Which heads?

318willrun said

I looked, not sure if the big cubes test automatically holds true to the 318, but worth considering. I know I can gain both ways, I just want the biggest gain. Leaning towards the 308 heads. I know 8.5 compression will run real nice on todays gas and perform very well. Last time I used 360 heads on a 318, we milled them .045 and used a fel pro head gaskets, but they were late 70's heads.

Click to expand...

Worth considering - yes. But based on what you list - I don't think so unless you start thinking of using a cam that will make use of that port. The test referenced uses a cam with 240°+ of duration at .050. Not 214. it also used ported heads - not just bowl cleaned up. In terms of a street car it had weak torque until 3K+ and that was with a 3.75 stroke. As far as I'm concerned - totally wrong choice for a test model.

If it were me I'd keep the 318 heads. I would have stock 360 valves installed. For the price of a valve job you get the seats moved out and cut fresh, a larger curtain area for the given cam, and a port that is small and fast enough to work well in a mild 318 street car. Gasket match them and blend in the new valve job and you're done.
Another thought (and perhaps the best option) would be a set of used magnum heads. They can be bought cheap from the pick-a-parts with the rockers, you need to buy pushrods, and redrill the intake pattern (which if you can dremel a head, you can redrill and tap yourself).