Best aluminum heads for the money

[heyoldguy]

The Edelbrock RPM head is a good head for the money and ported we have made a LOT of horsepower with them. We all have our opinions, in the end, I think the best aluminum head is the one YOU can afford. Just anything other than a stock factory iron head will be a great power improvement.

[GPULLER]

The Edelbrock RPM head is a good head for the money and ported we have made a LOT of horsepower with them. We all have our opinions, in the end, I think the best aluminum head is the one YOU can afford. Just anything other than a stock factory iron head will be a great power improvement.

This coming from a guy who builds 700+ 906 headed strokers!!!   

[Budnicks]

The Edelbrock RPM head is a good head for the money and ported we have made a LOT of horsepower with them. We all have our opinions, in the end, I think the best aluminum head is the one YOU can afford. Just anything other than a stock factory iron head will be a great power improvement.

This coming from a guy who builds 700+ 906 headed strokers!!!   

Yep HeyOldGuy knows his stuff...

[XS29L]

Have any of you folks used the Indy 440-ez ?

[Budnicks]

The EZ's are comparable to the Eddy RPM's in most part, They both can be ported much farther, the RPM's about $1500-$1580 depending on choice of 84cc or 88cc chambers for an assembled pair , advertised 291cfm intake flow, accepts 0.600"lift cam capabilities{angled plugs}... Indy EZ's at a slightly higher price tag ballpark $1800, w/270cc intakes std. ports intake & exhaust, assembled pair of heads only {straight plugs}, to $2000 ballpark price for a full kit, includes push rods, valley plate, gaskets & head bolts, from Mancini Racing....

[kamkuda]

The RPM are a great cylinder head for a lot of street and street strip engines

The EZ can be a better head in a higher HP combo
They have a longer intake valve and flow better out of the box.  The intake can easily be opened up to max wedge size but the exhaust is in the same location.  This allows for use of standard exhaust headers.

I just stepped up from the rpm to the EZ head for my procharger wedge combo as I needed a set of better valve, and porting to get the flow I needed.  The RPM heads are going to be cleaned up at the head porters shop and he will likely have them for sale.

[TXcharger70]

So far for the money I am very satisfied with Stealths Heads.

[spinny]

Can't go wrong with 440source or Edelbrock heads... I chose the source heads because when painted, they look nearly identical to factory castings. I also decided to not have the fully assembled heads so I could have everything checked at the machine shop I go to, then install all the correct components to match the cam. The way I figured it, would cost maybe $200 more than buying the complete heads.

[charger_fan_4ever]

I assume all the aluminum Mopar heads require aftermarket shaft mount rockers ?

[spinny]

Not necessarily. I know the 440source heads can use the stock shaft mounted rocker arms. The machine shop I go to says that a stud kit should be used with aluminum heads, such as the kit from Hughes. IIRC the edelbrocks are the same way. It would probably be better to go to an adjustable rocker arm.

[charger_fan_4ever]

Not necessarily. I know the 440source heads can use the stock shaft mounted rocker arms. The machine shop I go to says that a stud kit should be used with aluminum heads, such as the kit from Hughes. IIRC the edelbrocks are the same way. It would probably be better to go to an adjustable rocker arm.

Interesting.

I'm looking for a 440 for my 70. A stock magnum HP wise would be fine. I have a line on a 69 engine hasn't run in a few years. I don't want to dump $500 plus into stock heads. I forgot about the aluminums as i thought the stock valvetrain would not work. Gain some Hp and lighten up the nose. Food for thought

[Budnicks]

Not necessarily. I know the 440source heads can use the stock shaft mounted rocker arms. The machine shop I go to says that a stud kit should be used with aluminum heads, such as the kit from Hughes. IIRC the edelbrocks are the same way. It would probably be better to go to an adjustable rocker arm.

Interesting.

I'm looking for a 440 for my 70. A stock magnum HP wise would be fine. I have a line on a 69 engine hasn't run in a few years. I don't want to dump $500 plus into stock heads. I forgot about the aluminums as i thought the stock valvetrain would not work. Gain some Hp and lighten up the nose. Food for thought

You will probably at least need slightly longer push rods, to keep the proper rocker to valve geometry, with stock non-adjustable rockers, depending on you specific type hydraulic lifters used & the suggested pre-load requirements, they vary with brands & styles of lifters, head gasket thickness & deck surface changes etc., Usually either a set the of proper thickness of 16 lash caps {cheapest alternative, they fit on top of valve stems}, "custom length" push rods {2nd cheapest alterative} "adjustable push rods" {3rd cheapest alternative} or "adjustable rockers" & the "proper style/length push rods" {most effective, but much more expensive}, those are the alternatives that are usually recommended with most all the aluminum heads... At a minimum you should always check for proper push rod length & rocker geometry when ever changing heads cam or lifters styles & materials, to be absolutely sure, it's cheap insurance in the long run... Good luck

[cdr]

just got some super stealth heads ,been workin on one intake port using my flow bench,so far 320 cfm @.550 with 4.375 bore,im running 4.250 bore & it drops flow to300cfm,but im just starting,we will see when it goes to the track

[heyoldguy]

What are the best heads for the money? This won't tell you. But it does deal with one of the heads mentioned.

Funny thing happened in the shop today. Been working on a set of 1st Gen hemi heads and finally got them to flow over 360 cfm. Never worked on the hemi before and got some results that I wanted to test on another set of heads. Just happened to be a 440 Source Stealth head on the storage shelf that we bought just to test to see what they would produce for flows.

Out of the box they went:

.100".........66 cfm
.200"........142 cfm
.300"........205 cfm
.400"........240 cfm
.500"........255 cfm
.600"........267 cfm
.700"........268 cfm

Maybe a year ago we had stopped testing when they flowed:

.100".........77 cfm
.200"........152 cfm
.300"........209 cfm
.400"........251 cfm
.500"........288 cfm
.600"........304 cfm
.700"........319 cfm

So now I'm curious. What will a regular Stealth head flow if you really give it a chance?
Let's test some ideas.

So, about six hours later, with the stock intake port window:

.100".........77 cfm
.200"........153 cfm
.300"........216 cfm
.400"........265 cfm
.500"........306 cfm
.600"........324 cfm
.700"........337 cfm

Son of a gun, there just might be something to this Stealth.

You can't get that close to 340 cfm and not give it another try.

I don't want to ruin that port, must keep it for reference.
I've got one port that was messed up when we made some mistakes on the short turn. So let's just play with the bad one. 
It has the intake manifold opening another .200" higher and that may help us go over the 340 goal.

.100".........76 cfm
.200"........155 cfm
.300"........218 cfm
.400"........267 cfm
.500"........306 cfm
.600"........327 cfm
.700"........341 cfm

The standard Stealth is now over 340 cfm. Who wudda thunk it!

One more time, and let it all hang out.

.100".........73 cfm
.200"........152 cfm
.300"........218 cfm
.400"........267 cfm
.500"........308 cfm
.600"........337 cfm
.700"........346 cfm

Not to bad for a $500 head.




Glad I don't have to pay for the porting. Or the valves.

[cdr]

What are the best heads for the money? This won't tell you. But it does deal with one of the heads mentioned.

Funny thing happened in the shop today. Been working on a set of 1st Gen hemi heads and finally got them to flow over 360 cfm. Never worked on the hemi before and got some results that I wanted to test on another set of heads. Just happened to be a 440 Source Stealth head on the storage shelf that we bought just to test to see what they would produce for flows.

Out of the box they went:

.100".........66 cfm
.200"........142 cfm
.300"........205 cfm
.400"........240 cfm
.500"........255 cfm
.600"........267 cfm
.700"........268 cfm

Maybe a year ago we had stopped testing when they flowed:

.100".........77 cfm
.200"........152 cfm
.300"........209 cfm
.400"........251 cfm
.500"........288 cfm
.600"........304 cfm
.700"........319 cfm

So now I'm curious. What will a regular Stealth head flow if you really give it a chance?
Let's test some ideas.

So, about six hours later, with the stock intake port window:

.100".........77 cfm
.200"........153 cfm
.300"........216 cfm
.400"........265 cfm
.500"........306 cfm
.600"........324 cfm
.700"........337 cfm

Son of a gun, there just might be something to this Stealth.

You can't get that close to 340 cfm and not give it another try.

I don't want to ruin that port, must keep it for reference.
I've got one port that was messed up when we made some mistakes on the short turn. So let's just play with the bad one. 
It has the intake manifold opening another .200" higher and that may help us go over the 340 goal.

.100".........76 cfm
.200"........155 cfm
.300"........218 cfm
.400"........267 cfm
.500"........306 cfm
.600"........327 cfm
.700"........341 cfm

The standard Stealth is now over 340 cfm. Who wudda thunk it!

One more time, and let it all hang out.

.100".........73 cfm
.200"........152 cfm
.300"........218 cfm
.400"........267 cfm
.500"........308 cfm
.600"........337 cfm
.700"........346 cfm

Not to bad for a $500 head.




Glad I don't have to pay for the porting. Or the valves.

that is good #s, the ones im doing are the new ones the pushrod is moved over, just starting on them,so far not bad for the amount of work i have done,and to repeat what you said,glad i dont have to pay for the porting lol just time

[heyoldguy]

just got some super stealth heads ,been workin on one intake port using my flow bench,so far 320 cfm @.550 with 4.375 bore,im running 4.310 bore & it drops flow to308cfm,but im just starting,we will see when it goes to the track

What you are doing is very interesting work. You are the first person I've heard of who is working on the Super Stealths. If you don't mind, what kind of flows did you get out of the box?

[cdr]

just got some super stealth heads ,been workin on one intake port using my flow bench,so far 320 cfm @.550 with 4.375 bore,im running 4.310 bore & it drops flow to308cfm,but im just starting,we will see when it goes to the track

What you are doing is very interesting work. You are the first person I've heard of who is working on the Super Stealths. If you don't mind, what kind of flows did you get out of the box?

I dont have all the #s here at the house ,but with clay around port @ .500 267 & then backwards

[cdr]

my smaller bore is an issue ,was wanting to use my orig 383 & stroke it 496 ,but i think i might get a 400 block & go that route.also my tunnel ram kills the flow down to 270,did a little work on intake & got 284 but im gonna have to weld up intake in some places to get the correct port taper its smaller at the plenum opening than at the head i will keep ya'll up to date on my progress,but it will take awhile to get some more data,i want 340 cfm @.650 through the intake

[cdr]

also got about an hour time in the head & 1.5 in the intake,700 hp 906 iron heads,wow that makes me feel like I'm not a very good head porter, that's about 339 cfm, would love to see that kind of work,i like to learn i know i know top secret

[cdr]

been a while,been pretty ill,but the weather has cooled of some & finally got my flow bench & heads to the house,so i got some #s together so far,
these are the 440 super stealth & this is for a street motor,my testing cyl adapter is 4.250 bore diameter, i will machine it to 4.4 when i can get to it.

otb .200 140              short side work,& raise port window to max wedge      .200 160
    .300 202              2.14 valve,30 deg back cut,NO SEAT work done yet    .300 220
    .400 242                                                                                       .400 260
    .500 256                                                                                       .500 287
    .600 267                                                                                       .600 307
    .700 267                                                                                       .700 323
                                                                                                       .800 334

[cdr]

been a while,been pretty ill,but the weather has cooled of some & finally got my flow bench & heads to the house,so i got some #s together so far,
these are the 440 super stealth & this is for a street motor,my testing cyl adapter is 4.250 bore diameter, i will machine it to 4.4 when i can get to it.

otb .200 140              short side work,& raise port window to max wedge      .200 160
    .300 202              2.14 valve,30 deg back cut,NO SEAT work done yet    .300 220
    .400 242                                                                                       .400 260
    .500 256                                                                                       .500 287
    .600 267                                                                                       .600 307
    .700 267                                                                                       .700 323
                                                                                                       .800 334

OK opened the seat up a little & did a little combustion chamber work,i am stopping here cause i dont need more flow,this is a street engine build,@ .700 they flow enough to make 688 hp,my cam will be  .650 lift. these heads really want a bigger valve but to do that the seats would have to be changed,flowing the head with no valve they flow 360 not saying they would flow that # with a bigger valve but the would definitely pick up some.

.200 164
.300 217
.400 264
.500 290
.600 314
.700 335
.800 345

[Budnicks]

been a while,been pretty ill,but the weather has cooled of some & finally got my flow bench & heads to the house,so i got some #s together so far,
these are the 440 super stealth & this is for a street motor,my testing cyl adapter is 4.250 bore diameter, i will machine it to 4.4 when i can get to it.

otb .200 140              short side work,& raise port window to max wedge      .200 160
    .300 202              2.14 valve,30 deg back cut,NO SEAT work done yet    .300 220
    .400 242                                                                                       .400 260
    .500 256                                                                                       .500 287
    .600 267                                                                                       .600 307
    .700 267                                                                                       .700 323
                                                                                                       .800 334

Great work on those heads,  OTB they don't look to good do they ??, I would think anyone who buys the Super Stealth should/would be porting them anyway lets hope... But I've seen many posts where people use them, in an out of the box port configuration , I'm not sure why, but they will.... 

[500Jon]

Hi DC Guys and Gals.
Always like a head topic/discussion.
My ambition was always to run a NINE with a street car and 906 heads/440, pump gas, non stroker/nos etc.
(Best was 10.40 in my 68 backhalfed Dart.)
Now want to run a stock appearing 69 Charger into the 10's!
More to the point, my Moparmate is building an A990 clone but wants to run a max-wedge set-up.
Here-in lies the problem, he bought a set of iron MW heads off EbayUS and they never showed!
Seems the seller was a known scammer by ebay
As a knee jerk reaction he then buys a pair of 440-1's that are both cracked from end2end!!!
Double disaster methinks!!!
I have a set of Eddy'RPMs that we are contemplating opening up to MW size,
but I think the new Super Stealth is the way to go?
What do you most knowledgeable guys think on this matter???

Old thread revitalised by unknown Limey yeehaa

Oh yes in case you think I'm a flake, I have here in sunny England a set of Oval-port iron B\B heads from the famous Rye based Weslake Engineering UK.
I believe that there were two sets made one set in the Mopar museum USA, a bizarre closed chamber design and my set which is conventional open chamber, with heat cross-over.
I also have the Mule/Dyno motor that was used for testing which is a work of art also!

Best wishes 500Jon

[Bob T]

Back to the RPM' for a moment, I have stock iron heads on a 68 HP2 440 with 2" Headers by Doug ( similar fit to TTI so I'm told ) will the RPMs fit my headers without any problems? Looking towards doing an upgrade
Thanks

[RECHRGD]

I've got the Mopar '452' aluminum heads.  Their made by Ebrock and are the same as the RPM's except that they have straight plugs.  No header problems with my 1 7/8" Hookers.