VinMichael

The bottom end of my engine is nearly complete. I am now at the point where I need to decide on which head's to use. I currently have a set of iron GA's that have been hot tanked and inspected. But I have been doing research on the topic, and I am starting to think that maybe I should just buy some Edelbrock's instead of rebuilding the Iron's. What do you guy's think about this? Would it be better to just save for the E-brock's instead of sinking money in the iron's?

oldcutlass

What kind of build is your bottom end? If you are running a stock or just over stock bottom, the stick with iron heads.

VinMichael

The bottom end is just over stock. Forged pistons and new rod bolts are the only new parts. I am leaning toward the iron's.

firefrost gold

If price and numbers are not a problem I would do the Edelbrock or procomp heads JMO. Have not seen any Dyno info on the pro comps yet
so those would be a if money was a factor head Edelbrocks are proven
Good luck and keep us posted.

64Rocket

You should look around for some used E-brocks. last summer I bought a set of E-brocks for a $1000 ready to go. Just two weeks ago I bought a set for $600 including the roller rockers, polylocks , push rods and the ARP head bolts. I bought a complete boat for $1200, it had a rebuilt engine and E-brock heads, sold the boat and trailer, minus the engine, for $900. That was 2 years ago.
Both sets of heads came from people that had boats and have gave up on the engine.
same thing on Olds stick flywheels. They come on all the boats, and you can pick up cheap. They have never had a clutch on them, so in short they are new.
Check the boat sections on cragslist, lots of good stuff.
So in short, used E-brocks might be a way to go.
Also get a complete price on work needed on the steel heads. You might find the price not as cheap as you think. With the used E-brocks make sure you get the roller rockers also.
When you price the steel heads ,
Hot tank & inspection
mill heads to make sure straight
new valve guides, plus the price of guides
while guides are out, some pocket port work and gasket match
do you drill for rocker studs, plus the studs and rocker arms
new valves
springs to match the new cam
It all starts to add up.
Used E-brocks, a good clean up and a $250 valve job.

Give it some thought. just my opinion.

Gene

VinMichael

Come to think of it, I have seen used Edelbrock's in the $800 range.
I did not know that jet boats (i assume) had clutch a clutch flywheel on them that's good to know.

Peope often "give up" on their projects,
that being said, I will look around for some used Edelbrocks.

I will also look further into the Pro Comps. I don't know much
about them other than they are fairly new to the market.
I believe they cost less than the Edelbrocks which is nice. Although, I like how the Edelbrocks have a complete line of rebuild parts; including valve guides and such. I'm not sure if Pro Comp offers that. I will check it out.

oldcutlass

For a mild build, I'd run the iron's. Invest the difference in something else.

bkeese

The bottom end is just a compressor, all the power is made in the heads. I would imagine the E-brock heads would be good for 50 hp. The fact they are aluminum, reduces the tendency for detonation a common problem these days. Unfortunately, this question should have been asked before the bottom end was done. Aluminum vs iron would have an impact on such things as cam selection and pistons.

cutlassefi

I'd do the aftermarket heads in a minute, you'll have close to or better than 1K in a set of totally redone irons anyway and the aluminum offer distinct advantages.

Jmo.

VinMichael

The bottom end is not together, but it is ready to be put together. The cam has not been selected, and I don't consider that part of the bottom end, but the valvetrain. The pistons have 25cc dishes and as of now, obviously, I am unsure how far in the hole they sit TDC. But with this set up I estimated 9:1 compression with 80cc heads, depending on head gasket thichkness, and I believe Edelbrocks are advertised to be 77cc (advertised) which will only bring up my CR by a few tenths if that. Meanwhile, gaining more power because of the raised CR, and lessening the chances of detonation since they are aluminum.

coppercutlass

cutlassefi is right. My iron heads cost me 1445 with roller tip rockers new pushrods guides big valves,bigger springs, bowl work mill work, everything but porting and with milling of the intake it cost 1545 for my sbo . If the procomps where around when i was building my current set up i would have jumped all over them. if you can buy aftermarket buy em. I think there are some flow numbers on the procomps on r.o.p but im not a member i think bernard modello had the info up and there was a link in one of the post's on this site from rop.

VinMichael

copper, thanks for the input. I will be checking out the ProComps.

64Rocket

from the set of "Pro Comps" I have, they are the exact same as the E-brocks. At least the look the same. I have not had a chance to check them out close. But there is a big write up on them on ROP. Cutlass EFI has done some work with them also. On Ebay, there is deal which includes all you need, intake, rockers, and studs, guide plates. seams like a good deal.
Depends what all your iron heads need, the cost will be pretty close to each other. Plus some thought, of 40 year old heads compared to brand new ones.
You really need to know how far in the hole the pistons are. With the aluminum heads you can get away with a little higher compression.

Gene

VinMichael

I saw the ebay listing with the kit that included pretty much the whole "top end" and it did look nice, but there is stigma attached to "cheaper" options that irks me. I should probably get over it but it always creeps up on me. I did like the fact they used "name brand" valving components such as the guides and valves, but it seems, "to good to be true." My idea was, if I went the ProComp route, was to buy a bare set and build them with components that I select, such as valve springs. I would not want to buy heads with valve springs that are "generic." I dunno, I hope to find a nice used set of Eddy's, but I could be waiting around a long time for that to happen. But I also would not feel good shelling out 2k for new E-Brock's when I could get ProComps for around half the price.

VinMichael

By the way Gene, that 64 in your sig is a beauty. I hope to see my car will lift the wheels off the ground like that one day (also 64) and I have the same wheels but not as wide in back. Cool stuff

1970442

It was going to cost $1000 plus to get iron heads done so i decided on the eldelbrocks.Price of these heads are one thing but longer pushrods,valve covers to clear roller rockers,smaller brake booster to clear valve covers.Fuel pump issues on a 350 worked fine on my 455 but very close.After all was said and done it sounds and works Awesome.

bkeese

Pay very close attention to the valvetrain geometry. My cousin bought a turnkey sbc from Pro Comp and toasted 2 sets of aluminum heads before he figured out the geometry issue. Measuring and testing pushrod length is essential.

VinMichael

That's scary stuff. I plan on buying an adjustable pushrod to measure with. I think Comp cams sells them.