Aftermarket cylinder head debate - who's the best

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MObarracuda

MObarracuda

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I am build my first 340 from the ground up. I have a 1972 block and I'm starting with just the block as a blank canvase for the build. I have identify that cylinder heads are the key for good performance. I have turned to FABO for members experiences with Indy, Hughes, Engine Quest, Eledelbrock aluminum cylinder heads. There is no doubt that flow, porting and large(er) valves are the key to performance.

There are more options out there than you can shake a stick at for heads and modifications to increase flow through the heads but there are so many negative post about aftermarket cylinder heads it has made me leery

Engine Quest - One guy posted he purchased new bare heads from Engine Quest heads but he reported in engine builder reported poor valve sealing and improper clearance for the springs out of the box.

Indy - where do I start....so many negative posts ranking from fraud, to no product after payment to no jacks after a flat in the parking lot.

Hughes - nothing specific was posted but several members who state they will not go back and do business with them again

Eledelbrock - one post about black shop grit between the valves and valve seats and desert dust inside his new heads. https://m.summitracing.com/parts/edl-60779?ibanner=MobileSwitchYes

IMM - Indy modified cylinder head. I seen one recommendations and no negative reports. But his indy X iron heads are $1565, more expensive than the fully assembled RPM Eledelbrock heads from Summit. IMMENGINES.COM​

I am building the 340 to achieve a very modest 350-375hp, flat tourque cammed engine for my A904, 8 3/4 - 323 geared rear end '67 Barracuda fastback. I am still selecting components for the build but I feel the cylinders head selection is too important to just guess and hope I made the right decision on product and supplier.

I'd love to save money and use one of the 4 sets of 318 small port heads ranging from 920 to 302 castings but I do not feel the $$$s invested to modify them with valves and porting that will come within 80% of the flow the original OE J or X heads provided or the better out of the box performance of the aftermarket offerings.

Please recommend your supplier of choice and their cylinder head offering for a basic or stock high flow cylinder heads. I don't want the cylinder heads to be there component that holds the engine back for future growth. I'm not hung up on 2.02 vs 1.9 intake valves. I have budgeted $1200-$1400 for the cylinder heads, springs and valves. I would love to spend less but I feel you get what you pay for. I have (2) 318 engines and the original 273 that I will be using for parts for the 340. Would any one use the adjustable rocker arm from the 273 or stamped 318 rockers and go LA style aftermarket heads or go new Engine Quest heads and purchase new magnum rockers arms and hollow pushrods. Based on my observations so far there is no clear cost, supplier or product choice that make the deision an easy one.

Can anyone provide any information or experiences that can help me make my buying decision? I'm confused and I needs some advise.
 
I think bang for the buck in a stock block build utilizing off the shelf intakes and headers would be the aluminum heads that Rod Bloomer (BPE) has available.
 
stixx said:
EQ heads are flowing better OOTB than any X or J-head. I also wouldn't base my opinion on what a single guy said.
FABO member RAMM for instance only has good things to say about them (hope you don't mind quoting you, J)
They should fit the bill for your power level and budget.

JEGS EngineQuest Mopar Magnum Cylinder Heads | JEGS
Click to expand...

Do you know how do the intake ports on the Engine Quests match up with the LA style large intake port openings? I was considering using the 1972 4bbl intake that I have from a 360 or purchasing the eledelbrock air gap intake. Do they match or are they different because they are specific to the magnum intakes?

I looked on Engine Quests website but I cant find any spec on the intake sizes for for the EQ-CH3178B.
 
MObarracuda said:
Do you know how do the intake ports on the Engine Quests match up with the LA style large intake port openings? I was considering using the 1972 4bbl intake that I have from a 360 or purchasing the eledelbrock air gap intake. Do they match or are they different because they are specific to the magnum intakes?

I looked on Engine Quests website but I cant find any spec on the intake sizes for for the EQ-CH3178B.
Click to expand...

Just called Engine Quest and they tech support dept is located in Las Vegas....gotta wait until they get to work

LAS VEGAS FACILITY
2580 North Commerce Street
North Las Vegas, NV 89030
Phone: (800) 426-8771 / (702) 649-7776
Fax: (702) 649-6777
 
ANY OTB assembled head is probably gonna have issues. You are always better off buying bare castings and having a real head shop build them, not a "machine shop". In the end it will cost about the same or a little more, but you are buying knowledge and confidence. That is the only way you are gonna open a box and bolt them on without issues. You can gamble with $1400 or sleep well for $1500.
 
For what it's worth my EQ heads that I posted about needing work out of the box came to $1250, which included:

SBI valves
Comp springs
Hughes retainers
Valve guide correction
Seat resurfacing
Pocket porting/bowl work.

The springs were chosen based on my cam specs, they were not included with the heads. My guy owns a small engine machine shop and knows his ****, and his work is spot on. He is the same guy that did my block and crank which came out perfect. He is an hour from me and mentioned shipping them, so I'm sure he'd ship them elsewhere, so if you are interested let me know and I'll put you in contact with him.
 
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MObarracuda said:
I am build my first 340 from the ground up. I have a 1972 block and I'm starting with just the block as a blank canvase for the build. I have identify that cylinder heads are the key for good performance. I have turned to FABO for members experiences with Indy, Hughes, Engine Quest, Eledelbrock aluminum cylinder heads. There is no doubt that flow, porting and large(er) valves are the key to performance.

There are more options out there than you can shake a stick at for heads and modifications to increase flow through the heads but there are so many negative post about aftermarket cylinder heads it has made me leery

Engine Quest - One guy posted he purchased new bare heads from Engine Quest heads but he reported in engine builder reported poor valve sealing and improper clearance for the springs out of the box.

Indy - where do I start....so many negative posts ranking from fraud, to no product after payment to no jacks after a flat in the parking lot.

Hughes - nothing specific was posted but several members who state they will not go back and do business with them again

Eledelbrock - one post about black shop grit between the valves and valve seats and desert dust inside his new heads. https://m.summitracing.com/parts/edl-60779?ibanner=MobileSwitchYes

IMM - Indy modified cylinder head. I seen one recommendations and no negative reports. But his indy X iron heads are $1565, more expensive than the fully assembled RPM Eledelbrock heads from Summit. IMMENGINES.COM​

I am building the 340 to achieve a very modest 350-375hp, flat tourque cammed engine for my A904, 8 3/4 - 323 geared rear end '67 Barracuda fastback. I am still selecting components for the build but I feel the cylinders head selection is too important to just guess and hope I made the right decision on product and supplier.

I'd love to save money and use one of the 4 sets of 318 small port heads ranging from 920 to 302 castings but I do not feel the $$$s invested to modify them with valves and porting that will come within 80% of the flow the original OE J or X heads provided or the better out of the box performance of the aftermarket offerings.

Please recommend your supplier of choice and their cylinder head offering for a basic or stock high flow cylinder heads. I don't want the cylinder heads to be there component that holds the engine back for future growth. I'm not hung up on 2.02 vs 1.9 intake valves. I have budgeted $1200-$1400 for the cylinder heads, springs and valves. I would love to spend less but I feel you get what you pay for. I have (2) 318 engines and the original 273 that I will be using for parts for the 340. Would any one use the adjustable rocker arm from the 273 or stamped 318 rockers and go LA style aftermarket heads or go new Engine Quest heads and purchase new magnum rockers arms and hollow pushrods. Based on my observations so far there is no clear cost, supplier or product choice that make the deision an easy one.

Can anyone provide any information or experiences that can help me make my buying decision? I'm confused and I needs some advise.
Click to expand...
MObarracuda said:
I am build my first 340 from the ground up. I have a 1972 block and I'm starting with just the block as a blank canvase for the build. I have identify that cylinder heads are the key for good performance. I have turned to FABO for members experiences with Indy, Hughes, Engine Quest, Eledelbrock aluminum cylinder heads. There is no doubt that flow, porting and large(er) valves are the key to performance.

There are more options out there than you can shake a stick at for heads and modifications to increase flow through the heads but there are so many negative post about aftermarket cylinder heads it has made me leery

Engine Quest - One guy posted he purchased new bare heads from Engine Quest heads but he reported in engine builder reported poor valve sealing and improper clearance for the springs out of the box.

Indy - where do I start....so many negative posts ranking from fraud, to no product after payment to no jacks after a flat in the parking lot.

Hughes - nothing specific was posted but several members who state they will not go back and do business with them again

Eledelbrock - one post about black shop grit between the valves and valve seats and desert dust inside his new heads. https://m.summitracing.com/parts/edl-60779?ibanner=MobileSwitchYes

IMM - Indy modified cylinder head. I seen one recommendations and no negative reports. But his indy X iron heads are $1565, more expensive than the fully assembled RPM Eledelbrock heads from Summit. IMMENGINES.COM​

I am building the 340 to achieve a very modest 350-375hp, flat tourque cammed engine for my A904, 8 3/4 - 323 geared rear end '67 Barracuda fastback. I am still selecting components for the build but I feel the cylinders head selection is too important to just guess and hope I made the right decision on product and supplier.

I'd love to save money and use one of the 4 sets of 318 small port heads ranging from 920 to 302 castings but I do not feel the $$$s invested to modify them with valves and porting that will come within 80% of the flow the original OE J or X heads provided or the better out of the box performance of the aftermarket offerings.

Please recommend your supplier of choice and their cylinder head offering for a basic or stock high flow cylinder heads. I don't want the cylinder heads to be there component that holds the engine back for future growth. I'm not hung up on 2.02 vs 1.9 intake valves. I have budgeted $1200-$1400 for the cylinder heads, springs and valves. I would love to spend less but I feel you get what you pay for. I have (2) 318 engines and the original 273 that I will be using for parts for the 340. Would any one use the adjustable rocker arm from the 273 or stamped 318 rockers and go LA style aftermarket heads or go new Engine Quest heads and purchase new magnum rockers arms and hollow pushrods. Based on my observations so far there is no clear cost, supplier or product choice that make the deision an easy one.

Can anyone provide any information or experiences that can help me make my buying decision? I'm confused and I needs some advise.
Click to expand...
I have Edelbrocks and they work great. I think no matter what heads you get do not assume you can just bolt them on. Take the time to dismantle them and make sure all is well first. Its time and effort well spent.
 
If you do go the route of buying bare and having them done right... have them shipped directly to the head shop. There's no point in shipping chunks of aluminum all over for no reason. And always ask the shop if they can get the castings, that way they get the profit on the bare head and they "own" the job soup to nuts.
 
Pascamp said:
If you do go the route of buying bare and having them done right... have them shipped directly to the head shop. There's no point in shipping chunks of aluminum all over for no reason. And always ask the shop if they can get the castings, that way they get the profit on the bare head and they "own" the job soup to nuts.
Click to expand...


That's exactly what my machinist did, he bought the bare castings himself
 
I've had great luck with Edelbrock performer RPM heads. I've used 3 sets of these. IQ52 is the best porter for these heads and he gets flow numbers no one else is touching. Trust me I've done my research. You can if you'd like look back on my ported head thread I started a while back.
 
Back to the original topic and question of the post "Which aftermarket head is best?", well that would depend of course on the application.
In this case it is a stated 375 hp from 340 ci, a very achievable number even with stock heads, but also have room for future growth, which I am taking to mean perhaps up to 600 hp or so.
I would go with a nice proven used set of W2 heads, which are available within the stated budget of $1200 to $1400 dollars. Keep in mind the added cost of valvetrain, intake, and headers, which would be somewhat minimal but would easily surpass the initial goal and leave room for much more.
 
I am still finishing my sb build. I am using the Indy LA-X heads

INDY CYLINDER

My engine builder loves these heads and they looked over them OOTB and everything looked great. The engine is not complete and not in the car yet but they seem to be good pieces.
 
I know and have done business with Brian at IMM. Good guy, good service. Should you chose to buy heads from him you will get a set of heads that have been properly clearanced (guides) , and will not have any issues like valve seat runout, and will have bigger valves than stock magnums if you go EQHeads. I would go with EQs because they flow very well and use Magnum valve train parts. They also come with a very efficeint head design that has dual quench, a nice advantage over open style heads. The EQ heads can be had with 340 (LA) bolt pattern for the intake manifold, and a set of stock rockers are 1.6 ratio and stout enough for the job, plus I assume quite reasonable in price. AMC lifters and hollow oilthrough type pushrods will get oil to the rockers. Your goal should be easy to reach with a torquey performance cam and a dual plane intake.
 
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Without reading anything but the title the answer is easy. The one that fits the build, or target goal. Material of the head is mostly insignificant. (Your street or street strip for fun car will never know the difference in 50lbs.)
 
You have to define "BEST"?

Way too subjective. Especially without way more detail.

I would never tell anyone to use a Chevrolet style valve train on anything performance oriented. The Chevy guys don't even use that junk any more.
 
To be honest, any head will deliver that performance - even the stockers the engine came with. Modern parts and machining will easilly reach those levels with a mild camshaft. So really, any head you want will do what you want. Given the power level, I wouldn't recommend new heads. 915s or Js will work fine and will be slightly less than a set of EQ Magnums ready to bolt to the engine. And they wouldn't be lift-limited if you wanted to get more cam in it later, and any stock rocker setup, or less expensive aftermarket rockers will work. So up to you but a well done set of stock heads, with 2.02/1.65 valves, new guides, new exh seats, nailhead performance valves, a 5 angle performance valve job will fit the bill past 400hp.
 
[QUOTE)915s or Js will work fine and will be slightly less than a set of EQ Magnums ready to bolt to the engine. And they wouldn't be lift-limited if you wanted to get more cam in it later, and any stock rocker setup, or less expensive aftermarket rockers will work. So up to you but a well done set of stock heads, with 2.02/1.65 valves, new guides, new exh seats, nailhead performance valves, a 5 angle performance valve job will fit the bill past 400hp. [/quote]

And all so often I have said that as a cheaper, (though performance ceiling limited a bit, but not much,) more cost effective way to a good street, street strip head. Add the matched springs to your cam and have that work done, if need be the extra of shortening guides and or spring pad work and be done. Porting the iron past OOTB Edelbrock heads as listed by Edelbrock is still an inexpensive route to go. $1368 per pair, $684 per head cost through Summit https://www.summitracing.com/parts/edl-60779/overview/

Then if you don't trust the OOTB condition as truly a bolt on set pf heads, the extra cost to checkout. (And hope your machinist is actually a honest person!)

IDK, I'll round it down to $1300, on iron heads you already have can go far around these parts.
 
You post all the various complaints from different people as if you expect to find a head that will bolt on and go.

Ain't happenin.

Any and all aftermarket heads will have to be checked out thoroughly by a competent machine shop before use.

If you don't intend on doing that, then use stock heads.
 
RustyRatRod said:
You post all the various complaints from different people as if you expect to find a head that will bolt on and go.

Ain't happenin.

Any and all aftermarket heads will have to be checked out thoroughly by a competent machine shop before use.

If you don't intend on doing that, then use stock heads.
Click to expand...
Makes sense....that is probably why there are folks with issues with suppliers...they purchase an OOTB product that was billed plug and play and they have a techinal issue that could have been avoided by having a second set I'd eyes on the project
 
RustyRatRod said:
You post all the various complaints from different people as if you expect to find a head that will bolt on and go.

Ain't happenin.

Any and all aftermarket heads will have to be checked out thoroughly by a competent machine shop before use.

If you don't intend on doing that, then use stock heads.
Click to expand...

Are you saying that Hughes isn't competent enough to build the LA-X heads they sell with stainless valves, their valve job and have bronze guides that were installed by them fall into this category???
 
T-N-T said:
Are you saying that Hughes isn't competent enough to build the LA-X heads they sell with stainless valves, their valve job and have bronze guides that were installed by them fall into this category???
Click to expand...

Did I mention any names?

Here's what I think. I think if I spend the money on an engine to need aftermarket heads, then spend the money on aftermarkets heads, I don't intend to be dumbass enough to risk slapping on anyone's head out of the box. That's not just stupid, it's mega ghey unicorns fartin rainbows stupid.

You do what you want with your build and your money.
 
RustyRatRod said:
Did I mention any names?

Here's what I think. I think if I spend the money on an engine to need aftermarket heads, then spend the money on aftermarkets heads, I don't intend to be dumbass enough to risk slapping on anyone's head out of the box. That's not just stupid, it's mega ghey unicorns fartin rainbows stupid.

You do what you want with your build and your money.
Click to expand...

I'm not disagreeing with you. The ones I have seem to have decent valve work but the valves have .025" of difference between the intake and exhaust valve height. The exhaust valves are lower which would effect the lifter preload if I wasn't using adjustable rockers. They still needed to be torn down and cleaned up before use. They didn't clean them properly. There was some easily broken off casting flash/metal filings in the ports and the guides needed to be cleaned. The valves didn't move smoothly until the guides were cleaned. They also came with some dented edges on the head gasket surfaces that need some clean up too. I cleaned up the heads, guides and ports first to ensure the valves worked smoothly. Since they needed to come apart I've been doing some port work so I'll be cleaning again. I'm probably going to get the milled slightly to clean up the head surfaces.

I would guess they just did the valve work then blew the heads off with some air quick and just threw them together. They weren't ready to run just like you said.

I was less then impressed when I contacted them about the gasket surface damage and the metal filings. They blamed me. I had just unboxed and un-bagged them on a plastic table right before I called them. After being told any issues would need to be fixed on my dime I torn them down myself and found the guide issues.
 
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