I've been sitting on a small block and going back and forth with what to do with it....this has given me some inspiration.

 

That would make a whole lot more sense.

 

It would sure be nice to know how this turned out.
https://classicoldsmobile.com/forums...-build-131406/

 

This looks like the engine you had sitting on the Land And Sea Dyno, feel like posting any numbers?

 

Looks like i wont be porting my 7a heads after all. Perfect timing as i was gonna stop by the machine shop this week to get pricing on going through my iron heads. Thank you for bringing this product to market.

 

Mark, I think there has been a small amount of confusion after talking to some people. As I read it, the small block head will still have the BB ports. Is this correct?

 

Yes, same runner size as the earlier head.
But flow has been improved a bit via some revisions.
Once I’m back at it I’ll have my 350 mule ready to go. It’ll start out with the set of irons pictured earlier. Then get the new Edelbrocks, with an untouched RPM, then one that’s port matched. I’m even going to throw a Victor on it if time permits.
While ideally a smaller runner might have made more sense, I’ve done a few small blocks with the earlier head and they all made good power AND torque. However we’ll see how this head works too.

 

Mark, thanks for the clarification.

PS, stop feeding the troll.

 

Thx Mark for being a part of improving the edelbrock olds head. Unfortunately, the olds community needs a Oldsmobile big block that is reasonably priced and able to compete with the reliability of a Chevy block. Some olds 455 engines at 550hp plus live a long life while others don’t survive. It comes down to the consistency in the block and machine work. Girdles and all that nonsense is just a band aide. Hopefully with this improved head, they’ll be more demand for a olds block.

 

Hoping that 3D printing can do just that one day. With needed improvements to Olds block. But years into the future.

https://www.designnews.com/stub/mass...-engine-blocks

 

I did thanks.

 

Thank you.
I’m told there’s a group of guys pursuing the possibility of doing a small block version of the Rocket Big block🤞.
Whether or not that’s true I don’t know but I got that from a pretty decent source and another true Olds guy.
However beyond that, I still believe these heads will open up an easier path to the amount of power most would be happy with, especially on the small block side as I mentioned before. That’s the real game changer imo. It just opens up so many different combinations and possibilities, that’s the really cool part.
I‘m hoping more and more people will consider these heads as a viable option vs rebuilding stock irons. If not then it becomes that much more difficult to sell the aftermarket on other ideas in the future.

 

One thing I am really interested in seeing, is what timing these new heads will make the most power. The usual super aggressive timing some of us run, will no doubt be a thing of the past.

 

So what is the weight compared to a typical SBO head?

 

Aluminum is about 1/3 the density of cast iron, so should be about 1/3 the weight of bare castings to the first order.

 

Thanks for doing this. I see a set of small block heads when I do a rebuild in the future. That with the new ring pack and pistons it will make for a good engine. Now do I add the stroker crank or not. Least I got some time before I figure that out. Have to get the quarters fixed first.

 

Congrats Mark these should be very well received. As far a max power where do you think they will endup in the pecking order?

 

Thanks.
As compared to what, irons, current Edelbrocks, Speedmasters, what?

 

Nice.
Now get to work on getting them to offer an intake with injector bungs and rails. for efi.
What is the old small lock head part #, and the new heads part #, to make sure, one gets the newer casting.

 

Iron heads are about 62 pounds. My current Edelbrock heads weigh 36 pounds.

 

HA! I'm in the same boat, plus one...

1) Quarter panel repair
2) Kitchen remodel
3) Rebuilt engine

This list has been approved by the wife

 

The most important part. My 350 rebuild has also been approved and I told her a set of these heads are going on. I didn't mention they are $1000 a piece or 5 million in Canadian dollars😁.

 

Great but it’s in the wrong order!!😉

 

There was no earlier “small block” head. This will be a new casting and part number. So it’ll be that much easier to make sure you only get the new one once they’re available.

 

Bernhard wrote:
I realize that the new Edlebroocks will cover the majority of builds and outperform the heads listed above.
Just wondering how they would compare to the aftermarket race heads past and present.

Rocket racing heads
Knowlton
Batten
Z
Bull Dog

 

 

Knowlton and Z’s are only offered in a CNC version so that’s apples and oranges.
They're probably a notch below Rocket and Battens as cast but now have the extra material to significantly raise the entire intake runner a la Batten.
And from what I understand the Bulldog flowed fairly well as cast, but the casting itself had numerous issues.
Again as mentioned, these heads are meant to be a bolt on in a majority of the applications. But now with the added material and new chambers they’re a big step
ahead of the earlier casting.

 

Any E.T.A.
Maybe I missed it if it was stated in thread.

 

Mark,
Since the small block heads have raised intake ports, will the still work with the regular Edelbrock Performer intake manifolds? Or must you go with the taller Edelbrock Performer RPM manifold?

 

This is great news. Unfortunately for me my wallet still says nope lol. Unless someone wants to loan me a set for testing. I'm always open to that lol. Hopefully good sets of iron pop up now.

 

Nice work, I may have to pick up a set of these for a 455 I am working on.

Since you have the ear of Edelbrock: any chance you can get them to produce an aluminum intake that will work with 70-72 OAI?

Thanks!

Pat

 

Ok I’m not sure where that came from but I never said either head had raised ports. What I said was they CAN be raised because there’s now extra material between the valve cover rail and rocker stud bosses. And all current intakes will fit like before, except the regular small block Performer, which didn’t fit before anyway.

Unfortunately they’re not going to make a W30 intake or similar. It’s all about selling units. That’s not a very desirable intake unless you’re doing a restoration. And the regular bb Performer still works with some mods anyway.

 

Mark,
Thanks for clearing up my question on the Performer intake question, I do get confused pretty easily. The reason I asked if the regular Performer intake could be used was for the people with cold air intake hoods. Correct me if I am wrong, but I am under the impression that the Performer RPM intake is taller than a stock or the regular Performer intake and will not fit under some hoods like the Pontiac TA. I do commend you on all that you have done with the aftermarket parts you have brought to the playground for Oldsmobile.

 

Thanks Noel.
There are a couple of companies that make drop bases for the TA guys using an RPM intake. It’s doable.

 

Edelbrock site, Doesn't even have anything about them, As in upcoming product.
They do list 2 olds heads both out of stock. but they seem to be the same listings that I looked at 2 years ago.
Just trying to plan when to start collecting parts.

 

Google “Edelbrock 61025”.

 

Summit Racing shows the new Edelbrock 455 head will ship in May.

 

Mark, great job on the cast oil drain backs, Look good from the bottom. Can just see them, from the top their site. Maybe you have a better picture? Did the push rod location moved just a little to open the intake port?
Thanks Mark.

Summit Estimated Ship Date:2/5/2021 just now checked

 

I really like the chamber design now and the nice, big intake valve.... now I have to anxiously await the flow numbers, which should be a big improvement over the older heads with the 2.07 intake valves....

I would like to see what the production heads do for runout on the valve seats and valve guides and see how good the valve jobs are from the factory. I also wonder how good the quality of the valves are and if they can hold much spring pressure without breakage.

After seeing some $2,000 AFR aftermarket heads being tested and assessed by Vortecpro for a Big Block Chevy, I was able to observe firsthand how poorly they were machined and assembled by AFR and how bad the seats and valves were for concentricity; it was an eye opener for sure. Valves not sealing and not square on the seats to the guide, causing deformation of the valve head.... they wouldn’t have lived long.

not saying they are junk, because they are much better than most aftermarket heads, but obviously some corrections are required...

I don’t think this is a topic that anyone wants to hear about who is paying $2,000 for aftermarket heads that they think are perfect and “ready to run”, but it is likely the truth in more of these cases than not.

 

As I’ve already mentioned repeatedly here and on FB, the previous published numbers were a bit optimistic, by about 5% or so. Knowing that, the new numbers probably won’t be that much different. To quote Bill Trovato “flow numbers aren’t everything”.
You guys have to understand the marketing side of aftermarket parts. Edelbrock knows the valve job can be improved, they know certain areas can be addressed to get those last few cfm. But the reality is that’s not their focus. Their focus is selling quality parts to the masses. And by the way their parts do carry a warranty.
In addition their new casting processes have now allowed them to make improvements in a lot of areas, keeping in mind the bulk of their business still being the mainstream guy throwing a top end kit on his car in the driveway over the weekend.
I’m not going to go into how I got them to do this, but needless to say it was based on what’s best for the Olds community and what will help them “sell units”.not worrying about flow numbers necessarily.
Here’s an idea, why not buy a set and check them out for yourselves. That’s the focus of this project, sales and promoting their potential.