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Have 73 base 350 motor needs head work, what replacement heads are out there that would work well with dual plane intake, 600cfm Eldobrock carb, headers, HEI ign alrady on it without breaking the bank?
I believe Brodix aluminum heads are the best bang for your buck. With machine shop costs today I don’t think you can do a good valve job, and port and polish on factory type heads for what you can buy these lighter weight, better flowing complete heads that are more pump gas friendly.
Have 73 base 350 motor needs head work, what replacement heads are out there that would work well with dual plane intake, 600cfm Eldobrock carb, headers, HEI ign alrady on it without breaking the bank?
edelbrock estreet heads are good value, part number 5089
Last edited by randallsteel; Dec 9, 2022 at 06:04 PM.
heads have some critical differences
beyond who made them or even what they
are made from.
alum is better than iron giving that they are equal other wise.
basic sizing of heads are:
combustion chamber size,
intake runner volume.
one is for compression ratio and the other
for flow rate.
then things like valve size, plug angle, chamber shape, screw in studs, port shapes.
2020 Corvette of the Year Finalist (performance mods)
2019 C3 of Year Winner (performance mods)
2016 C3 of Year Finalist
what do you have for pistons...dome, flat or dish and piston head volume. THat is the most important so you can figure out what your compression will be with what cylinder head volume. Best out there is AFR...but they are so expensive. Brodix is what I like next for performance, then Trick flow and then maybe Edlebrock.
Skip White has good info but its chinese castings and good quality parts.....then its availability of what you can get
Yes, they are cast iron, but better than stock, no special hardware needed either like head bolts, roll rockers, etc.
Well, you're partially right.
Upgraded head gaskets due to the mating of two different metals.
Special head bolts.
Usually longer pushrods.
But the use of roller rockers is not mandatory.
Nothing wrong with Skip White heads, good price too. But it appears he only sells 200cfm ports. In my opinion, those are not "entry-level" heads, which is what the OP has, base 350.
Those 200 cfm will be great later on, if and when the OP up grades with cam, headers, more compression, etc.
Last edited by HeadsU.P.; Dec 9, 2022 at 07:23 PM.
heads have some critical differences
beyond who made them or even what they
are made from.
alum is better than iron giving that they are equal other wise.
basic sizing of heads are:
combustion chamber size,
intake runner volume.
one is for compression ratio and the other
for flow rate.
then things like valve size, plug angle, chamber shape, screw in studs, port shapes.
not an easy decision
While all of this is true cc’ing, porting and polishing Chevy heads are no secret today and ALL of these aftermarket heads incorporate these things including the large 202 valves. I think most have screw in studs but regarding port shape if you are using factory exhaust manifolds rather than headers you will need to port match the manifolds to the heads which is simple using the gaskets as a template. Plug angle is a personal choice or is dictated by what vehicle you use them in but our old Corvettes are straight.
FWI: I think aluminum heads are a great idea. I bought a set of Brodix aluminum BB heads. I had the holes used to mount the exhaust manifolds/headers helicoiled. This is to preclude much of the worry about the mounting bolts ever stripping out the aluminum threads. Brodix will do this for a nominal cost.
I am also looking to replace the heads on my stock 82 with crossfire injection. Runs good now. Just had a dyno run done at had 195.7 hp at the wheels! I am in the process of adding long tube headers and true dual exhaust. I am considering installing Brodix cylinder heads part # 1021002 with 70cc chambers and .040 Mr. Gasket hard gaskets. In addition I want to use 1/1.6 rockers. I am concerned about piston to valve clearance. Does anyone have any data on this subject? By the way am porting out the xfire manifold to port match the heads. Hoping to see 300+ hp at the wheels
I am also looking to replace the heads on my stock 82 with crossfire injection. Runs good now. Just had a dyno run done at had 195.7 hp at the wheels! I am in the process of adding long tube headers and true dual exhaust. I am considering installing Brodix cylinder heads part # 1021002 with 70cc chambers and .040 Mr. Gasket hard gaskets. In addition I want to use 1/1.6 rockers. I am concerned about piston to valve clearance. Does anyone have any data on this subject? By the way am porting out the xfire manifold to port match the heads. Hoping to see 300+ hp at the wheels
very cool.. thanks for sharing dyno.. be great to see after too !
Look where you hp and torque peaked. 3700. you're gonna need a lot more cam, better heads, intake, and good exhaust to get anywhere close to 300 at the wheels. I'm not sure the current xfire system is even capable of 300 at the wheels ever without some significant mods to fuel delivery.
I am also looking to replace the heads on my stock 82 with crossfire injection. Runs good now. Just had a dyno run done at had 195.7 hp at the wheels! I am in the process of adding long tube headers and true dual exhaust. I am considering installing Brodix cylinder heads part # 1021002 with 70cc chambers and .040 Mr. Gasket hard gaskets. In addition I want to use 1/1.6 rockers. I am concerned about piston to valve clearance. Does anyone have any data on this subject? By the way am porting out the xfire manifold to port match the heads. Hoping to see 300+ hp at the wheels
If it's a stock motor there is a good chance your pistons are already .025 below deck height. If it's been rebuilt, there is no knowing without measuring which you should do anyway. I would probably go 64cc heads and a thinner head gasket to get the compression up to 9:1 or so. Aluminum heads will handle a little more compression that iron heads without pre-detination. I highly doubt you will have any issues with 1.6 rockers, but always double check clearance with some clay.
Look where you hp and torque peaked. 3700. you're gonna need a lot more cam, better heads, intake, and good exhaust to get anywhere close to 300 at the wheels. I'm not sure the current xfire system is even capable of 300 at the wheels ever without some significant mods to fuel delivery.
I believe the tb injectors can support it. thy were used on a larger caddy engine originally. a lot of folks use the later higher pressure tpi fuel pumps which help they make aftermarket higher flow replacements though. I always wanted to port my crossfire intake but never did.
A lot of modern heads are pretty good n better with a bit of work. For street mild stuff I suggest small runners like 180ish and if you can tune and want to be more racey then 200cc The NEW version of the Dart SHP 180 is nice and one of the better out of the box ready to go heads, 64cc tho the bigger 72cc they sink the valves to make the chamber larger. AFR(Enforcers) is the best version of the generic ebay 200cc castings in my opinion But their VJ n such favors larger cams. Trickflow or Speedway Motors have camel hump versions if you wanna have some modern head advantages(design) but retain classic look.
Actually considering buying a set of the Summit iron heads for my truck project BUCK cause I'm tired of trying to find decent used vortecs. Summit heads are Dart S/S-iron eagles basically.
If you’re looking to mod yours to higher performance in the 300 hp at rear wheels level, I would read this and possibly be in contact with this guy. He’s done extensive mods to these engines to get good performance. His experience and input would be valuable.
things like larger injectors, higher volume and pressure fuel pumps, different ecu programming, different intake etc sound to be the right path to getting more performance.
Head replacment recommendations
