Another head inquiry...

BBBCUDA said
What pistons do you have? If they are stock style flat tops with no valve reliefs, I don't think you will fit a .540" cam. I have 516's with 2.08"/1.74" valves, and I don't have room for that big of a cam. My pistons sit at .020" in the hole. With the bigger valves, (nail head type), and a light mill, I was able to get 9.97/1 compression with a .039" head gasket. Thats hard to do with an open chamber head. According to my best Mph at the track, my 383 is making a little over 400 HP, and it has a much smaller cam than you are looking at. Good luck.

Why did you use a .039 gasket with pistons .020 in the hole ?

If you are only looking for around 400 HP, I think you could skip the big dollar pistons and roller grind. One of the magazines made 460 HP with 9.2 comp and a flat tappet Comp cams grind, with stock cylinder heads.

I get a kick out of people quoting that 383 build as the benchmark when it's a known fact the dyno it was run on was very HAPPY during that time frame.

Would have been nice to see it put in a car and run down the track to see what HP it was REALLY making .

On those 516's I'd put 1.74s in it and see if you can salvage the exh ports with them before getting to carried away with the bigger valve. if you put the 2.14 intake it would be a good idea to notch the top of the bore to unshroud the valve , same on the exh side , 426 Max Wedges were notched on the exh side with the 1.81 , or was it 1.88 ?? ... exh valve size ... same bore as the 383 ...