there now?

[dkn1997]

over at moparts, they seemed to think that edelbrock supplies MP with the heads and that they are identical to performer rpm's, except for the straight plug.  with that said, I don't think that they would be prone to cracking unless the eddy performer rpm's are.  look at the specs, pretty much identical intake runner cc volume, same claimed flow in cfm. 

also, I don't think eddy's look that stock, so the mopars would not look any more stock than them.  however, if you paint them engine color, use stock valve covers and stock air cleaner, it's still gonna not be that easy to spot them for 99% of people out there.  If you have a buddy, say a buddy with an 02 camaro that you already raced and were even, even though he says he won, and say that same buddy just put a complete SLP heads/cam package on his camaro.  lets further say that you went ahead and put these MP heads on your 440 with a cam swap and painted it all up and beat him again, you could probably pop the hood and tell him he got beat by a stock 40 year old car and since he's not a mopar guy, he would not know....not that I am planning on any such thing, just saying if.....

[SeattleCharger]

This is exactly the thread I was looking for.  talked with machine shop today about the eddy rpm heads, and that I was wondering if I could go with hp exhaust manifolds,  now I have the answer.     Dkn1997, how much did the mopar aluminum heads run you when the shop ordered them and went through them.    I was planning on using the engle K58 cam also, from firefighters advice, with the 112 degree lsa custom grind to match with my hp exhaust manifolds.      Was wondering which cam you went with, ?  don't know when this thread was going, how old it is. 

When firefighter says, "Hey Kev, the mp 528 solid is an excellent cam....but installing it means new pushrods, rocker arms and a 3 bolt timing chain. You could get similar type performance with an Engle k58 ground on a 112* lsa and keep all your valvetrain goodies which should be pretty fresh given the low mileage on the engine.",    which way is better starting from scratch???  performance/ cost wise?   


Thanks, Nate

[tan top]

hey guys i like the sound of these new   heads  whats the spec with these ,  chamber volume , flow numbers  & how do they compare against say a 906

[SeattleCharger]

If they are the same as eddy rpm's, the specs are   84 cc combustion chamber with 210cc intake runner
          2.14 x 1.81 steel valves    .600" lift valve springs, but I am not sure,
  I guess they flow better than the most ported and polished etc. 906 or other iron head,  and they flow way better than a stock 906 head,

[tan top]

If they are the same as eddy rpm's, the specs are   84 cc combustion chamber with 210cc intake runner
          2.14 x 1.81 steel valves    .600" lift valve springs, but I am not sure,
  I guess they flow better than the most ported and polished etc. 906 or other iron head,  and they flow way better than a stock 906 head,

     i see   , thanks for the infomation appreciated  ,

[dkn1997]

440 source is coming out with aluminum heads in feb 08.  They will likely be offshore, ie: chinese, so if you are not into that so be it.  based on what you read about his stroker kits, the heads will be quality pieces at an affordable price.  900 assembled/pair or 700 unassembled.  that's a smokin deal.  Brendan claims that it will look more stock than the eddys or mopars too. 

[SeattleCharger]

I went to the Dodge dealership today and asked to look at a mopar performance catalog, they price for the aluminum head with 84cc chamber, like the eddy, was around 930 assembled, there was a back order of five sets, he didn't know if that was maybe a month, but from prices of edelbrock rpm's and the ones you are mentioning, that seems like a good deal,

[firefighter3931]

When firefighter says, "Hey Kev, the mp 528 solid is an excellent cam....but installing it means new pushrods, rocker arms and a 3 bolt timing chain. You could get similar type performance with an Engle k58 ground on a 112* lsa and keep all your valvetrain goodies which should be pretty fresh given the low mileage on the engine.",    which way is better starting from scratch???  performance/ cost wise?   

Thanks, Nate

Nate, you can use the stock valvetrain parts if you decide to go with a hydraulic cam.....and yes it will be less expensive. Also there is no valve adjustment/preload required with the OEM style rocker setup....totally maintenance free. I would recommend that you buy the MP heavy duty stamped rockers and new pushrods/shfts when the heads are installed. 



Ron

[dkn1997]

I went to the Dodge dealership today and asked to look at a mopar performance catalog, they price for the aluminum head with 84cc chamber, like the eddy, was around 930 assembled, there was a back order of five sets, he didn't know if that was maybe a month, but from prices of edelbrock rpm's and the ones you are mentioning, that seems like a good deal,

I think mancini has them for 1400/set.

[SeattleCharger]

440 source is coming out with aluminum heads in feb 08.  They will likely be offshore, ie: chinese, so if you are not into that so be it.  based on what you read about his stroker kits, the heads will be quality pieces at an affordable price.  900 assembled/pair or 700 unassembled.  that's a smokin deal.  Brendan claims that it will look more stock than the eddys or mopars too. 

Ok, now I read this right, I swear you meant 900 each for those new ones in Feb, not a pair, that is a good deal, and thanks for the mancini mention on the Mopar heads, that is 460 less per pair than buying through dodge dealership,  thanks

   and thank you firefighter for the answer
   

[tan top]

I went to the Dodge dealership today and asked to look at a mopar performance catalog, they price for the aluminum head with 84cc chamber, like the eddy, was around 930 assembled, there was a back order of five sets, he didn't know if that was maybe a month, but from prices of edelbrock rpm's and the ones you are mentioning, that seems like a good deal,

I think mancini has them for 1400/set.

  hey guys        the more i look at these heads the more i'm liking      , what head bolts , headgaskets , pushrods would i need for these . & what would the torque settings & tightening sequence be  ,   whats the deal on them cracking over on moparts then , was they overheated     any info on all of this guys would be appreciated

[SeattleCharger]

When firefighter says, "Hey Kev, the mp 528 solid is an excellent cam....but installing it means new pushrods, rocker arms and a 3 bolt timing chain. You could get similar type performance with an Engle k58 ground on a 112* lsa and keep all your valvetrain goodies which should be pretty fresh given the low mileage on the engine.",    which way is better starting from scratch???  performance/ cost wise?   
Thanks, Nate

Nate, you can use the stock valvetrain parts if you decide to go with a hydraulic cam.....and yes it will be less expensive. Also there is no valve adjustment/preload required with the OEM style rocker setup....totally maintenance free. I would recommend that you buy the MP heavy duty stamped rockers and new pushrods/shfts when the heads are installed. 

Ron

I am still learning about this build stuff, but the machine shop told me if I went with aluminum heads, I would need lighter rods than my sixpack rods I have, because they are too heavy?   and I would need some more trick pistons, not sure what else has to be built up,  I am trying to get an idea of what else will have to be upgraded to know cost, but the way I figure part of it is, my old iron heads would have to be worked on, coming to about 400 or 500 bucks, whereas the mopar aluminum head assembled from mancine are 1400 pair, so net cost on heads is 900 total, plus cost of better rods and pistons,   but you are talking about way more horsepower.   

[tan top]

I went to the Dodge dealership today and asked to look at a mopar performance catalog, they price for the aluminum head with 84cc chamber, like the eddy, was around 930 assembled, there was a back order of five sets, he didn't know if that was maybe a month, but from prices of edelbrock rpm's and the ones you are mentioning, that seems like a good deal,

I think mancini has them for 1400/set.

  hey guys        the more i look at these heads the more i'm liking      , what head bolts , headgaskets , pushrods would i need for these . & what would the torque settings & tightening sequence be  ,   whats the deal on them cracking over on moparts then , was they overheated     any info on all of this guys would be appreciated

    any body