Hi Mark. I thought the pump and manifold looked a little nicer than the orig alum. What primer and paint did you use? I would like the same look! P.S. Am still going to get back to you on the cam, lifters and rocker arms. Been out of town. thanks again. Bill.

 

Thank you very much.

My goal was a reliable 450hp engine, Mark said no need for porting he could easily get 450 without it.
I really didn't want more, been there with my Chevy, I figured that 450hp is perfect for the street.

The manifold is Performer, Mark thought Performer would be better for my engine since it's mainly a street car.

Reliability was a major concern so getting new rods was a no brainer and by the time you are done with the stock ones the price difference is not that big.

Final compression is 10.3:1.

I don't think I would do anything different, I got exactly what I wanted. Mark delivered and he made sure that everything was right before shipping it out.

I know this is not a build with crazy HP numbers, it's just a solid, reliable street engine with just enough HP and TQ to have some fun with.

Mark is a great guy to deal with and the main reason I had him build it is cause I wanted a peace of mind. I really never even considered anybody else.

No plans for EFI, I am more of a carb guy.



BTW how is your car coming along, I don't remember seeing any updates lately.

 

If you want to run floating pins (Which is recommended for the ICON pistons) the old rods need to be machined. The extra work on top of standard rod reconditioning and a set of ARP rod bolts, puts you spittin' distance from the cost of new Eagle rods which come with bolts.
Down side is most of the 455 builds that use Eagle rods need to grind the block else the rods hit the opposing cylinder bore. Not bad if you've aware ahead of time and haven't installed the crank and cam shaft like I did.
George

 

Here you go Bill.

 

I'm getting real close now. Just have to work on attaching the hood, deck lid, installing lexan and alignment. My friend Ulises is going to paint the car over the winter. I wanted to make a few passes this fall but I'm running out of time. Thanks for your interest. Tell Mark I said hi next time you talk to him.

 

Thanks Mark! Will be in touch soon. Bill.

 

Sorry Mark, one last thing. Would you recommend Procomp or Edelbrock heads? Thanks again, Bill.

 

Depends on the build, budget and desired hp/tq.
Edin wanted 450 hp, I knew I could get that with the combo I put together. Much beyond that he would have either had to clean up the Procomps or get the Edelbrocks to make more power without a lot more cam. The Edelbrocks are better out of the box, but the Procomps have more meat in the important areas so you can get into them a bit more aggressively.
I have a set of Procomps on a shelf in my shop. They've been filled at the intake port and ported with 2.125 intake valves. They now flow 312@.600. And the intake port entry is now .200 shorter than it started out to be yet flows better all the way thru. They'll most likely be going on my own build.

As mentioned, depends on your desires and goals.

 

I noticed you used PRW stainless 1.65 rockers but aren't those for Pontiacs?
If I use short polylocks and 1.75 rocker studs would I still be able to use the standard valve cover for stock looks (if you use the PRW or Procomp roller rockers)?
Cheers!

 

Thanks Mark! I'm leaning towards the Edelbrocks (Fortunately money isn't too much of an issue) because of the flow after Bernard does his thing w/them! But I want to work w/you on the cam, lifters, and roller rockers. Also, is the oil restriction in the mains necessary? Bernard has pushrods that are restricted. Is this a viable alternative? many thanks!! Bill.

 

Mark! As an afterthought I'm only looking for 400HP @best. This is a '57 Cruiser! If I can get better w/9-1 comp. thats all the better. I'd love some good "LOPE" w/the cam. No vacuum issues (Hydroboost Master). I know i'm repeating myself to you, but I'm sure you deal w/alot of people asking the same dumb questions every day. Cheers, Bill.

 

AMC, SBF, Olds and Pontiac all share the same rocker geometry so you can use virtually any of the rockers available for any of the above. I chose the 1.65 because it gave me the max lift for the springs that were on the heads.

And just let me know when you're ready Bill.

Thanks.

 

Thought I update this thread as I am getting close to firing it up. Had to take a break from the car due to the house purchase and a demanding work schedule. Now that things eased up a little I am back working on the car.
After having issues with Doug's Headers, they have been returned. (thank you Mark for helping me getting the refund).
I bought a set of ARH header 1 7/8 with 3" collector. I had issues with them too. Had to cut one of the tubes and weld it in a different angle.
In last 2 weeks I have been busy trying to finish it up. Ran new Stainless Steel brake lines, new booster, proportioning valve and master cylinder. Had to get a new transmission crossmember due to ARH headers and their fitment. About to have the car off the jack stands for the first time in months.
It feels good to be excited about this all over again.

P.S. I hate headers.

 

Here is the new transmission crossmember. I got this one with future 5 speed upgrade in mind. It fits good with minor mods.

 

Made some progress over the weekend. Finally chased down all the leaks on the break lines and bled the brakes. New driveshaft is in.

 

Once again the headers were giving me problems. Not happy at all with ARH. Wish I didn't spent that money on them.
Had to get a smaller oil filter and grind the mini-starter for them to fit.

The cost of the headers, modifications I had to do on them and everything I had to get in order for them to fit is almost $2k.

 

Sucks that a few of you guys have had such shitty fitment with $1000+ headers. You might as well bought cheap headers, beat on where needed and have them coated for much less.

 

I bought my ARH headers from Smitty, and received an early set, they fit perfect, I wonder what's changed,? Worth every Penney.

 

Good luck on the five speed... friend got one of those to go with his LGT700 and it didn't work with the trans, wasn't even close without significant mods. Sent it back, used the stock one.

 

olds 307 and 403 You are completely right. I should've bought a cheaper set. I regret spending the money on them, they have brought me nothing but costly problems.
I am not happy with ARH at all. I talked to Steve at ARH who said Nick ( the owner) wants to talk to you about the problem, he is a Olds owner and blah blah blah. Never heard back from either one. I could have bought 4 sets of ebay headers and beat on till i get it right. Even with the new crossmember I have about 1/4 clearance on the driver side and about 3/4 on the passenger side.

dc2x4drvr I wish I could say the same. I bought because of people that had them and said how well they fit. i tried mine I was so disappointed, than I discovered I am not the only one. For them to encourage somebody to beat a $1100 set with a hummer is far from acceptable.

83hurstguy I had no choice, the headers are so close to the floor that I had to get something for them to clear. they would not clear the stock crossmember.
It was either this aluminum one or the steel one. The price difference was $60 so I went with this one. I am planning on converting to 5 speed so I figured this one would work.

 

Would you recommend a custom set for correct fitment or just a set of Hookers?

 

Wow. Honestly, I've known many people with ARH and never had that issue. Something has to be screwed up with those headers. My friend who sent the crossmember back has ARH headers (LS swap), and he had to run the exhaust downhill to get under the factory crossmember. ARH did send me a set of A-body headers last time I ordered a set of G-body, and Steve didn't know the difference by visual when I sent pictures. Nick straightened the situation out.

 

I am not knowledgeable enough to recommend a set. I don't know why is everybody having such a hard time building a right set of headers and keeping the product within specified tolerances. Seems like they all get sloppy after awhile.
I tried my friends hooker headers, about 8-9 years old, they fit perfect. I tried the same part number just brand new and they don't fit the same. When we compared the 2, basic design is the same but you can see the subtle differences.

I know once I'm done with this swap, I am gonna attempt to build a set of custom headers.

 

There is few guys here on OC that have the same problem, especially with #3 tube. Why does it stick out so much, when there is plenty of room for it to be placed between 1 and 5.
This was the main problem. Couldn't even come close to bolting it to the heads.

OUT OF THE BOX



AFTER MY REPAIR



HERE IS A PICTURE FROM ARH WEBSITE

 

Think 8-9 years ago was a possible cutoff date from USA made vs Chinese made? I'm not sure if Hooker outsources to China or not but it wouldn't suprise me these days? I believe ARH is supposed to be all USA made. I agree that with today's technology and money being spent for a set of headers (1k or more and not even custom made.) you should have 100% fitment every time! Definitely feel your pain 70Cutty! I don't even have an engine built yet and am dreading this issue!

 

Damn nice fix Cutty! Looks factory!

 

Looking at the picture there is no way it is the same headers that you have, at least not the left one, the pipe routing is completely different. Are you sure you've got the right ones?
I would like to hear that someone screwed up and shipped you the wrong ones, because these are the only headers I ever wanted. Now, I'm not so sure anymore.
/ Anders

 

The picture on their website are the G-body headers. You have reduced firewall clearance, hence why cylinder 7 goes down instead of straight back like the A-body headers. Granted, that number 3 tube is a bizarre issue.

 

To be fair to ARH, I just got off the phone with Nick from ARH and he offered to pay for the headers to be shipped back so he can check them out.
I haven't decided what to do yet. I am already half way there with the modifications to the headers and car due to the headers. I may just try and finish this so I can finally have the car back on the road.

 

Sorry to hear you're having so many issues! I was going to try a set of ARH headers and I'm definately interested in your outcome!

 

IMHO send em back you paid to much to have to futz around w them and like lance and others have said their set fit good yours should too.

 

Making some progress again. Almost done with wiring, hoping to start it up this weekend. To do list is getting smaller and smaller.

 

Looks great Cutty! I've been talking to Mark on a build as well! If it's anything like your experience then I'll be ecstatic when the crate arrives!

 

Thanks man. Mark is the man, you will not regret it.

 

I couldn't agree more! I ask lots of dumb questions and he answers them all! Haha!

 

HAHA, me too. I am still about a month away from driving mine but my dyno results show that Mark nailed what I was looking for.

 

How much power can be expected from a similar build with stock heads?

 

Honestly I don't know enough to answer your question as far as HP goes.
With iron heads 10.3:1 compression might be too much with today's pump gas. Not saying that it can't be done, but your tuning and combination of parts has to be perfect. I would shoot for less compression for iron heads.

 

It's not an Olds but my Brother in law runs 10.5:1 on his .30 over sbc 400 with iron heads and doesn't seem to have issues that I know of. Yes it can be done but it may be safer to dial it back a bit unless you change your mind and go Aluminum.

 

The reasons this is most likely not an issue with the SBC 400 is that it has a much lower rod ratio and even the smog Chevy heads have a better combustion chamber than the stock Olds irons.


Thanks.