Now that this long cold Indiana winter is over I can get back in the garage and work on my car. I plan on starting back to work on my Cutlass and I want to get to work on the engine. I have spoken to a couple people on here about what I want to do, but one thing I'm not sure about is what heads to use.

I am building this motor to be pretty strong, but still be drivable and I want a good set of aftermarket heads. I have seen a lot of negatives about Eldelbrock heads and have heard that the new Mondello heads are the way to go for the money.

Can someone give me some feedback on what heads would be a good option.

I appreciate any help people can give me.

Thanks!!!!

 

Procomp is the best bang for the buck.

Talk to smitty275 here on CO, he had a great deal on procomp's.

 

I'm finally in the loop to be able to offer the ProComp heads at equal or better prices.
Not sure what you've heard as far as negatives on the E'brock heads but I don't really know of any true negatives.
For a strong running reliable driver or street/strip build either head can work.
Since "strong running" means different things to different people I'll go out on a limb here and say that you'll probably want port work done no matter which head you choose and chambers cc'd for compression reasons.
I offer the ProComps with a mild port job for not much more than the box stock E'brocks.

 

X2, a set of mildly ported Procomps will probably give you want you want.
Like Smitty I'd be interested in what you've heard about the Edelbrocks as well.
I have an EFI'd 455 with CNC ported Edelbrocks on the dyno right now. Next is an EFI'd 455 with out of the box Edelbrocks. Then a carbureted 455 with out of the box Procomps. I'll be posting dyno figures. You can decide for yourself at that point. As mentioned either head is a good way to go.

 

I probably used the wrong word when I said negatives. Basically I have been told that there are better options for the money than the Eldelbrock heads. I was told I would need to port/polish and a couple more things to the Eldelbrock heads when I could get something like Procomp or Mondello heads where that work would already be done at close to the same price.

Not neccesarilly negatives I guess, more positives for the other heads.

Mark,

I spoke with you back last summer and my plan is to go with what you suggested on my engine.

236/240@.050 Hyd flat tappet with .568 lift onboth
Scat 7.00" Cadillac rods
Set of Custom Pistons (not sure where to get them yet)
Stock Crank
Eldelbrock Performer Intake

At this point I'm not sure if I will just do a Carb set up or explore the EFI set ups. I know your good with the EFI stuff so might look into that. I plan on running something around 3:55 gears and probably going to run the TH400 I have for now. I would like to get something with overdrive down the road. My end goal is to get somewhere around 450 HP so trying to listen to the guys in the know so I do the engine right the first time.

Do you think this set up with a set of these Procomp heads will get me where I want to be? Will it be better with a Carb or EFI set up?

Anymore thoughts?

 

Out of the box, apples to apples the Edelbrocks are a better head. But if you're only looking for 450hp then a set of cleaned up Procomps would probably do the trick imo.
As far as pistons go you have a couple of options. You could just do a 455 cranks and essentially make it a 455 or go the custom piston route like you mentioned. I'd think about just using a 455 rotating assembly in your 425 block.
And when it comes to EFI it's a personnel choice. It won't add any power, just drivability and an overall improvement in running quality. Give me a shout sometime and we can cover the pros and cons.