Destroyed 440

phaelax said

Would anyone recommend different heads if I wish to achieve 400+ hp? I don't intend on racing the car but it still needs some muscle. I was looking at the stealth aluminum heads on 440source, price seems good but is it worth replacing the ones off that '78? I'm looking at having my shop put in comp cam's 507 over whatever "mild" cam is in it now. (the guy didn't know for sure)

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first, keep in mind that 400 is easily done on a 440. Very easily. however you need to find out what heads are on the 78. Most likely they are the 452 series heads, which flow pretty well. @IQ52 is the resident head guru, he would know more. 346 or 906 heads work pretty well too. Cylinder heads are the key to power, so it'll never HURT to upgrade to the 440 source heads. Just have them checked by a quality head expert, they do have some QC issues from time to time. the biggest draw back to the 78 is gonna be compression. bump that closer to 10:1, and you'll break 400- 450 easily. Do a search on here for Pop's 440 build by IQ52. It's a great thread, im copying that combination as closely as possible.