440 Source Head Opinions?

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Troub said:
As the guy who started this thread let me weigh in with thanks to those of you who answered the original question/ gave your opinions about use of the 440 Source heads. Those of you who chose to use the thread to insult others or to give opinions not related to the original question please refrain from doing so in other threads in the future.
Let’s stick to our cars and how they work while in this forum please. There is enough anger, hostility, and meanness in our daily lives. We don’t need more of it in here.
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I posted an in depth video of guy who specializes in cylinder heads and porting and he gave his opinion. So if your butt hurts because these heads are not super super great and then I dont know what to tell you. If you want a cheap cylinder head that flows like crap then this head is just for you. In my opinion I would just buy some stock heads and get a good valvejob and porting done to them then buying these.
 
ultimatejay said:
I posted an in depth video of guy who specializes in cylinder heads and porting and he gave his opinion. So if your butt hurts because these heads are not super super great and then I dont know what to tell you. If you want a cheap cylinder head that flows like crap then this head is just for you. In my opinion I would just buy some stock heads and get a good valvejob and porting done to them then buying these.
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I watched the video and the gentleman basically confirmed what I already knew about the heads. Yes the chamber design leaves a bit to be desired as it's basically a copy of OE closed-chamber BBM heads like the 516 and 915. And I've heard before the valve seat job is mediocre. Nobody ever said they're "super super great". They're an affordable aluminum alternative to factory iron heads, 30-40 cfm extra flow OOTB unported is mostly just a bonus. I'm willing to bet if he put an unported 906 head on his flow bench he'd barely get over 220 cfm max. They're "great" because you can buy them and bolt them on OOTB without worrying about assembly or machining issues wrecking your new engine which is not the case on MOST cheaper aftermarket heads (EDELBROCK, Speedmaster etc). Spend $1000+ on 50-year-old iron heads to get them squared away and still have heads that flow 230-250 cfm and weigh 50+ lbs each, in my opinion that's a waste of money. It's not just me either because I've had my 346 heads listed for sale for a few weeks now and have gotten zero interest whatsoever, not even an offer. One guy even commented saying he's got loads of old BB heads he couldn't sell due to availability of affordable aftermarket heads and he decided to just keep or scrap them which is probably what I'll end up doing with mine.

The link @IQ52 shared shows that 440Source sells Trick Flow heads if you want something that's actually a legit performance improvement. And AFAIK Trick Flows are made in USA so, there you go.
 
I have had pretty good luck with the stealth heads. I would advise checking them over before bolting them on.

I installed a set on a 383 in place of 516 heads and it made a very noticeable difference in top end power.
 
ultimatejay said:
I posted an in depth video of guy who specializes in cylinder heads and porting and he gave his opinion. So if your butt hurts because these heads are not super super great and then I dont know what to tell you. If you want a cheap cylinder head that flows like crap then this head is just for you. In my opinion I would just buy some stock heads and get a good valvejob and porting done to them then buying these.
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I did a comparison from my stock port 452s with 2.14 intake valves and stealth heads, et wise and mph 452 12.90 @106 stealth 12.48@108.
 
I had a set that were about 10 yrs old but new never run. The valve job was crap and the seats would not hold a vaccum. Turns out when the seats were installed they caught some aluminum and were cocked. Maybe they fixed the QC issue but I sold them and went TF 240s, had them checked and were spot on. Cheap aint good and good aint cheap.
 
george joseph reid said:
I had a set that were about 10 yrs old but new never run. The valve job was crap and the seats would not hold a vaccum. Turns out when the seats were installed they caught some aluminum and were cocked. Maybe they fixed the QC issue but I sold them and went TF 240s, had them checked and were spot on. Cheap aint good and good aint cheap.
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They fixed a lot of issues just like many companies do over time with revisions etc.
 
I'm running heads we built in the 80s, both 452s and 915s on a 060 over 440 and a 060 over 4.15 crank 500 cid 440, both have had a couple valve jobs, both have had there complete valvtrain replaced, that's valves, springs, retainers and keepers. The 915s on the 500 got 2.18 intake 1.81s valves and I finally put a set of Harlen Sharp rocker assemblies on them. Now all these parts would need replacement if they were on aluminum heads also so I don't see how cast iron is a wash as far as cost goes you can pick up a set of 915s for a 100 bucks or less. I do my own port work, a buddy does the valve grind and assembly, I guess I'm not buying aluminum heads because I like all the bone heads telling me I'm wasting my money on cast iron and making 650 hp with them. If I were to go aluminum it would be Trick flows but then my crankshaft would be holding on for dear life.
I don't know but it not worth arguing about to each his own...
I will add camshafts involve a little trickery with duration and cam C/L to have the power where you want it.
 
Oldiron440 said:
I'm running heads we built in the 80s, both 452s and 915s on a 060 over 440 and a 060 over 4.15 crank 500 cid 440, both have had a couple valve jobs, both have had there complete valvtrain replaced, that's valves, springs, retainers and keepers. The 915s on the 500 got 2.18 intake 1.81s valves and I finally put a set of Harlen Sharp rocker assemblies on them. Now all these parts would need replacement if they were on aluminum heads also so I don't see how cast iron is a wash as far as cost goes you can pick up a set of 915s for a 100 bucks or less. I do my own port work, a buddy does the valve grind and assembly, I guess I'm not buying aluminum heads because I like all the bone heads telling me I'm wasting my money on cast iron and making 650 hp with them. If I were to go aluminum it would be Trick flows but then my crankshaft would be holding on for dear life.
I don't know but it not worth arguing about to each his own...
I will add camshafts involve a little trickery with duration and cam C/L to have the power where you want it.
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No one said you can't make power with old iron, but it's just that Old Iron! Heavy! And seen a few crack and who wouldn't want to get away from the the stupid exhaust bolts in the coolant passages.
 
thesiren74 said:
I did a comparison from my stock port 452s with 2.14 intake valves and stealth heads, et wise and mph 452 12.90 @106 stealth 12.48@108.
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That could be just from the weight difference from iron to aluminum you shed like 40+lbs- better weight transfer. Doubt it was air flow
 
ultimatejay said:
I posted an in depth video of guy who specializes in cylinder heads and porting and he gave his opinion. So if your butt hurts because these heads are not super super great and then I dont know what to tell you. If you want a cheap cylinder head that flows like crap then this head is just for you. In my opinion I would just buy some stock heads and get a good valvejob and porting done to them then buying these.
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I watched the video link you provided. While he did point out the short comings of the head in the end he said it would be " leaps and bounds ahead of a stock casting". For what that's worth.
 
I got a set of Stealth heads a couple 13-14 years ago and put them on with no issues. Car felt quicker and all went well til the engine broke a rod. Bent two valves and they've been sitting ever since. I'll bring them to a shop hopefully soon. I'd like to get a set of Trick Flow heads, but I wouldn't be against getting another set of Stealth heads.
 
ultimatejay said:
Apparently you never drag raced a car competitively
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No, but I know plenty of people who have. No one ever said they picked up that much time from 50 lbs. All the old timers I know say 100lbs = .1 seconds. So 400lbs to trim four tenths.

I'll set my Dart up with stock sheet metal and run it down the strip. Then I'll swap to fiberglass front end and trunk lid and run it again. According to you, I should shave off four or five seconds with that much weight off the car. That would be awesome!
 
LocuMob said:
No, but I know plenty of people who have. No one ever said they picked up that much time from 50 lbs. All the old timers I know say 100lbs = .1 seconds. So 400lbs to trim four tenths.

I'll set my Dart up with stock sheet metal and run it down the strip. Then I'll swap to fiberglass front end and trunk lid and run it again. According to you, I should shave off four or five seconds with that much weight off the car. That would be awesome!
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It all depends on current set up and where the weight is taken off. If you have a front end heavy car with a shitty 60ft then taking off 40-50lbs off the front will drastically help weight transfer and 60ft if set up correctly like 99% of people don't know how to do. 60ft times dramatically help overall ET. Ask me how I know.
 
ultimatejay said:
It all depends on current set up and where the weight is taken off. If you have a front end heavy car with a shitty 60ft then taking off 40-50lbs off the front will drastically help weight transfer and 60ft if set up correctly like 99% of people don't know how to do. 60ft times dramatically help overall ET. Ask me how I know.
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Well, I'll find out when I get around to it. Too many cars, and I'm getting another one this weekend. Poor Dart has been sitting too long.
 
While there are far better heads out there I'm pretty happy with my stealths. On a budget I paid 1000 CDN for the pair second hand had them worked over pretty well ( new valves, guides were very tight so those were fixed as well a good bit of porting new springs to match and 10° locks and retainers for another 1000 at today's exchange rate that's 1600 US all in.
They made 642 hp at 5800rpm and 645 ft/lbs on my 400/500 engine. Could I have spent another 1000 to make a few more hp yes of course but on a budget I will say so far I am quite happy with these junk heads!!
 
Hallzy said:
While there are far better heads out there I'm pretty happy with my stealths. On a budget I paid 1000 CDN for the pair second hand had them worked over pretty well ( new valves, guides were very tight so those were fixed as well a good bit of porting new springs to match and 10° locks and retainers for another 1000 at today's exchange rate that's 1600 US all in.
They made 642 hp at 5800rpm and 645 ft/lbs on my 400/500 engine. Could I have spent another 1000 to make a few more hp yes of course but on a budget I will say so far I am quite happy with these junk heads!!
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I would have spent the extra 400 dollars and got Trick flow heads. When it comes to performance engines and power the last thing you want to do is skimp on good quality parts. If you just want decent street car then these heads will work fine, if you want an all out street/strip combo then I would save for a good set of Trick flow, etc.
 
ultimatejay said:
I would have spent the extra 400 dollars and got Trick flow heads. When it comes to performance engines and power the last thing you want to do is skimp on good quality parts. If you just want decent street car then these heads will work fine, if you want an all out street/strip combo then I would save for a good set of Trick flow, etc.
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Mine is a street car and for what it's worth I just went on Summit and priced trick flow 240s to my door I would be looking at $3160 dollars so that's near 1200 more not 400 and to make what another 20 or 30 hp? I also did fail to mention my dyno numbers were through 1-3/4 hedman b body headers there's power left on the table there too because of my budget.
I wish I wasn't saddled to a budget but honestly if I wasn't it wouldn't take much to wind up in aftermarket block territory as it is.
 
ultimatejay said:
I would have spent the extra 400 dollars and got Trick flow heads. When it comes to performance engines and power the last thing you want to do is skimp on good quality parts. If you just want decent street car then these heads will work fine, if you want an all out street/strip combo then I would save for a good set of Trick flow, etc.
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For many years after the 440source heads were made TrickFlow heads were not available. So you used Edelbrock heads or jumped up to Indy heads. TrickFlow heads are the new kids on the block in racing terms. And back then 400.00 was 600.00 in today’s money and many didn’t have the extra cash and wanted their cars running to enjoy them.
 
Hallzy said:
Mine is a street car 20 and for what it's worth I just went on Summit and priced trick flow 240s to my door I would be looking at $3160 dollars so that's near 1200 more not 400 and to make what another 20 or 30 hp? I also did fail to mention my dyno numbers were through 1-3/4 hedman b body headers there's power left on the table there too because of my budget.
I wish I wasn't saddled to a budget but honestly if I wasn't it wouldn't take much to wind up in aftermarket block territory as it is.
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20 or 30 hp more you can tell yourself that but it’s more like a 100 hp more with TF 240. Ive seen 760hp from a 4.15 stroke 383 with out of the box TFs. A hundred or more hp for $1200, thats a deal!
 
Oldiron440 said:
20 or 30 hp more you can tell yourself that but it’s more like a 100 hp more with TF 240. Ive seen 760hp from a 4.15 stroke 383 with out of the box TFs. A hundred or more hp for $1200, thats a deal!
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I'm skeptical on that I'm not sure on the 240s flow numbers but
Oldiron440 said:
20 or 30 hp more you can tell yourself that but it’s more like a 100 hp more with TF 240. Ive seen 760hp from a 4.15 stroke 383 with out of the box TFs. A hundred or more hp for $1200, thats a deal!
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How long is that 383 gonna live? My point was for a budget they aren't bad at all and can be made to work pretty good. Honestly I think if I can get mine to even hook at the level it's at I will be a happy guy.
 
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