I paid the $400 something a piece for the bare heads, another $585? into a competent machine shop to verify the heads, do a GOOD valve job, install the springs right for my camshaft <- I learned to do the right thing from the preaching here by the religious SBM guys-THANK YOU!!! We do it right, the first time, no misfortune down the road.
318willrun probably has the lead here, as CLOSED CHAMBERED magnum heads can be assembled cheaper from the same Chinese slave labor. ALL the guru's don't care about the material, just the chamber being closed. Although the true wisdom from FABO was contributed by IQ52 whom pointed out that he moves the rocker studs for optimum performance with the magnum head.
jpar, at our performance level, even still, it is the valve guides that need to be checked by a competent machine shop-first,probably.
Any prudent enthusiast and every professional engine builder will also check and/or modify the chinese valve job but the valve guides are where (my money is) tolerances (chinese's weakness, exact tolerances) were in the past, never mind metallurgy.
and then there is the (chinese) valve material, spring material, retainers- probably okay for a sub 400hp, sub 5000 rpm daily driver, but with $820 tied up into heads, and possibly $500-$1200 tied up in machine work to the block, how much into the engine? and you are willing to roll the dice???
brother we aren't Lamborghini crashing rich fools!
you know so many builders on this sight, don't risk your ride!