ProComp/Speedmaster aluminum heads

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j par

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It's hard finding a definitive word on these heads? We just had one member chimed in and say that they worked great but yet sold the car relatively soon after that. Also we've had engine builders say they haven't had too much trouble with them as well. And then of course we're going to hear definitely without question the old you get what you pay for.
I called Speedmaster direct yesterday and they quoted me some damn near Black Friday prices on a set of bear heads and the same kind of deal on a set of loaded CNC heads. I'm Dreaming right now anyways as I'm still thinking of saving the money for Black Friday kind of sale. But definitely trying to get all my ducks in a row now.
The first two machine shops I called about the bear heads and maybe loading my stuff up into them said first off my valves probably aren't long enough or short enough or something for the aluminum heads? also one of them said they're known to drop their seats as well and quoted me something like $800 for new seats and guides? LOL on $500 heads!
I have a hard time thinking that they would CNC port a set of heads and not pay any attention to the valve guides or seats?
Then we get into the whole have to do the same thing to the Edelbrock for more?
And if anybody does have them I'd be extremely interested to know how much machine work you had to put into them cost-wise and also how did perform and also longevity? I really can't think of any disaster stories that I've heard of? I've heard of one disaster story about some big block heads.
Anyways I would sure appreciate anybody who has some real life experience with these. I'd like to either put them on my list or permanently scratch them off. I thought of all kinds of directions I'd like to go to meet my goals and it seems like a set of aluminum heads would really get me there... As always thank you for your time and experience..
 
There are always reviews or experiences that will both support a part or beat it up. You know this. From what I know of those that have bought them (including personal friend), the castings are fine. Some claim better than edelbrock. All suggest buying them bare and have a quality machine shop assemble, checking tolerances. I cannot argue with this, and I believe if you followed that plan you'll have a good experience.
 
I have a set on a 410, thats still running and functions just fine. I had a cnc'd set that I had issues with the helicoils on the rocker stands which caused all sorts of headaches.. BUT.. the cnc'd ones did yield an 11.8/112 @ 6000ft DA rolling into the throttle. I will fix the stand issues and probably use them in a different build with a hyd roller cam instead of a solid roller.
 
There are always reviews or experiences that will both support a part or beat it up. You know this. From what I know of those that have bought them (including personal friend), the castings are fine. Some claim better than edelbrock. All suggest buying them bare and have a quality machine shop assemble, checking tolerances. I cannot argue with this, and I believe if you followed that plan you'll have a good experience.
Okay put this idea together for me. On one hand I get the bear heads for $500 or so and then put$800 in machine work? And quite possibly another couple of hundred dollars and valves? And then yesterday I have the guy tells me at Speedmaster $1, 200 for full CNC heads loaded? Now do I take these apart and have them looked at?
Wait a minute I'm broke...
 
The bare CNC castings with decent parts should make good power.

The question then becomes, after you’ve bought the heads, and the parts, and had someone go through them....... how close are you to TF pricing?
 
I have a set on a 410, thats still running and functions just fine. I had a cnc'd set that I had issues with the helicoils on the rocker stands which caused all sorts of headaches.. BUT.. the cnc'd ones did yield an 11.8/112 @ 6000ft DA rolling into the throttle. I will fix the stand issues and probably use them in a different build with a hyd roller cam instead of a solid roller.
Definitely some of the definitive word I'm looking for, thank you.
 
The bare CNC castings with decent parts should make good power.

The question then becomes, after you’ve bought the heads, and the parts, and had someone go through them....... how close are you to TF pricing?
which is why when the CNC'd ones I had kept having issues, I bit the bullet and bought a set of trickflows.. Luckily I got the cnc speedmasters on black friday so they were pretty inexpensive.
 
Okay put this idea together for me. On one hand I get the bear heads for $500 or so and then put$800 in machine work? And quite possibly another couple of hundred dollars and valves? And then yesterday I have the guy tells me at Speedmaster $1, 200 for full CNC heads loaded? Now do I take these apart and have them looked at?
Wait a minute I'm broke...
Yes, you'd want them disassembled and looked at. Some of the seats won't hold alcohol if you pour it in the port. You want them taken apart and everything checked.
 
Idk, reliable and fast only get together on certain nights. lol
I wouldnt want my springs pushing the rocker shafts off... lol idk, anything can happen at any given time with anything.
If i didny have heads, I'd buy some.

Im not sure buy into the "one size fits all" train of thought.
 
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The bare CNC castings with decent parts should make good power.

The question then becomes, after you’ve bought the heads, and the parts, and had someone go through them....... how close are you to TF pricing?
So that's definitely with no question pull the trick flows right out of the box and put them on a gasket and bolt them do with their special bolts. $2500 or so.
$1200 for the Speedmaster fully loaded and CNC'ed.
Problem is which one do you trust to put on right out of the box LOL..
 
My personal issue with the assembled heads is, I don’t have a lot of faith in the parts........ so I just wouldn’t use them on my own build.
I’m talking Chinese heads in general.

But if you trust the parts........ bolt em on.
I’m sure over 50% of the assembled heads that get sold get run just as they come right ootb.

The one set of SBM Speedmasters I had through the shop, the only thing that would have been an actual “problem” had they been run ootb was the valve seals.
They fit the guides poorly and I’m sure the motor would have had higher than normal oil consumption.

A couple springs were a little low on pressure, but depending on the cam, that may not have mattered.

Other than that, they were fine.
Not “great”, but fine.
 
Can I ask "your plan" that these heads are supposed to help you accomplish??
Sure that's what the fourms for! LOL
Well first I like the weight loss.
Second I was hoping the heat dissipation would help with not having to have such a high octane level. Get it on pump gas.
And of course I would like another half-second off my quarter mile. And saying that in full understanding that I could possibly do it in other ways..
 
My personal issue with the assembled heads is, I don’t have a lot of faith in the parts........ so I just wouldn’t use them on my own build.

But if you trust the parts........ bolt em on.
I’m sure over 50% of the assembled heads that get sold get run just as they come right ootb.

The one set of SBM Speedmasters I had through the shop, the only thing that would have been an actual “problem” had they been run ootb was the valve seals.
They fit the guides poorly and I’m sure the motor would have had higher than normal oil consumption.

A couple springs were a little low on pressure, but depending on the cam, that may not have mattered.

Other than that, they were fine.
Not “great”, but fine.
AGREE !!!! Quality of valves and Springs?????? Something breaks and loose a stroker motor
 
So that's definitely with no question pull the trick flows right out of the box and put them on a gasket and bolt them do with their special bolts. $2500 or so.
$1200 for the Speedmaster fully loaded and CNC'ed.
Problem is which one do you trust to put on right out of the box LOL..
well, technically you need the edelbrock style head bolts/ studs for the speedmasters as well. So both trickflows and Speedmasters need special fasteners.
 
Sure that's what the fourms for! LOL
Well first I like the weight loss.
Second I was hoping the heat dissipation would help with not having to have such a high octane level. Get it on pump gas.
And of course I would like another half-second off my quarter mile. And saying that in full understanding that I could possibly do it in other ways..
  1. weight loss - ok, agree
  2. octane level - closed chamber heads are going to struggle to help this. AND, open chamber heads flow better anyways
  3. 1/2 second - You have the power to almost go a 1/2 second faster now, just have to get it to work.
 
My personal issue with the assembled heads is, I don’t have a lot of faith in the parts........ so I just wouldn’t use them on my own build.
I’m talking Chinese heads in general.

But if you trust the parts........ bolt em on.
I’m sure over 50% of the assembled heads that get sold get run just as they come right ootb.

The one set of SBM Speedmasters I had through the shop, the only thing that would have been an actual “problem” had they been run ootb was the valve seals.
They fit the guides poorly and I’m sure the motor would have had higher than normal oil consumption.

A couple springs were a little low on pressure, but depending on the cam, that may not have mattered.

Other than that, they were fine.
Not “great”, but fine.
thank you, what about the valve length that I keep hearing about when I call machine shops about them? wanting to take the ones out of my cast-iron heads and put them in the aluminum heads?
 
I do the heads for two local builders.
They never bolt anything on ootb.
Everything gets looks at.

Sometimes it wasn’t needed, sometimes it is.

If one is just looking for “serviceability” or “functionality”, they rarely need much attention.

That’s not at all the same thing as having them “optimized”, which many heads can certainly benefit from, but wouldn’t be a necessity if all you’re looking for is reliable operation.

The heads that came on our beloved old Mopars back when they were new were hardly works of art, yet most went years and years with no serviceability issues.
 
I have a set but have yet to run them (hopefully here soon, I want the damn car out of my garage and on the road where it belongs). I bought them bare and sent them to Mike and MRL to build because at the time he had the greatest knowledge about them. I know he posted some builds he had with them and at one time sold them here. When I spoke to him he said he bought them bare and the guides were not good quality so he replaced them on every set he built. He never mentioned the seats. He also said the ports needed some help (what head doesn't as cast so I can't speak for the CNC ones) and worked mine over. My Comp Magnum (not Pro Magnum) rockers didn't line up well. I got a kit from B3 but they raised them too high and back I had push rod hole clearance issues (so you may want to open those up). Hughes rockers fit spot on, but that was with the valve heights on my heads. Head bolts for Edelbrocks work with them. Alternator fitment is tight (as is with Edelbrock). I believe the exhaust and intake threads were heli-coiled, might verify that with Speedmaster that they are. My Doug's headers and Stealth intake bolted up with little fuss.

It's a tuff call, this stuff ain't get'n cheaper. I hope someone with more experience than I chimes in. I'd like to know more as well.
 
I do the heads for two local builders.
They never bolt anything on ootb.
Everything gets looks at.

Sometimes it wasn’t needed, sometimes it is.

If one is just looking for “serviceability” or “functionality”, they rarely need much attention.

That’s not at all the same thing as having them “optimized”, which many heads can certainly benefit from, but wouldn’t be a necessity if all you’re looking for is reliable operation.

The heads that came on our beloved old Mopars back when they were new were hardly works of art, yet most went years and years with no serviceability issues.
Thank you again, this is some of the boogeyman Voodoo I worry about. I'm not looking to completely set the world on fire with a dirt cheap pair of Chinese heads. I'm just looking for some relative reliability definitely nothing that's going to blow up my motor LOL...
 
Do your heads have 11/32” stem valves?
The Speedmasters do.
I didn’t measure the length of the ones I had here, but a lot of that stuff uses SBC +.100” length(nominal 5.010”).

So, if that’s what you have, they might work.
The spring installed height is taller than stock heads, so those may not work.
 
I have a set but have yet to run them (hopefully here soon, I want the damn car out of my garage and on the road where it belongs). I bought them bare and sent them to Mike and MRL to build because at the time he had the greatest knowledge about them. I know he posted some builds he had with them and at one time sold them here. When I spoke to him he said he bought them bare and the guides were not good quality so he replaced them on every set he built. He never mentioned the seats. He also said the ports needed some help (what head doesn't as cast so I can't speak for the CNC ones) and worked mine over. My Comp Magnum (not Pro Magnum) rockers didn't line up well. I got a kit from B3 but they raised them too high and back I had push rod hole clearance issues (so you may want to open those up). Hughes rockers fit spot on, but that was with the valve heights on my heads. Head bolts for Edelbrocks work with them. Alternator fitment is tight (as is with Edelbrock). I believe the exhaust and intake threads were heli-coiled, might verify that with Speedmaster that they are. My Doug's headers and Stealth intake bolted up with little fuss.

It's a tuff call, this stuff ain't get'n cheaper. I hope someone with more experience than I chimes in. I'd like to know more as well.
Thank you for your share. I know we're neighbors. I'm probably met you if not talk to you somewhere here locally. If you have a pair I'd sure like to see them...
 
Do your heads have 11/32” stem valves?
The Speedmasters do.
I didn’t measure the length of the ones I had here, but a lot of that stuff uses SBC +.100” length(nominal 5.010”).

So, if that’s what you have, they might work.
The spring installed height is taller than stock heads, so those may not work.
Here's what I do know about my heads they were stock 596 heads with 188 intakes. I had them rebuilt with new K line valve guides and they only had to replace a couple exhaust valves I believe. I ran them for a year then took them off and had them put 202 valves in. Obviously those were new. I couldn't imagine them resizing the valve guides? So I assume whatever stock would be?
 
  1. weight loss - ok, agree
  2. octane level - closed chamber heads are going to struggle to help this. AND, open chamber heads flow better anyways
  3. 1/2 second - You have the power to almost go a 1/2 second faster now, just have to get it to work.
I'd love to talk to you about all that for sure, but I just like to keep it directly on the function dependability and all that of these heads...
 
The speedmaster heads use the same size valves as the edelbrocks.
 
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