Another head inquiry...

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txstang84

txstang84

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Alright, so I've just been searching through the threads, and it looks like I might've wasted some money on a set of 516 heads...apparently the general consensus is that they don't really do any favors for making power. They've been messed with a little, and require some port finishing to smooth things up a bit...but I figured it would've been an OK deal for keeping the compression up in a 383 as long as I put some bigger valves in them and worked on the transitions a little.

To the guys out there running a 383, what say you for these heads? Are they OK for a street/strip 383 up to 5500 or so? Or should I turn them in for scrap?

If they are worth salvaging, I planned on dropping in the larger valves and working the ports a little bit...any worthwhile commentary?
 
I ran 516's on a 67 with 400 hp and turned it 6500 all day.If you put alittle bigger valve in them they are as good as a 906,452,or 915.I had a mild 383 with the 516's and blew the doors off my Dads 383 Super Bee with 906 heads.

Jim
 
Sweet! 400 hp or so is what I was shooting for anyway. I found some Ferrea valves that could help open them up a bit...just gotta figure out what other hardware and machine work would allow me to run about .540" lift.
 
ANY big block factory iron head can be made to deliver around 600 HP. It depends on what you do to the heads. Some of the factory iron heads when ported, like the 906, can deliver 750+ HP.

Give two mechanics the same box of parts and you will get two different results. It is dependant upon each individual's skill level assembling what they have to work with.

Prepare the parts you already have properly, like the 516 heads, and you will surprise a multitude of people. Maybe even yourself.
 
Do you happen to know off the top how much the guides have to be cut down or is it just an arbitrrary amount?
 
you can do it yourself. crane and a few other cam companys make the tool and arbor. jegs and summit sell the tool also along with mancini and others. you just chuck into your drill. grease the arbor and guide and have at it. the tool will cut it down to the correct height. the combo tool will do the inner spring seat at the same time. it cuts the guide to the diameter for the valve steam seals. do some reseach to get the correct seal the buy then cutter and arbor.
 
I think I found the ones you're talking about, but it looked like all they did was cut the OD of the guide to whatever is needed for the seal, but not the height. I looked in the comp catalog and couldn't find anything to reduce the height of the guide-just the diameter, or am I not reading the description correctly?
 
Look at goodson they have the tool your looking for they are a supplier for the machine shops. www.goodson.com and your heads are fine better quench for more compression.
 
www.goodson.com/

They have the tools you are looking for they supply machine shops with these tools that is what i used to do for a living and this is where we bought some of our tools.
 
txstang84 said:
Alright, so I've just been searching through the threads, and it looks like I might've wasted some money on a set of 516 heads...apparently the general consensus is that they don't really do any favors for making power. They've been messed with a little, and require some port finishing to smooth things up a bit...but I figured it would've been an OK deal for keeping the compression up in a 383 as long as I put some bigger valves in them and worked on the transitions a little.

To the guys out there running a 383, what say you for these heads? Are they OK for a street/strip 383 up to 5500 or so? Or should I turn them in for scrap?

If they are worth salvaging, I planned on dropping in the larger valves and working the ports a little bit...any worthwhile commentary?
Click to expand...


i don't know.. i have a buddy that is running a set of 516 heads on a 451 thats is a pussy cat on the street yet turns low to mid 11's in the quarter. he has nothing exotic done to them..
 
...guess I'll be going for the COMP equivalent-Crane 99402-1 isn't even listed in their current catalog, and every search I run comes up empty.
 
Would this work in the same capacity as the mentioned Crane Cams tool?
 

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txstang84 said:
Sweet! 400 hp or so is what I was shooting for anyway. I found some Ferrea valves that could help open them up a bit...just gotta figure out what other hardware and machine work would allow me to run about .540" lift.
Click to expand...

What pistons do you have? If they are stock style flat tops with no valve reliefs, I don't think you will fit a .540" cam. I have 516's with 2.08"/1.74" valves, and I don't have room for that big of a cam. My pistons sit at .020" in the hole. With the bigger valves, (nail head type), and a light mill, I was able to get 9.97/1 compression with a .039" head gasket. Thats hard to do with an open chamber head. According to my best Mph at the track, my 383 is making a little over 400 HP, and it has a much smaller cam than you are looking at. Good luck.
 
BBBCUDA said:
What pistons do you have? If they are stock style flat tops with no valve reliefs, I don't think you will fit a .540" cam. I have 516's with 2.08"/1.74" valves, and I don't have room for that big of a cam. My pistons sit at .020" in the hole. With the bigger valves, (nail head type), and a light mill, I was able to get 9.97/1 compression with a .039" head gasket. Thats hard to do with an open chamber head. According to my best Mph at the track, my 383 is making a little over 400 HP, and it has a much smaller cam than you are looking at. Good luck.
Click to expand...

I haven't finalized my decision on pistons yet. With what research I have done so far, that'll be a pretty big expenditure...probably Diamond flat tops. And if I calculated it correctly, I should have about the same CR as what you mentioned. I didn't plan on running a relief-less piston because I didn't figure I'd be able to get away with much more than stock lift, let alone if I want to run as close to zero deck as possible.

Thanks for all your input-what cam are you running anyway? I'm only posing possibilities as of right now...I just really want to run a roller cam and many of them have pretty high lift compared to their flat tappet cousins, so I already figured on running some pricey pistons...
 
Ok, so new question...I finally got a chance to look at the heads I bought from a member on here, and I think the exhausts are ported too much in the bowl-to the point where the short side radius barely exists...anything I can do to salvage that or are they pretty much a boat anchor?
 
Short side radius could be defined in many ways. Pictures and what is the size of the exhaust valve right now?
 
Valve size is stock 1.60"...I'll have to take a couple pictures when I get home, but if I described it: it would be the area immediately under the seat and in the way of the exit on the bottom of the port...if you took a cross section of the exhaust port on the vertical axis it would almost look like there was no radius at all...more like two lines coming to meet each other.
 
yes you can by installing a 1.81" exhaust valve. then you will have ample material to grind in the short side radius. while your at it you might consider installing a 2.14" intake.
 
Thanks Bob-I had exactly that in mind-the larger valves. I found a set of Ferrea valves (2.14/1.81) for $193 somewhere...can't recall where, but that's exactly what I needed to know.
 
You want to be careful around the exh seat areas. Check the heads for core shift. There is water there and in a shifted head it can be very close to the seat. Sounds to me like the exh side is ruined anyway. But, if you're not looking for a monster power level anyway, they should be fine. It's not hard to make 450-500hp using mild parts if the porting is good.
 
moper said:
You want to be careful around the exh seat areas. Check the heads for core shift. There is water there and in a shifted head it can be very close to the seat. Sounds to me like the exh side is ruined anyway. But, if you're not looking for a monster power level anyway, they should be fine. It's not hard to make 450-500hp using mild parts if the porting is good.
Click to expand...

Well, I hope they're not completely gone...all I want to do is reestablish a radius on the short side to salvage some flow...cuz right now it's not really there...I hope Bob is right, but I won't know 'til I cut the seats I guess.
 
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