440 head advice

[moparquest]

I wonder if I could get some help from you folks in determining the best heads to put on the 440 i'm building. I'm looking for 450-500hp. I took a '73 block, bored it .030" over and had it align bored. I'm currently assembling the bottom end and would like to get advice on what heads can get me to the hp goal. I've bought a Lunati hyd roller cam with .513/.530 lift and 270/278 adv duration. I'm thinking a set of stealth heads gasket-matched will get me in the ballpark. Or should i be looking at other headsfor this hp?
Any help/advice appreciated.

 

[Meep-Meep]

You can even use the factory iron heads like a 915 or a 906 but the aftermarket aluminum heads are pretty cost effective and will flow better without any work. Member IQ52 started a thread about some pretty inexpensive Eddy heads so maybe check those out.

 

[bigmanjbmopar]

I have the stealth heads and they work great have reved up to 6500 without blowing up lol They have also made a great driver too at least for a stroked up 493. It's all about the cost factor how much will you spend? To get 500hp the stealth heads were a great choice for me I am in the range of 535hp street driver.

 

[IQ52]

I wonder if I could get some help from you folks in determining the best heads to put on the 440 i'm building. I'm looking for 450-500hp. I took a '73 block, bored it .030" over and had it align bored. I'm currently assembling the bottom end and would like to get advice on what heads can get me to the hp goal. I've bought a Lunati hyd roller cam with .513/.530 lift and 270/278 adv duration. I'm thinking a set of stealth heads gasket-matched will get me in the ballpark. Or should i be looking at other headsfor this hp?
Any help/advice appreciated.

The Stealth heads should do it, but far more important than gasket matching is blending all the sharp edges and protrusions in the bowls. The gasket matching will yield almost nothing flow wise, whereas the bowl blending give almost 20 cfm in the Stealth. And don't gasket match the exhaust, you almost invariably end up with an exhaust port that is too big.

Edelbrock is advertising a 75cc E-Street head but it won't be available until maybe June. Talking to Edelbrock tech is always frustrating, and they say the price hasn't been set on the 75cc head but they expect it to be like the 84cc E-Street which is $1450. Summit and Jegs have the 75cc head listed at $980, so if I was going to get the new 75cc head, I would order it now at the $980 price and wait for a June delivery. The 75cc head has cheaper components like heaver valves, lighter springs, harder valve seats and isn't bowl blended like the RPM head. They are listed as having a straight plug configuration but the 84cc E-Street delivered to another engine builder had angled spark plugs.

It's too bad we can't get really reliable information without intensive investigation.

 

[moparquest]

Thanks for the input, Gentlemen. The angled spark plugs and the 84cc chamber have made me look at Stealth over Edelbrock (RPMs). But maybe i'll give Edelbrock a second look. That's good info about the bowl blending, too. I'm stuck with a stock stroke as i've already purchased the lightweight pistons, connecting rods and had the cranked polished and balanced. If i had it to do over i'd probably stroke it out. But i'll probably get a set of Aluminum heads and have some blending as IQ suggests and see what i get. Thanks so much for the info, guys.

 

[67 B-body]

I can tell you that Kofells Speed shop used to get 600+ hp from stock stroke 440 builds all the time using the MP 590 camshaft and worked over cast iron heads.
You should be able to obtain your goal with a good set of aluminum heads, and the cam you have already purchased.
I however, like the Victor series head. It moves the exh port and relocates valves to clear up the runners from the casting around the valve stem that kills factory design heads flow.
They are always spoken about by others as Big cube heads, or only useful at high RPM... I strongly diss-agree! I like how they work on my stock stroke 440 very much. I have 13:1 compression, MP 590 cam with 1.6 ratio rockers making 630 lift. The rods are H beam and rotating assy balanced.

 

[IQ52]

Boy, I am with you on the Edelbrock Victor head. It is versatile enough to use on a stock 400 or a race 500.

 

[moparquest]

That's an interesting thought. I hadn't considered Victor heads. Do they require machine work before ***'y? I'm also running H-beam rods. I'm only planning on 10:1 compression though.
Thanks.

 

[IQ52]

They don't come with valve springs, retainers or locks. The major kicker is that they require offset intake rocker arms. Sometimes they will require some pushrod clearancing around the intake runners. 8:1, 10:1, 12:1 who cares? They flow the air! What compression would you get with 72cc or 75cc, whatever the Victors are now.

 

[moparquest]

The Victors would give me about 10.5:1 compression ratio, which is very agreeable. I'd have to change the springs anyway to match my cam. The retainers and locks aren't a big buy (at least compared to everything else on this venture). 440 source has a decent deal on a set of offset intake rocker arms. I'll look at those Victors real hard.
Thanks for the help!

 

[demonram]

I'm very pleased with the stealth heads. If you use 3/8" pushrods you'll have to clearence the holes . I think it's stated on there sight now but it wasn't when I bought them. Also make sure you get the right plugs.

 

[moparquest]

Demon, do you have a stock-stroke 440 with the Stealths?

 

[67 B-body]

The Victors would give me about 10.5:1 compression ratio, which is very agreeable. I'd have to change the springs anyway to match my cam. The retainers and locks aren't a big buy (at least compared to everything else on this venture). 440 source has a decent deal on a set of offset intake rocker arms. I'll look at those Victors real hard.
Thanks for the help!

I would look real hard too,,, then even harder after that! I'm telling ya, these things are nice!
Also when comparing, take into concideration the chamber design. Most of the other heads use the "OLD" tech "D" shaped Chambers. Victor style " Eddy or Pro-Comp" Utilize the "MODERN" Heart shaped Chambers. This has been proven to produce higher efficiency within the chamber and yield higher torque and HP.
Now I wouldn't argue that you need all of this for your application,,, but I would suggest that you could throw a big cam into the same engine using the Victor head and not be limited by flow in the end.
You could also use forged pistons in your build and have the option to put gobs of Nitrous to it and the heads will realy show there ability then!
As I type this,,, I realy can't think of a reason not to use them,,,, LOL!
Maybe something like a B1 head could be used for even higher HP applications,,, but I'm thinking the Victor would be usable for at least up to 800hp "all engine" builds.
Good luck with your build!

 

[moparquest]

Cool. Thanks, guys.

 

[demonram]

Sorry it took so long to reply. They are on a 451 stroked 400 so 440 stroke bored 40 over. Still love em!!

 

[moparquest]

Thanks.

 

[383man]

For your goal the Stealth heads will work fine. I do agree the Victor heads are a very good head but as was stated they use offset rockers and for only 500 or so HP you really dont have to have them. Its up to you of course because if you plan to step it up down the road then the Victors will have the potential.
Another option is what I did as I may step up my 63 in the future but I did not want to go with offset rockers so I went with the Indy EZ heads which are also a heart shaped chamber and I used a dished piston for 10.6 comp to be 92 pump gas friendly. I also built quench into my 493 to help even more with pump gas. I like them because they have good potential and they use standard rockers and the headers fit like stock as they do not have raised exh ports which the Victors do. That means you may have to work with your headers if you go with Victors because they have raised exh ports which will raise the headers and may cause fitment problems. But with the raised exh ports the Victors flow great and may outflow the EZ heads but not sure. I went with the EZ because they have been on enginges of 800 hp so I know they work good.
But bottom line is there are alot of head choices out there but for a basic 500 to 550 hp 440 the Stealth's or Eddy RPM's will work fine and are probably the cheapest aluminum aftermarket heads you can buy. Good luck , Ron

 

[moparquest]

That's good info about the header fitment and offset rockers of Victors vs EZ heads. I really appreciate it. What a great forum for newbies like me to learn from your all's experience. I've started a spreadsheet with pros, cons and costs on each head option for my build based on a lot of the above input.
Thanks again.

 

[womanator]

Heads is the one place I would not go cheap on your build.
Just bite the bullet and buy the Eddy RPM's.
I had a Stealth head that broke a ear off When I first torque'd it down and 440 wouldn'd warranty it.

Here's a pic of my 440 with RPM's.
It's a street legal,pump gas,10 sec dart.
It doe's 10's off the juice.
Launching at 2000 rpm's

 

[67 B-body]

That's good info about the header fitment and offset rockers of Victors vs EZ heads. I really appreciate it. What a great forum for newbies like me to learn from your all's experience. I've started a spreadsheet with pros, cons and costs on each head option for my build based on a lot of the above input.
Thanks again.

One thing to note about the raised exh ports and headers, I have regular TTI 2" primary and 3.5" collector size headers on mine without fittment issues. These ar not "special" made for the Victor heads either. The exh port is raised 1/4", and I never thought it would be enough to make or break anything,,, turns out it didn't make a bit of differance. I however do not have power steering or power brakes. Your results may very depending on options.