440 power gains/ aluminum head advantages?

Not degreeing a cam is a huge mistake a lot of guys make. You can never assume it's going to be even close. If you put a lower cost timing chain in they will stretch and you'll lose 2-3 degrees within a 100 miles. You don't have to pull the heads to degree a cam, but that the first place I would start.

Tom

Tom
You got that right, not to mention the sprockets being machined poorly with the keyways in the wrong places. Add that to the cheap chain stretching and you can really stack the lack of tolerances up! I've seen a timing set come up almost 12 degrees retarded on a big block Chevy and that was with a NEW Cloyes double row set. Imagine what that would have been like once it got running with a stretched chain. Yet I've had some of these guys scoff at me when I recommend a 100 buck timing set.