360 head choices. What's everyone running?

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texas360

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What heads you guys running for a street car with a 360? Pros and cons? Best bang for your buck?

Edelbrock, Speedmaster, promaxx, sidewinder, Toth performance


Stock, indy LAX, EQ, Aeroheadracing?
 
Exact cam and/or specs please.
Screenshot_20200717-182128_Chrome.jpg
 
Edelbrock, Speedmaster, promaxx, sidewinder, Toth performance

Stock, indy LAX, EQ, Aeroheadracing?

Any of those would work.

I don’t think the “good” EQ heads are still available, nor the Indy LAX.

The Aerohead heads I’ve had in my hands have left a little to be desired, but they are pretty cheap.
If you have a good relationship with a shop that can look them over, they’re not bad as a “starting point”.

The Edelbrocks would be a fine choice...... as would the 4 non-Edelbrock aluminum heads you listed, which are basically all the same head(and are copies of the Ede head)..... with the primary difference being who did the prep work.

A lot of times it comes down to what it costs to have heads done in your area as to whether or not it’s worthwhile to mess with rebuilding stock heads.
They would be fine for a 360 with that cam...... but only if the dollars make sense to go that route.
 
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Any of those would work.

I don’t think the “good” EQ heads are still available, nor the Indy LAX.

The Aerohead heads I’ve had in my hands have left a little to be desired, but they are pretty cheap.
If you have a good relationship with a shop that can look them over, they’re not bad as a “starting point”.

The 4 aluminum heads you listed are basically all the same head..... with the primary difference being who did the prep work.

A lot of times it comes down to what it costs to have heads done in your area as to whether or not it’s worthwhile to mess with rebuilding stock heads.
They would be fine for a 360 with that cam...... but only if the dollars make sense to go that route.

Just do a pair of 587 heads around here I was quoted around $700-$800
Thats magnafluxed, guides, valves, spring set up, and didn't include seats and me supplying all the parts.
 
There you have it....... over $1000 with parts and hard ex seats.
And no porting.

Not worth it imo, unless it’s a resto job, or for a class where you have to run the stock heads.

Sometimes there are guys who have some equipment in their garage and do that type of work on the side and can do it for less $$$.

At my shop:
Oven clean, mag, 16 guides, ex seats, valve job, machine for posi seals, cc & flat mill, new stainless valves, new springs/retainers/locks/seals, assembled, set spring heights ...... right in the $1100-1150 range.
That’s before any porting.
If there are broken studs or stripped threads to repair..... that’s extra.

In the end....... something like the SM heads are just a better bang for the buck.
 
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What heads you guys running for a street car with a 360? Pros and cons? Best bang for your buck?

Edelbrock, A good head when introduced. Out prices by all the below heads because the Chinks work stupid cheap and in this case, produced a good head that ports out better than the original.

Speedmaster & promaxx, These are the same heads. I have a pair of the ProMaxx ported versions. Very nice. Work done in the USA in the great state of Al. (IIRC!)

sidewinder, They have small block heads?
Toth performance, Known as a joker....
Stock, Has it’s place. IF! You can do the work yourself and port........
indy LAX, EQ, Not available anymore... AFAIK
Aeroheadracing, as mentioned above. IF! You can look them over and make adjustments as needed.... and/or port them on top of it at your cost and time...

What would I do? I’d check out the price of the speed master heads vs everyone else and make purchase around Christmas time when there on sale. There is a thread here where a bunch of guys went wacko getting them at a cheap price. Search the forum for that thread and the prices they paid. That is if you can wait?

Click below and select your options.
Then see what SpeedMaster offers.

ProMaxx Series One, as cast; Maxx 171 SB Mopar (Sold in Pairs) - PROMAXX Performance Products
ProMaxx Shocker, CNC ported; Shocker 185 Mopar CNC (Sold in Pairs) - PROMAXX Performance Products
 
My "budget" 360 in my truck has a set of 308 heads with 2.02/1.60 valves with some bowl work and a little milling.I wish I had got the casting number off of the heads when the valve covers were off.
Mine came from the old MP 360/380 crate motor.Taken off and put on the shelf years ago.Owner bracket raced it and put alum heads on it before running.NOS heads lol.
Got them for $300 bucks 2 years ago.
 
Just do a pair of 587 heads around here I was quoted around $700-$800
Thats magnafluxed, guides, valves, spring set up, and didn't include seats and me supplying all the parts.
Prices vary.
Parts, like elgin chevy valves and comp springs and hardware =$320-$340
I can get a set gone through w/hard seats for $350, cut for clearance and positive seals $400. Parts cost what they cost for what you get. So pick and choose according to what the usage is, race ,street, tow , nitrous ..etc..
With that said, I cant see coming out of it for less than $650.00..then you'll need some port work, blending at the least for the bigger int valve and new exhaust seat. That's another $200 or so, bench time.
So now the speed blaster @$365.00 each bare seems like a great idea...then $320-$350 'don't forget the spring cup$' Then you have them checked for guide clearance n seat concentricity $175-250$

1100 or so for built ones, then go through checking them too, 200.. 1300+
If you have heads and send them to someone, that will cost you too..
The window of cheap is narrow.lol
Its you're money. Lots of choices.
 
I would like a head I can buy and bolt on and go if possible. I believe someone on here or fbbo had speed master heads for sale already gone through for a grand, but right now speedmaster has a sale going for same price with an intake.
 
For a street car, i Wouldnt even consider anything that wasn't aluminum.
Lighter, repairable, easier to port.
From there, just depends on what you want to pay.
Have a buddy who recently bought a set of the aforementioned Eddie Chinese knockoff heads. The machinist( a good one) said they needed nothing to be runnable. 35 dollar bill and he is good to go.
In fact, they are going on the 360 currently in my car when i swap over to my 418 here pretty soon
 
For a street car, i Wouldnt even consider anything that wasn't aluminum.
Lighter, repairable, easier to port.
From there, just depends on what you want to pay.
HaVe a buddy who recently bought a set if the aforementioned Eddie Chinese knockoff heads. The machinist( a good one) said they needed nothing to be runnable. 35 dollar bill and he is good to go
I would assume you talking speedmaster
 
I would assume you talking speedmaster

yep, had forgotten, but just called him, that is what they are.
He also said you get a free intake with them right now... he didn't get that deal.
Machinist took them apart and said they completely checked out
 
I started a thread over a year ago about the Speedmaster / pro Comp heads..
They were under the name pro Comp and had a bad reputation. They went to Speedmaster people said that was just a duck out from the bad pro Comp name. I read all kinds of wild reviews from people saying how terrible they were... I wanted to know firsthand from anybody on the forum who had ran them and had any problems with them.. I couldn't find anybody with any problems... They finally went on 30% off sale and I got them sent to the door for $800... That was last September. Then Black Friday sale they were $700 to the door and everybody was buying them...
I paid to have them pulled apart and looked at and have the springs checked as well as everything else. That cost $95 and they said the only thing they found was since they had sit on the shelf for 5 years the lubricant for the valves had dried up and they lubricated them...
They have been working great...
And as a side note I had way more than eight hundred or $900 into my factory heads all rebuilt... Them heavy bugger sit on a shelf now... It's my opinion the speedmasters on sale are a no brainer and with the intake manifold is not a bad deal... But the real deal is Black Friday..
 
Everybody wants "bolt on and go" but realistically, there's no such thing. Even if I was looking at heads that were "already gone through" guess what? They get "gone through" again.
 
I would like a head I can buy and bolt on and go if possible. I believe someone on here or fbbo had speed master heads for sale already gone through for a grand, but right now speedmaster has a sale going for same price with an intake.
The iron heads are and some really like the durability.
The aluminum ones take a mod the alternator bracketry. I wouldn't let a bracket mod detour you from running them.

Pick what you can afford is always best.
 
I had no modifications needed for my alternator with my Speedmaster heads...
It went on exactly as it did on my factory heads...
 
I have run J-heads to good effect and want to someday try a set of 308's I got finally. The pushrod pinch in those (big pushrod holes for hyd roller lifter pushrod angle) has me wanting to sleeve the holes and port wide there, and run a hyd roller. I have run Edelbrocks only on a stroker but I was pleased with the quality. I have also run MoPar Commando aluminum heads (which actually have equal or better flow potential as the Eddys and a better exhaust port, IMO), but they are hard to find. I agree that the Speedmaster/ProMaxx heads are the best deal, although I haven't personally run the SBM or BBM ones. Use the SBC 76cc ones on a 383 stroker (dished pistons) in a 10,000lb towing application ramp truck, and they worked great. Also have a ProMaxx iron 4.0L Jeep head to try, maybe this winter.
 
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The set of SBM SM heads I’m currently working on here would have been fine to run right ootb.
 
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Do you have the factory heads now? Sorry if i missed it. If you do, just do them up yourself.... Cheap and they'll work
 
Personally if I was going to take one out of the box and throw it on I would go with a ProMaxx Head. After having many Edelbrock heads in my hands, my Speedmaster heads, and a Friends ProMaxx Head The ProMaxx looked and flowed the best. The valve job done on the ProMaxx Heads was much nicer.
 
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