opinions on cast or aluminum magnums heads

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71dustar

71dustar

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so i have a '95 magnum motor that i'm stroking. I can either enlarge my valve on cast head and port/polish for $700-$800 or go with aluminum magnum heads that cost approx. $2000 with adjustable rocker arms. since i want to be able to drive this on the street and at the track how reliable are each and which would you choose also if you choose aluminum would you go with edelbrock or mopar??
 
Really depends on what you intend to do with the engine as far as street or street/strip.
 
well i do plan to drive it through out the week but not as a daily driver. in the long run which would have the less maintenance and be more reliable for the street?
 
Both would be reliable for the street so it's up to you as to which way you prefer to go and how much money you want to spend. I personally believe that they would both work in the application that you going for. And if I had a set of heads already I wouldn't opt for the other, I would use what I had and go from there.
 
Bobby,

Seeing as he is going to a stroker, would he be well off going to the 2.02 intakes and opening up the intake runners as much as possible to get max flow or will he lose to much velocity?

Jack
 
Yes it would be to his advantage to go to 2.02's, and open the ports as much as possiable, because both sets of heads will be small for a stroker engine as far as port volume go's. But he needs to do the exh. side also, because if you can get it in but can't get it out what good does it do. In this case he'll need chamber work also.
 
you could go with the RT magnum heads, they come 2.02/1.625 and can made to flow well, from what I understand... about a grand?

-j
 
Another option is Engine Quest heads. Cheaper then Magnum RT heads and better quality too. I think ported Edelbrocks would be the best option if they fit in the budget.
 
thanks guys. from what i heard the edelbrock springs that come with the heads aren't really meant for a hyd roller cam. is this true?
 
71dustar said:
thanks guys. from what i heard the edelbrock springs that come with the heads aren't really meant for a hyd roller cam. is this true?
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Enginequest and RHS heads are probably your best bet. For $335/head, I personally don't think you can go wrong with RHS. Granted, the heads don't come with the valvetrain, but the stock valvetrain will work on there, and then you can spend the $1400 you save from aluminum heads to enlarge the valve, port and polish.
 
Try the Iron Ram heads from Hughes www.hughesengines.com I plan on getting them next winter, they sell them bare for 320 a head or an assembled pair for lik 980. I'd seriously avoid putting any money into stock cast magnums, they're cast poorly and have "hot spots" that results in cracking right between the valve seats (there's not much room there) I was planning a magnum head swap on my LA 360, I got 3 magnum motors for free, 2 of them were running motors and 1 had a bottom end issue, all 6 heads were cracked in the same spots, I don't like the idea of throwing money into more than one set of heads, just my two cents tho
 
The Edelbrock springs usually can be used with milder cams. It depends on the spring pressures the cam requires. always plan(budget) to change them. That way it'sa pleasant surprise. Also, on the hydraulic rollers... You will want to make sure the lifter bores are not spot faced too deep. Under higher lifts they can uncover the oil passage and bleed off oil pressure. I've now read about this on two engines, witha possible 3rd... I typically dont run hydraulic rollers tho.
 
I used the Iron Rams on my 408 and with the 2.02 1.60 valves it makes over 500 ft lbs of torque and 435 HP. Will be driven 100% on the street so I was looking for the torque more than the HP.
 
moper said:
The Edelbrock springs usually can be used with milder cams. It depends on the spring pressures the cam requires. always plan(budget) to change them. That way it'sa pleasant surprise. Also, on the hydraulic rollers... You will want to make sure the lifter bores are not spot faced too deep. Under higher lifts they can uncover the oil passage and bleed off oil pressure. I've now read about this on two engines, witha possible 3rd... I typically dont run hydraulic rollers tho.
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Was there a problem with lifter preload? Stock pushrods? I would like to read about this...
 
If they're in your budget Edelbrocks i love mine..:thumblef::thumblef:
 
stroked 340 said:
If they're in your budget Edelbrocks i love mine..:thumblef::thumblef:
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did you change the spring rate?

i would also like to here about the lifter bores. I'll be getting new lifters since one broke while trying to take it out and for ease of mind since they're 14yrs old.
 
71dustar said:
did you change the spring rate?

i would also like to here about the lifter bores. I'll be getting new lifters since one broke while trying to take it out and for ease of mind since they're 14yrs old.
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No i'm running the springs they came with going on 3 seasons now,they're good to .575 lift..my cam is .533/.552 so no issues..
 
71dustar said:
did you change the spring rate?

i would also like to here about the lifter bores. I'll be getting new lifters since one broke while trying to take it out and for ease of mind since they're 14yrs old.
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My cam is a custom retrofit hydraulic roller, 236/242 @ 50 duration and 586/540 lift intake/exhaust. The springs were changed and the retainers and locks were upgraded to 10 degree. The springs were installed at 1.85". Shady Dell Speed set the heads up for me and I went with what he recommended.

Originally I had a Crane 550 lift retrofit hydraulic roller cam but when I mocked up the engine the oil grooves in the lifters became exposed at max lift which would have caused excessive oil bleed off issues. I had to have a custom ground camshaft made with a smaller base circle so that the lifters would ride lower in the lifter bore and not expose the grooves. I verified all was good by putting the bottom end together, running the oil pump with a drill, and turning the cam. Brian from Indio Motor Machines speced out the cam for me and help me work through the lifter issue.

If you look at the pictures in my profile I have a full description of my engine.
 
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