440 build- piston/ rod selection

[Moms68]

Another rookie question for my lowly 440 build. From what I understand that I need closed chamber heads due to the Icon IC9953 pistons w/ relief cuts. Looking at Edelbrock 60929 84cc heads with the Comp Cams 21-224-4 flat hydraulic. Eddy heads are back-ordered so would 440 Source heads be a good option or should I wait for the 60929? Open to suggestions too.

 

[451Mopar]

Another rookie question for my lowly 440 build. From what I understand that I need closed chamber heads due to the Icon IC9953 pistons w/ relief cuts. Looking at Edelbrock 60929 84cc heads with the Comp Cams 21-224-4 flat hydraulic. Eddy heads are back-ordered so would 440 Source heads be a good option or should I wait for the 60929? Open to suggestions too.

Those pistons are flat-top, so any head will fit, the head chamber volume and head gasket thickness will change the compression ratio. the amount of distance the piston is below the block deck also (like adding gasket thickness).
the "quench" id distance from top od piston at tdc to the lower flat area of the head. pretty simple with flat top pistons and closed chamber heads. there are special "quench" pad pistons for open chamber heads.
Depends on the compression ratio you want, and works with your cam and fuel octane.

 

[66Satellite47]

Agree with 451 that Most any head will work. The EDE heads are good. My understanding is that recent Source heads are better quality than years ago. All those heads need to be checked for quality, especially the valve stem fit & valve job quality. My EDE RPM's were right on with their advertised CC's. not sure if the prior builder had adjusted them, don't think so. Do the math to figure the CR you want. Check the Source CC's and decide what CR you want. My 500" EDE motor ran just fine on our local pump premium at an actual 10.5. Depends on what your local gas quality is.

 

[Moms68]

Thanks. Still trying to understand closed vs. open chamber as it relates to hp. Shooting for 10 or 10.5:1 compression.

 

[66Satellite47]

Back in the day, I used both the open chamber 906's and the 915 closed chambers. Home ported to the same level. I can't say there was any real difference in HP. And I ran the same CR with each. One year I had a 906 crack at half season and put a 915 on that side with a thick gasket, same porting, no change in ET. Closed chamber one side, open chamber the other side. Not a good plan. But in bracket racing ya do what ya got to do.
Don't know if the iron head experience relates to today's aluminum head designs. My EDE RPM's were the large chamber version, they worked pretty well.

 

[Challenger340]

Another rookie question for my lowly 440 build. From what I understand that I need closed chamber heads due to the Icon IC9953 pistons w/ relief cuts. Looking at Edelbrock 60929 84cc heads with the Comp Cams 21-224-4 flat hydraulic. Eddy heads are back-ordered so would 440 Source heads be a good option or should I wait for the 60929? Open to suggestions too.

The source heads work, but typically we we would Port them and do V/Seat work ?
but that said,
they can be used ootb with just a quick V/Spring pressure check..... upgrade to 10* Retainers/Locks is highly Rec'd.

Used 'ootb' as above with no porting or V/Seat work at ~10:1, I think you can probably still expect in the 450+ hp range but with 510+ Ft/Lbs .... still a very capable ride.

* Note: The source Heads are 'tight' for pushrod clearance and will interfere when using larger 3/8" Pushrods(aftermarket) some clearancing will be req'd on the Heads themselves.

* the factory 5/16" Pushrods clear just fine, and if using the factory stamped steel rockers on the XE274 Cam ? IMO, it's best to drop V/Spring seat pressures down a bit to 120#