Well I got the bad Speedmaster taste out of my mouth
I have a question about
speedmaster cylinder heads. If you buy them, say ready to bolt on and you have to put a grand or so because of poor quality machine work or parts, were is the savings?
This is the issue with every head from every manufacturer.
Bar none.
Wouldn't it be cheaper in the long run to buy edelbrock, trick flow?
You should look at it from the perspective of every head will be perfect OOTB & ready for service without problems.
If you purchase the head with intent of porting the head, then the head with the best possible outcome when ported should be the candidate to purchase.
I'm just curious as I've read on here about guy's buying speedmaster cylinder heads and then having to rework them before they are useable.
Dig deeper and you’ll find this with every head. Though I haven’t read this of the Trick Flow heads yet. If it has been posted here, I missed it. The only thing I’ve seen on the TF heads when they were dived into was from Pittsburgracer.
I also have not seen any extreme porting tactics on any head here. Generally speaking, it’s really not worth it since there is a better head to get and port if needed.
An example of this starts with the basic replacement heads. These would be the Speed Master heads, Edelbrocks, EQ’s, etc.
Stepping up would be at least a Trickflow or better yet, a MoPar W-2 or W5. Next step up would be an Indy cylinder head, then a Edelbrock Victor head and then a W-7-8-9.
Compare prices via a stock replacement head and porting services vs a OOTB trickflow head. The trickflow is already a 300 cfm head. Now, if you can get a CNC Speedmaster head on Black Friday cheap, compare flow rates to price. Ether way, both heads are at the presumed level of excellent and ready to run.
Remember, not all of the parts of a fully equipped head will be good for your intended build and hence why companies offer bare heads for a custom build. Add up those prices on the bare head and then porting.
This is always the conundrum people face when building an engine above and beyond stock or the ability of stock parts. A speed master head can be a terrific deal. Even more so when the Black Friday prices are caught and you yourself do the work with the head meeting your goals.
