Yellow1977

Hey guys I’m on a budget and looking for a decent pair of heads. The other day I was looking around and stumbled across these heads

HeadsU.P.

They look all right, but I would prefer guide plates and rocker studs installed. So, you will have additional cost. You should ask about the type of valvestem seals and quality.
Pretty decent lift on the springs.
Machining looks good.
Bolt holes on the ends for accesseries.
(they look something like ProMaxx)

cooper9811

Speedmaster is also known as Procomp. I've never used them, but most folks seem to dislike them - Some report that the heads are OK to use as long as you have a machine shop/expert go over them and clean them up.

For a good budget head, I would look a the JEGS house brand - they are basically Pro-Filers, and those have a great reputation with a decent price (although more than the Procomp/Speedmaster).

Vortecs are a good budget option as well, but you get into changing intakes due to the bolt pattern.

cv67

^^^if you can, buy through jegs/summit at least they have a return policy if they dont ck out right. Or ask your machinst if he can pick you up a bare set and put them together for $?

Id never touch a chinese set of heads there are tons, from different foundries....350 a set on ebay but youre really rolling the dice.

derekderek

If you're going to buy any budget aluminum head, get one with no valves, no springs, no locks. Buy all that stuff American-made higher-quality so you know what it is. Pro Comp castings used to be junk. They're okay now. But they're Chinese so they could put in cheap Chinese Valves and Hardware.

Yellow1977

Thanks for the replies i really don’t want to purchase Vortec heads as I just hate the thought of putting them on my car. So another question do you guys think It would be smart to go with promaxx heads http://www.jegs.com/i/ProMaxx-Perfor.../2169/10002/-1
with the guides and rocker studs already in?

HeadsU.P.

Absolutely. Love mine, no issues. Great performance, great castings. I have the 2169s.
If you want some photos look at my profile photo album.

Besides talking about valves, springs, flow rates, sparkplug angles, another issue that was brought up on this forum years ago was an issue with the "oil dam" so to speak, or the valvecover pad.
I am refering to the area between the springs and exhaust ports. I don't remember the brand of heads but the oil dam was so short that it was impossible to keep the valvecovers from leaking. Oil puddled up in that area and always overflowed, saturating the valvecover gasket instead of returning to the pan. So no matter which brand you select, check that dam real close. That also determines how tall the valvecover will be, clearing the rockerarms.

ps. You will need longer pusrods, ARP head bolts, longer sparkplugs and a top quality headgasket compatable with iron / aluminum.