Ebay cylinder head

[norwegianc10]

Want to buy new set of alu. cylinder heads. There are some cheap ones on ebay (procomp) anyone tried these? Or suggestions on what brand to get.

[weircc]

i actually talked to a guy off ebay about the pro comps he ''claims" they are really good heads however he says sometimes you will get a set where the valve cover holes do not line up, but he said no big deal. Im looking for a set of aluminum heads my self and i am getting some positive feedback on the patriot heads and jegs carries them so they must be ok.But i am looking for some more input as well.

[68gmsee]

The cylinder heads are some of the most important parts of the engine. I'd do some careful research before buying. Do a search and read some of the reviews from others on the internet.

If it was me I'd spend the extra money and get some from a reliable and proven source.

[Sinister]

Originally Posted by 68gmsee

The cylinder heads are some of the most important parts of the engine. I'd do some careful research before buying. Do a search and read some of the reviews from others on the internet.

If it was me I'd spend the extra money and get some from a reliable and proven source.

X2 Those heads have a reputation of being garbage castings.
How about some Brodix IK 180's?

[spinning wheels]

Is this a daily driver truck or a hi performance truck?

Do you want the aluminum heads just for the "cool" factor?

A friend of mine ran a set of Edelbrock aluminum heads on his '72 Chevy Nova. With a SBC engine. He didn't like them too much. He said they walked, so he took them off and went back to cast iron heads. This is a street/strip car and not a daily driver. However, he has done some long distance driving in it and he lives in Arizona, were it gets very very hot.
This was many years ago, and I'm sure Edelbrock has not stopped doing research and improving their products, so the newest heads may have solved the walking problem.

By walking, it means the heads aluminum material expands and contracts at different rates than the cast iron block. So sometime a head gasket may develop a leak or not seal the combustion chamber properly. Whew, hope this makes sense. I wish I could explain it better, my dad was the metallurgist. Not me

[72blue]

a friend of mine bought an intake for a sbc from procomp on ebay and the mounting bolts didn't even line up on the factory heads. I saw this with my eyes and the ports were horrible; irregular in size and shape. Total crap in my opinion.

[spinning wheels]

Originally Posted by 72blue

a friend of mine bought an intake for a sbc from procomp on ebay and the mounting bolts didn't even line up on the factory heads. I saw this with my eyes and the ports were horrible; irregular in size and shape. Total crap in my opinion.

I'm wondering if maybe the stuff on ebay are factory blems?

[Elephanthead]

avoid, there are many good affordable heads out there that are better and more reliable.

[norwegianc10]

My truck is a daily driver, and I wanted the heads for the convinience of using unleaded fuel. It is not possible to get leaded fuel in norway anymore, need to use aditives. But I can rebuild some old camelhumps with hardened seats. But I like the idea of higher flow numbers and the ability of running a higher comp.ratio

[68gmsee]

Originally Posted by norwegianc10

My truck is a daily driver, and I wanted the heads for the convinience of using unleaded fuel. It is not possible to get leaded fuel in norway anymore, need to use aditives. But I can rebuild some old camelhumps with hardened seats. But I like the idea of higher flow numbers and the ability of running a higher comp.ratio

Not sure if your gas is the same as ours but I drove my 69 with unleaded fuel for about 2-3 years without any problems before I changed my engine out. I now drive my 250 six cylinder GMC with unleaded fuel.

Some years ago when I asked a local machinist about redoing the heads, he recommended waiting until they started giving problems. He had been driving his old truck with unleaded fuel for several years without any problems.

[shooterpcb]

some of the best heads for the money I have seen are the Patriot Performance Aluminum heads sold by Summit Racing and some other shops. Also try here: http://forums.dragcoverage.com/forumdisplay.php?f=80

[mr48chev]

The Patriot heads seem to get good feedback.

For a set of street heads I think I would go with a new set of Vortec heads straight from the Chevrolet Performance parts counter. They aren't that spendy and usually offer up a good hp gain over stock. The only issue is that you need an intake to match. You can get the heads PN 12558060 for 289.99 ea from Jeggs or 299.99 from Summit and those are complete ready to bolt on heads. You might be able to wangle a deal from your local chev dealer if you know someone in the parts dept.

[stockish shawn]

I agree with mr48chev vortec heads flow near numbers to the 2.02 but still have the grunt in the bottom end. horsepower is made up top go with the best you can afford. I have vortecs on my 70 4x4 and had the valve guids cut to run a larger lift cam and they do require self aligning rocker arms and a vortec intake available in many differant casting designs. your old push rods will still work. good luck

[spinning wheels]

Originally Posted by norwegianc10

My truck is a daily driver, and I wanted the heads for the convinience of using unleaded fuel. It is not possible to get leaded fuel in norway anymore, need to use aditives. But I can rebuild some old camelhumps with hardened seats. But I like the idea of higher flow numbers and the ability of running a higher comp.ratio

Out here in the states, we can't obtain leaded fuel at the local gas stations since the early 80's. Even then the lead went from 5.00 ppm to 0.01 ppm, the last year of production.
Rebuilding the old camel heads with hardened valve seats is the cheapest way to go.

As for higher flow numbers, much goes into achieving that. From compression to cam timing, carb, and intake/exhaust manifolds. You can get the higher flow rates from the camel heads and some good valves. I have seen camel heads run 2.05" intake valves with little work.

You can always paint the heads aluminum grey and tell everyone that they are aluminum