Anyone in here that can help me I sure would appreciate it. I just purchased a set of bare pro comp heads for my 455 and need help with specs on ordering a valve train kit ( springs, retainers, stem seals, valves etc. basically everything ) I have a roller cam with .560 lift full roller rockers 1.6 ratio. I want to build a reliable head but I don't need the most expensive parts either. Just good quality parts that are reliable. Thanks for any help

 

@cutlassefi or @CANADIANOLDS on here can help, or contact Bernard Mondello Racing Engines in Corona, CA. They all seem to be well versed with those heads.

 

X2!!
Both Dale and Mark are super guys!

 

I have a new set of Edelbrock take out 2.07 intake valves from a set of Gen II heads if interested.

 

I appreciate the offer but I am hoping to get all the parts from one source. Thank you

 

Building a head from a bare casting is not a order-from-catalog-and-turn-wrenches type of job. It's specifically for the guys that want to do something very unique or have complete control over how the head is set up. I still buy fully assembled heads even if I'm going to tear them all apart and change everything anyway! It's also no cheaper to buy a bare head. A machinist can save a bit of cash by buying a bunch of cheap castings (Procomp....), seeing which ones are good, building with quality parts, and charge appropriately.

You have to build up a combination. Those bare heads will also need to be checked and likely tweaked by a machine shop. All machined surfaces need to be checked to see if they're actually flat, the valve job needs to be checked to make sure it's actually concentric to the valve guide, and the valve guide needs to be checked to make sure it's sized correctly. That's not even considering any porting or cleanup work.

The lift is low enough that you can use the Edelbrock valves for their heads. Check them closely - I found almost 50% had barrel shaped stems. Part numbers 9318 and 9376 for the full kits. It's possible to get similar sized valves from other suppliers, I was just lazy since I could get the Edelbrocks from Summit. And return the botched ones.
For seals just use the typical teflon seals for 11/32 valve stems. Any machine shop will have boxes of these laying around. There is a technique to installing these.
You'll also need an assortment of shims to set the valve spring height. Do NOT run a spring directly on the aluminum head! It'll chew its way through. You need at least one thin shim. They usually cut the valve seats for anywhere from 0.030" to 0.120" worth of shims. I actually had to vary mine quite a bit to get consistent installed heights.
And a spring micrometer (or other something similar) to measure the installed height.
And a spring pressure gauge to figure out the right installed height and make sure the springs are good. I found 20% variance in a new box of springs.
You can probably use the recommended springs from the cam manufacturer, but you'll have to make sure that the springs won't bind once everything is installed and set up correctly. 0.560" lift isn't crazy high, but it's easy to get into the bind area if you're not careful with the setup. e.g., my setup would have bound up using the out-of-the-box setup from Edelbrock, even though the cam lift was within their limits. Their as-delivered installed height was waaaaaay too tight. And that was *after* a valve job!
You also need retainers and locks. The retainers need to match the springs and be for 11/32 valve stems. No need to get titanium or anything real interesting here. And the locks need to match the retainers. It is worthwhile to get the machined - not stamped - locks. I've had stamped locks chew up valves way too much. Make sure all the locks are correct and not altered height locks. I managed to get one bag of -0.010" locks in a box labeled standard height. You're not paranoid if they're actually out to get you, right?

This is all very doable - I just did it myself on a set of heads for ***** and giggles - but not something I'd recommend as a first time. It's also not possible to get all the parts from a single source, unless by source you mean Summit/Jegs, or a machine shop.

Like already mentioned, there are several trustworthy Olds specialists that would be very capable of doing this setup for you - as mentioned, cutlassefi (aka Mark), also Bernardo Mondello. Those guys use those bare castings quite a bit so they might even do a swap-out for you (you send them your castings, they send you a ready to go set).

If you want to stick with those castings then send them off to someone.
If you want to do everything yourself and try to keep costs down, then get a set of ready to run Edelbrocks and do a thorough inspection.
The fully assembled Procomp heads tend to be a little squirrely with the details, so they're more likely to need a visit to the machine shop than the Edelbrock's. Once you do that, the price difference has flown out the window.
Or, throw some parts on there and run it. It'll probably be just fine.

 

I prefer Ferrea for everything except springs…get those from Comp or PAC.

they have a budget line of valves all the way to making you broke. PM me for a contact at Ferrea

 

Thanks for the response. Just realized someone responded.