Stealth heads on a stocker

[69 R/T]

I have a bone stock '69 440 Magnum and I'm considering putting on a pair Of Stealth heads to go with a Comp XE274 cam my buddy gave me. This engine is completely factory stock with iron manifolds, iron intake and Carter AVS and will remain so. My question is, if putting these heads on with all else remaing stock besides the cam worth the expense? Any and all advice is welcome but please don't advise me to add any visual aftermarket stuff like headers of intake. It's more of a show car that I'm looking to punch up a bit. Thanks guys!

BTW, I have not installed that cam since that would require a spring change which is what got me on this subject.

 

[Seax440Dodge]

so let me get this straight... you already have the heads, and you're asking if it'd be worth just swapping the heads w/o the cam... so this swap would at most cost you a set of head gaskets, a set of valve cover gaskets, exhaust manifold gaskets and maybe a valley pan...... I'd say go for it

 

[poopdeckpappy]

Cam and lifter set only! Once you get those Aluminum heads on there, your gonna want to replace something else, and that leads to something else, etc., etc.. If a stock look is what your going for, then keep it stock and invest your money on internals. Stick to your guns and the plan is my suggestion. Good luck.

 

[lewtot184]

i don't think it's worth the time or money. stealth heads, from the info i have, have pretty dismal low lift flow numbers out of the box. if you want a stock appearance with a little more power i'd do a summit 6401 cam and pocket port the heads you have. cast iron exhaust manifolds don't like tighter lobe separations, which the xe274 has.

 

[66Satellite47]

Without some work on the Stealth's & a bigger cam it seems all you've gained is a few pounds less on the front end. The XE274 looks to be about the same as the XS274 I ran, it didn't make much power with my Ede heads. I agree with lewtot184 if you want a little more power even with a fairly small cam a little pocket porting goes a long way.

 

[lewtot184]

i have a stock engined, except for the 6401 cam, 69 r/t automatic. i think the real power killer is the iron intake. i've heard say they only flow around 200cfm. 200cfm intake bolted to 260cfm head is a big mismatch.

 

[69 R/T]

Thanks for all that great info, guys! I haven't done a thing or purchased anything yet....and now I probably won't. The cost for parts while maintaining that stock look sounds like a waste of time and money. I'll just put the 4.10's in the Dana as my go fast option that's period correct. Those I already have.

 

[super-bee_ski]

In my opinion, go with the Stealth Heads...
You may want to upgrade later on, why not now?

I don't get it?

lewtot184 is a smart guy...
I use his advice often....
He is also correct concerning the "stock" intake manifold.
That is why I personally would do the heads/manifold swap.

1. A Dana?
As a performance upgrade?
That is a lot of weight!

That I really don't get....

 

[lewtot184]

Thanks for all that great info, guys! I haven't done a thing or purchased anything yet....and now I probably won't. The cost for parts while maintaining that stock look sounds like a waste of time and money. I'll just put the 4.10's in the Dana as my go fast option that's period correct. Those I already have.

4.10's are another place i wouldn't go. with a stock engine 3.54's are plenty, almost too much. torque engines don't need gear. they work the engine rather than letting the engine do the work.

 

[super-bee_ski]

X2

69 R/T
I have a question:
Do you already own the Dana 60 rear-end?

 

[69 R/T]

Yes, it's a factory 4 speed R/T with 3.54's. I'm still running the 4617 AVS, stock single points distributor, etc.

 

[super-bee_ski]

Oh, okay, I thought you were going to "upgrade" to a Dana.

Cool!

As lewtot184 suggested, do not go 4:10
Keep the 3:54s

 

[lewtot184]

i did some drag strip testing with my r/t some years back. the engine was close to stock, including exhaust, automatic trans; with the exception of a 6-pak. i tried the 3.23, 3.55. and 3.91 gears. the 3.55's and 3.91's showed no improvement in speed or e.t. why? everybody says gears help. so i did the chassis dyno thing. peak power at the real wheels was at 4300rpm. guess what; traps rpm was 4300 with the 3.23's. the lower gears were taking the engine past it's peak efficiency. it didn't like the rpm. i also noticed on the dyno that the power between 4300 and 5300rpm was virtually flat and fell off a cliff at 5300rpm. i learned something about these inline valve torque engines.

 

[69 R/T]

Wow, that's some very valuable and much appreciated info you're sharing with me. Maybe I should just leave it as is and enjoy what I have, which is awfully nice to begin with.
Thanks again, guys!
Ted

 

[71airgrabberRR]

I'd keep the 3.54's too. I also used to drag race back in the day. lewtot184 nailed it. Keep your optimal RPM's coinciding with the final RPM's you show at the traps. You can play with tire size to zero it in exactly. Plus there are several web sites that offer calculators that will take into consideration tire size, gears to show you RPM etc.

However, if it were me, I'd go with the Stealths if you have them. They have hardened valve seat inserts and you will not have to worry about pounding the exhaust seats out of your factory heads, which I'm guessing you have 906's ???? Plus they have a smaller valve stem diameter (11/32") vs the 3/8' from a factory head. Pocket port them and gasket match them. You will save about 50 pounds up front which is where you want to shave off the weight anyhow...............

just my 2 cents.

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I know you said you wanted to keep it looking basically stock. You can do this and still make good power. Just look at the guys who run in the "F.A.S.T." class. (factory appearing stock tires)

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Then like Pappy said..................... Carb, bigger cam and so on.........................

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Just make sure you keep your cylinder pressures up.

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If not, you will be buying new higher compression pistons to make more power. The list goes on..............

 

[HT413]

Seems to me that stealth heads have far better flow than stock at all valve lifts. Abismal low lift flow, well compared to some aftermarket heads I guess, but they flow at least 30% better than stock at any lift. I say buy em, and if you need more in the future, you can have them ported to the point they'd support 700HP.

Maybe pocket porting is more cost effective if you do it yourself (and have experience), but I just can't see spending good money on iron heads when for a few hundred more you can have better performance and far more room for growth.

I say to for the stealths if budget allows.

 

[Meep-Meep]

i don't think it's worth the time or money. stealth heads, from the info i have, have pretty dismal low lift flow numbers out of the box. if you want a stock appearance with a little more power i'd do a summit 6401 cam and pocket port the heads you have. cast iron exhaust manifolds don't like tighter lobe separations, which the xe274 has.

This is your best bet ^^^^^

It's also likely the Stealths will need work to make right, which will cost more money.

 

[bigmanjbmopar]

Besides they are chinese so automatically they will suck *** and probably break. I mean why would you want to put foreign junk on your mopar? especially the china junk it probably has hacker chips built in that scan your phone and track you so when you go to car shows and stuff they know you are there so they can break into your house and steal your cheetos! fuckers!

 

[69 R/T]

Oh that's funny, Big Man. You nailed it about the Chinese crap. I did budget for this, but I really can't afford it. Maybe just a better cam? Any suggestions on what to throw into a stocker?

 

[moparsteve636]

You'll lower your compression rating a little! The stealth heads have An 83-88 cc combustion chamber! You can shave them some to reduce it No more than 20 thousands though!If you cut them more you'll have to shave the intake accordingly!