Anybody have an opinion on the Trick Flow 23 Degree Aluminum Cylinder Heads for Small Chevy? Kenny Duttweiler Signature Series

I am rebuilding my 327, planning on using the 1970 LT-1 cam, something like an L79 intake and carb but newer. I have some 461 stock heads but am considering an upgrade rather then porting the old ones.

Thanks

 

I'm running them on my 383 now, I thought the 195cc would be a little on the small side for a 383 but they do OK. They seem to fall off just a bit at 6300 rpm and above but below that they pull like a raped ape. For your 327 they should be plenty big enough with room to grow. best thing is the angle plugs don't interfere with anything, they even clear my hooker sidepipe headers. Good choice of heads I'd reccomend them

 

Thanks Eddie. Would you explain the 23 degree thing to me? I hope some C2 owners chime in, I'm concerned about hood clearance. Do you have the CNC heads?

 

All stock small block heads are 23 degree heads in the older motors the new Lt and Ls's might be diffrent, don't know, It just means your intake and headers will fit. 18 degree heads have a straighter shot at the intake valve but you have to run a 18 degree intake and the headers won't fit right. Hood clearance will be the same because it is basicly the same head as stock externaly.I had a friend polish and port mine, but if you don't have access to friends that know how to do this the cnc's would be the way to go.

 

Ah, so it refers to the angle of the intake and exhaust face. I have access to a head guy that retired from Hendricks Racing. He does superb head work but it's not cheap. He'll do my iron heads for $650 (porting) and then I have to buy the rest of the valve train, so the expense will be almost the cost of alum heads from Summit.

 

If originality isn't your goal, I would run the TFS heads. If budget allows, I'd have your head porter go through them. One other thing to consider is that TFS heads have a good Intake/Exhaust flow ratio. The LT-1 cam's profile may not be optimal due to TFS' heads strong exhaust flow. Good luck.

 

I'm also looking at getting a set of the TFS heads, but how do they compare to the AFR180/195's???? In what situation would the TFS be more suited than the AFR & vice versa? ie. if money wasn't an issue, what would be the best head for a 350 auto, 2.87 rear, th200-4r, stock pistons, not decked, Perf manifold & a Crane Compucam .440"/.454" 210/216 @0.050" 114lca? It looks to me that for street use the AFR180's would give a nice bunch of low/mid torque, but I'm not sure if they'd suit the cam I've got fitted (extra duration on the exhaust to promote scavenging but retain a high vac at idle to keep the computer from complaining). Any ideas? Or.... if I buy the TFS heads will I start beating myself up in the future because I didn't get the AFRs?

 

I'm less than impressed with the oil drain back out of the rocker area of the AFR's. Good valve seals with AFR's are hugely important. Teflon seals don't cut it. The ports may be nice but that's about it for the AFR's.

The Trick Flow's aren't bad. I've got a friend with, out of the box, unported TrickFlow 23's on a 383 with a TPIS 242/242 cam that's making pretty good power with them. 118 mph traps in 2000 ft air. They've been great right out of the box.

 

I am impressed with Trick Flow heads....good product....good performance numbers.....good flow numbers.....better value than AFR and Brodix.

 

Hey mbeeman350, we are just minutes apart .. I'm in Brandon.

 

I have been slobbering over the KD's also, might be the best bang for the buck...

Anyone know why they discontinued the Twisted Wedge heads for the SBC??????

 

Well that 23* is the angle of vlv with respect to the centerline of piston. And i don't know why 18* is any better than 23*. But as far as I know the runners and ports are in different locations between 18* vs 23* and different manifolding is required.
$650 is pretty darn cheap for full head portng and you'll probly get what you pay for. I'm thinking $1500 and you would still need the hardware.
I say TW heads for $1000 and sell the old iron for $300 is the best deal - but just my 2 pennys here.

Desertdawg I have been slobbering over the KD's also, might be the best bang for the buck... Anyone know why they discontinued the Twisted Wedge heads for the SBC??????

Now I'm curious about the Twisted Wedge heads too. Talking to an engine builder just 2 years ago that said they where the best out of the box head for under $1000. TF website is still selling Twisted Wedge heads for sb Ford, but no mention of the old TW heads for chevy? I remember they angled the pushrods a bit - called that twisted wedge - and maybe now have improved the DW heads enough with just straight pushrods? Man the aftermarket sb Chevy head market is really competitive. So many good heads now, its more a matter of avoiding bad heads that don't fit up right or work with your combo than finding good flowing heads.
Good luck and post ur results.

 

If you find out why they dropped the TW line for chevy, let me know.

I heard the same thing about the best you could get right out of the box...

 

The TW heads have the exhaust valves at the stock 23degress but the inlet are at a flatter 18degrees. With shallower angles the heads can be designed to get better chamber & port shapes. I've seen bad reports on TW's regarding the casting quality, but a forum member has a set & has nothing but praise for them. Summit may be worth a call as I think it was them that supplied his, although I've not seen TW's advertised for SBC's in the last 4 years.
Thanks for the replies on my AFR vs TFS question

 

I've got a set in my garage waiting to go on the 383 I'm having built. They look great.

 

What I had read is the first design had some problems with the seals, but they could be fixed.

The second version had better seals to start with. Other than that I have only heard praise about them. Looks like if I really want the twisted wedge design, it's going to be from Ebay.