W7 INFO

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A little background on how I got my heads.

I traded a set of never used early W2s and a couple hundred bucks for the w7s at Indy meet. I picked up the W2s from a craigslist ad for $300. Had to drive 15 minutes to get them. So, I don't have much in the W7s yet.

I will probably lose the 3/8 guides and use 11/32 or 5/16, depending on what valves I find.

Thinking 2.1 or 2.125 intakes. And Yes Yellow Rose, 50 degree seats.

These will be overkill for me, not sure what they will go in, but I will drive it a lot.

Ritter told me that the 7s did not have the porosity problems that the 5s had, and he knew the guy I got them from and said they would be good so I made the trade.

This will be a while before its built, I want to get a motor in the sweptline first.
I miss driving it. I would really like to put the W7s in my 68 Valiant or my gutted 72 Duster. Both cars are in rough shape, but so am I.
 
Never been to that one. Yet.
I'm a Local 481 electrician.

I am a local 204 laborer turned ( don't kill me, it pays better) safety man.
I still work as a laborer sometimes, but it kills me. We lost our 30 and out or I would be retired.
I am currently doing safety 3 days a week for a union electric contractor on a project in Bloomington IN.
 
I am a local 204 laborer turned ( don't kill me, it pays better) safety man.
I still work as a laborer sometimes, but it kills me. We lost our 30 and out or I would be retired.
I am currently doing safety 3 days a week for a union electric contractor on a project in Bloomington IN.
If its Electric Plus I'm gonna crap.
 
Thanks, I would decline but I think you should post it for the forum. I have seen the heads up close. FWIW, I hang out with smokindust when I can. He lives close by. Yes we hang out a lot and rob can attest to its one off status

You said milled rocker stands and IMO and what I have read, the W5 would qualify for that regardless of what Jesel or TD would have you do to the head. (Which I knew about, but a good mention it is!) it is actually what I want to do.

Time will tell, the wallet is boss & dictates.

At what area of spring pressure is the weak area of the head at risk? Your the first to say this.
Yeah rum
 
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oh W5..... how you let me down. I’ll back up Mr Millers weld fail story.
 
Whose rockers are those. They look pretty dang nice. What happened to your heads??

the rockers were Erson.... Steve Tanzi found a couple sets as the ship was sinking in Carson City. $700

Back in the stone template era at Moparts, Ryan (SDSS) had a group buy in for W5 cnc porting... I acquired this set from an ARCA racer in MI for cheap and sent em to PA. Within 50 passes there was water getting in cyl 3. #3 port was leaking... talked to Ryan J, sent the head back, and it was returned epoxied (type unknown). Engine was reassembled, with new lifters and pushrods (six cracked lifters...suspected harmonics) and ran another 150 passes before my dad called and said the car died on the return road and wouldn't crank. A few days later he called with news of #3 full of water. Engine pulled, tore down and I started making some phone calls (Ryan put me on “no contact” at this point). I spoke with Larry Demers in Iowa and he had a guy that had brought Brodix sprint car heads back from the dead (big logistics pita... dad in SoDak, me in AZ). Sent the head to Iowa.... after a month the guy gave up. Basically the more he welded, the more it crumbled. So I got a new W5 pen holder at work.

Now if this wasn’t bad enough, I sold the remaining head to a racer in WA for a spare. My dad boxed it up, and shipped it.... and then I got “the call”...... yes, 1 PO’ed/worried buyer. Head had cracks around 5 of the guides (yeah Ryan put guides in them). So as I was discussing this, I drug the other head of the bench and sure enough.... more cracks. Now mind you many were quick to point at Ryan, but to be honest, putting guides in these heads was probably like pressing guides into a fortune cookie.... expensive ordeal.

the heads in the picture above were set #2.... I was going to do a build with them, but in conversation with my current builder he basically told me straight up....”didn’t you learn anything the first time??” . So much love for the W5.
 
That's another issue for those heads. The heads are way too thin across the top of the ports and rocker stands.

When you start raising the port, the head is so thing in the spring pocket and the stands and the rockers are pulling up across the top of the ports and you start cracking guides from everything moving around.

There is a ton of issues with the W5. The W7 as far as I know addressed most of them. Why Chrysler didn't move forward with the heads I can't say.
 
Is the problems with the w5 still there with the blue plugs casting or is it better?
 
Is the problems with the w5 still there with the blue plugs casting or is it better?
Sometimes. Couldn’t tell ya how often though.
Mine did. They are the blue plug. Hope the epoxy holds up.
 
Ha ha ha ha, I gotta show you a little something with the quote tags.
Thanks, I would decline but I think you should post it for the forum. I have seen the heads up close. FWIW, I hang out with smokindust when I can. He lives close by.
Yes we hang out a lot and rob can attest to its one off status
@yellow rose Head shots/pictures?
 
Both of my sets were blue plug.... it was just as the more educated I became about the W5, the more I could see subtle differences between the sets. My original set had a lot of porosity, even in the cnc ports. My second set looked a lot different, smoother finish. That top end i sold is on a built engine just waiting for the car to be completed.


Man this was such a great running mill. The car wasn’t legal for 9’s so my dad was shifting it around 5600 and running low 10s. On one of my visits to SoDak we got in the test lane towards the end of the day with a 6800 shift point and ran a 9.82. I think we could have gotten a 9.6 out of it with some tuning. After my dad hung up his helmet, I sold my Mirada after 27 years and kept the Duster. I had it caged and certified.
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Core shift always was a problem with Mopar products. Years ago when Mopar used to take a trailer to the NHRA national events they let my buddy who ran a 440 six pac in stock or super stock go through every single intake on the Trailer to pick out one with the least core shift.
 
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Ok, because I suck out loud, I finally got around to taking pictures of this stuff. You can see how much stiffer the W7 head is across the top of the ports where the rocker hold downs are. On the W5, when using a Jesel or T&D system I've had to take as much as .185 off the head to get the shafts in the correct location. If you ported the intakes UP like you should, things get VERY thin up there, not only in the spring pockets but also where the rocker stand blends into the head. It can get messy right quick.

I forget how much I love the W7 head every time I see it. I don't love the exhaust port, but I don't hat it either. I think a 2.200 intake valve with a 50 degree seat and a 1.600 exhaust with a 55 will be a killer deal. Maybe a 55 on the intake if you can get it in there.
 
That W7 looks a lot like mine. Mine have seats and 3/8 guides, which I plan on replacing with 11/32 or 5/16. I bought some 3/8 valves I think 2.15 at Indy, but on a quick mock up they were too short. Got them for $50, so no real loss. Unless a deal comes along, I plan on using my Iron W2 rockers.
 
Does the w7 share intake manifolds with w5?
How about the headers?

No, W7, W8, W9 share intakes and there are different ones for different deck heights, and must use a valley plate. W5 uses same as W2 except rectangle instead of oval.

MP intakes for the W7 heads are kind of hard to find, but Kent Ritter makes new ones, and Brett Miller makes some killer ones too,
 
Do w7's use w2 rocker gear?


I don't remember. My first thought was no, but looking at them I think you *MIGHT* be able to use W2-5 stuff. You'd have to do some machine work on the rockers because IIRC the valve centers are farther apart on the W7 which is why they come with 2.150 and 1.650 valves. I just don't think the exhaust needs to be that big. If you could get a 1.600 valve in there with the right valve job you could use a 2.200 intake valve and not crowd the valves any more than they already are.

I'm just not a fan of big exhaust valves.
 
I don't remember. My first thought was no, but looking at them I think you *MIGHT* be able to use W2-5 stuff. You'd have to do some machine work on the rockers because IIRC the valve centers are farther apart on the W7 which is why they come with 2.150 and 1.650 valves. I just don't think the exhaust needs to be that big. If you could get a 1.600 valve in there with the right valve job you could use a 2.200 intake valve and not crowd the valves any more than they already are.

I'm just not a fan of big exhaust valves.


YR, the valve spacing is only .066 wider if I recall correctly.
I was thinking as wide as the pad is on the iron rockers it would be fine. This will definitely be a learning experience for me. I will share as I find things out and will appreciate any knowledge you all can share.
My first thing is to figure out what valve length I need. The valves I have are too short to get any installed height. They are w7 valves the box says 5.46 if I remember. I think w9 valve length will work. Who knows what I may find at Indy in March.
 
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