440-1 flow numbers

So bad out of the box? Oh man, crushing my dreams.
So this brings up more questions. Is there a specific reason or area in the port he considers them "bad" like the shape of the short turn or maybe lack of effort in the valve job? Or is it more of a max effort gives you so much more kind of thing? That is, would a non-ported 440-1 do well on an engine that was not set up as maximum effort?


From your original post, this is the main reason I was asking about unported numbers, so there was a baseline on that bench with that operator. That means more than the raw ported numbers and would have been interesting to see. I wanted to build a flow bench like pittsburghracer had to try learning a little about flow but it is not in the cards for me in the near future. For now, I really enjoy good discussions like this thread is offering.

Basically everything you had hit on is my understanding for the reason flow numbers are so low out of the box. I know the valve jobs are poor when they are new. And yes the amount gained by a CNC and hand port/finish job is very substantial.

If there is anything I would recommend if you are leaving your -1 heads unported, I would CERTAINLY get a good valve job from an experienced machinist. That and ensure the heads are setup with the proper spring, lock, retainer and installed height for the camshaft you plan to run.

Of course you could put the heads on an engine that isn’t a max effort engine and they will work. Just how fast you want to go is the question, lol.