Used Diamond W2 Aluminum Heads Yay or Nay?

Thanks for the replies YR. I'll look into those clutch guys if I decide to keep the 4 speed.

@PRH It really depends on if I decide to try to make this my drag car/street car or just a dedicated street car, or just a dedicated drag car. If its going to be a dedicated drag car I'll put an automatic in it and sell my 4 speed. But if its going to be a street car and or a street/strip car I'd like to keep the stick in it (which I know will slow me down a little in the 1/4 but will be more fun on the street).

My goal would be as close to mid 10's with full steel body and a super stock looking interior (I've got Gary Ball super stock seats w/aluminum brackets, no back seat, and an 8 point rollcage that are going in this winter).

HP goal would be 600 to 650+ on pump gas if possible (sounds like it would be on W2's with my 408). Currently I'm running a scat forged stroker kit on the engine with forged Icon Pistons. Comp Ratio figured out is 10.22:1 but the shop I talked to said we could bump it to 10.9:1 and still be safe for pump gas if we up my cam more. Currently 244/248 @ .050 w .575/.585 Lift at 108 LSA. He suggested a cam that I can't remember the specs on but was in the 260 @ 050 I believe.

I was never considering W2's and had always assumed I'd just have my Eddy heads ported and milled to up my compression ratio a little. That was until I ran across this package deal on the W2 stuff and realized I could pick it up (heads, intake, and TTI W2 headers) and sell my Eddy heads and spend half of what I was going to have to spend having my Eddy's ported and swapping out the intake and getting new headers for the Eddys all while making more power then the ported Eddy heads would make.

Cost Breakdown of Eddy vs the used W2's:
To get my Eddy heads ported w/valve job and milling: $1200 to $1600 (I've checked with several vendors on here as well as a local shop that has done work for several racers I know). Plus new valve springs (say 250-300), plus new headers (TTI so 950 bucks), plus new single plane intake (Eddy Victor likely) $383 Total: $2783 to $3233

To Get these W2 Heads (assuming they test out ok): $2500
TTI W2 Headers: Included
W2 Ported Intake: Included
Had valve job and has solid flat tappet springs w/all associated hardware (which I would have my head shop verify): Included
Rocker Arms/shafts/stands etc: Included
Sell my Eddy heads, Comp Magnum Rockers, and Eddy Air Gap Intake: -$1000 to -$1200 (I'd have to see what it would actually all sell for but just as a rough estimate)
Total: $1300 to 1500 for W2 head conversion


I guess I'm just trying to talk through all my options and get others opinions. Until my clutch blew I wasn't thinking I was going to do heads or a possible trans swap etc. But being it happened and I've got my motor and trans out of the car now I figure I may as well do anything that I can think of that I might want to do while I've got everything apart.

I need to decide if a dedicated track car is what I want or a dedicated street car or something in between. Regardless when I look at the numbers it does seem like if I want to do some sort of upper engine modifications the W2s would be the route that gives me the most HP potential and does it the cheapest because its a complete kit and I can sell my current parts.

Decisions decisions... I just wish the wife would say I could buy a dedicated drag car and then I'd make the Dart a dedicated street car and not worry about getting more than the ~500 hp its currently got. I'd just put a new clutch in and call it a day but so far the wife hasn't given me the blessing on getting a second car. Something about we already have 4 cars and only a 2 car garage lol...


FWIW I damn sure wouldn't use any less than 11.5:1 compression. I'm at 11.08:1 on junky iron heads. I may put the thinner gaskets on to get it to 11.25:1. There is no reason to go that low.

I'm old enough to remember that Crower, way back in the day offered a complete kit to run 12.5:1 on pump gas. IIRC, it came with cam, pistons and rings. By the time my friend and I were ready to give it a try, Crower no longer made it. That would have been 1984ish.

So I called Crower and had a long talk. They would offer the cam to us, but nothing else. And Dave wasn't real thrilled about that, because most guys didn't follow their rules. They would change the cam, or advance it and it would kill the engine. Spark plug selection was big on their list of things done wrong. Ring seal was a big deal. A little oil past the rings and it was all over.

We started rounding up the parts, got the head work done and finished up his original 396 4 speed camaro. My buddy went out of town for two weeks on his job and never came back. He got killed down somewhere in the middle of the Nevada desert. Got some chemicals on him, and it literally ate him up from the inside out.

After that, I gave up on the idea of doing it with a Chevy, but I've run 11:1 compression on most everything. My W2 engine will be 12:1 and that's on iron heads. I have about 98% of the parts for it. Just need to find my gumption.