EQ head build + home porting advice sought

[macdrew77]

I've had a pair of bare ch318a Enginequest heads sitting around for a while now and I'm starting to get a little antsy. Especially since my order of porting supplies came in today and I got a chance to test them on a /6 head.
So my plan is to pick up a good used 5.9 motor and do a top end build up on the stock bottom end, with a roller regrind of around .520 lift (or as much as I can get from a 5.2 core), EQ heads with stock 1.92 valves, topped by performer RPM and thermoquad 9800s, and exiting thru headers and dual 2.5 exhaust. The idea of this build is to build a nasty street 360 for my 70 Dart 2dr without going to the machine shop and utiliszing a lot of the parts I already have lying around or on the car.
Onto the Heads... I'm no expert, but these castings are a beautiful sight. Still, I can't leave anything alone so I'm gonna make some iron dust. My plan is to gasket match intake side, widen the pushrod pinch to even it with the widest point as cast, clean up some shmoo around the intake valve guides, and blend the exhaust seat and remove the step that's there. Pics of these areas to follow. I'm looking for advice from people who have ported EQ heads successfully. What works and what doesn't? Is widening the pushrod pinch even further worth it? I have plenty of time on my hands. Or removing material around valve guides? How much is ok? Anyone polish the exhaust?
I plan on beginning porting Wednesday and depending on advice I get I will be ordering Hughes 1110 springs and stainless valves soon. Then setting them up with 2.2l retainers, stock locks, and stock rockers (which my research has led me to believe will be sufficient for street use and up to occasional 6500rpm). I think I'll need new pushrods too. Would love to hear any suggestions. Thanks for reading
First photo is exhaust valve seat ridge, second is rough spot around intake valve guide, and third photo shows the pushrod pinch and how the top and bottom are quite a bit narrower than the widest part.

 

[Abodybomber]

Converter/gears/ tire diameter,to be run...? You probably have checked out what LX guy runs (11:70'a @ 115-116 trap speed..) with a stock set of E.Q. 1.92 heads. Tried porting a set of stock Magnums,the E.Q.'s look SOOO much better,I left them alone .(for now...)

 

[macdrew77]

I have seen a bit about LXguys setup and was very impressed and inspired. Right now I have a 8 3/4 with 2.76 but looking for 3.55 or 3.73 depending on what I get my hands on. 727 with 2500 stall already in the car will stay. Probably a 28inch tire? Just guessing I'm not well versed in tire diameters(will be running 15x7 or 8 police wheels eventually).
Did your EQ heads have the big ridge around the exhaust seat?

 

[Abodybomber]

Yes,still flow 230-240 from,around .500-.550 lift...3:55_3:73's really good choice...25-27"inch tire diameter,works really well with both.15/8" BFG drag radials(245/60/15 fits nice ,here...)A 2800 tight 9.5 converter works well(for me),with about a 26" diameter tire. Keep the cam around 218-224 @ .050 lift intake,[email protected] lift exhaust. pushrod length,I recommend custom.(Don't forget Magnums run @ 1.6 rocker,compared to a LA's 1.5 rocker ratio..) Yes ,a retro LA hyd roller will work in a Magnum...

 

[TrailBeast]

Everything I saw on porting the EQ's said the guide can be cut down a lot also, because it's so long.
You want to be careful in that wall area that protrudes into the port in your last pic as I remember them saying the cast is a bit thin there, and there was also a discussion about the roughness of the cast there being a good thing for atomization and has very little affect on flow.

You are correct about the stock rocker being totally usable, but you probably saw that there are a ton of choices in the Chevy bin for roller rocker alternatives (most of which you have to change the stud for)
I run a 214/224 @50 with .512 regrind Magnum cam from Oregon Cam Grinders and didn't even have to change the factory hardened pushrods or guides.
Also used the Hughes springs and retainers you are using.
Stock bottom end at 9:1 and runs fine on 87 pump garbage.
I run a eddie dual plane performer and a 600 eddie carb, but with the air gap manifold and a 750 Holley they say 400hp/415tq @3,500 is the norm with our block and heads.

Ran that thing to 6k yesterday and it never quit pulling with untouched ports.
I have hiway gears though so I was near 100 in second gear, and have a 5 speed automatic overdrive.

 

[magnummopar]

OP, my suggestion is DONT! EQ's dont like the exhaust touched at all, light gasket port but thats it. Intake should not be screwed with much either, leave the push rod bump alone, smooth the square edge around guide a tiny bit. Very light gasket match or you will have $700 of junk iron in your garage. They are already capable of 450+HP OOTB, messing with them will result in less. A friend of mine runs 600HP with 1.97" intake and a bit of bowl hog, 1.62" exhaust gasket matched. He spent 6 months porting and playing with flow bench and dyno just to find they work great when left alone. This is a guy with 40 years making heads flow.
BTW, we sell all the same stuff as Hughes but way cheaper. Valves and springs are 30% less. I would not run factory rockers over about 5500, maybe 6 but they are not consistent, the ratio varies from 1.3-1.58. We have roller tips for $99 or roller tip/stud/guide/Cro Mo push rod kits for $249
Obviously, you are free to grind away but I would strongly recommend against anything more than light gasket....just my $.02 as a guy that builds and sells EQ magnum engines for a living for last 15 years.

 

[macdrew77]

OP, my suggestion is DONT! EQ's dont like the exhaust touched at all, light gasket port but thats it. Intake should not be screwed with much either, leave the push rod bump alone, smooth the square edge around guide a tiny bit. Very light gasket match or you will have $700 of junk iron in your garage.

I appreciate your advice, and will be placing an order from you once I decide if the extra 150 for studs and rockers is worth it. I just find it hard to believe that opening up the pushrod pinch to an actual rectangle and knocking off that huge protrusion of the exhaust seat won't create any "free power" so to speak. Maybe guys who are porting these successfully are keeping their secrets guarded. Nonetheless I trust you and trailbeast more than myself and am sure I would be happy with these in stock form, but like I said, I just can't leave well enough alone. I think I'll definitely waste some time smoothing out the exhaust side playing with some of the new bits and tools I got. Stay tuned

 

[TrailBeast]

I appreciate your advice, and will be placing an order from you once I decide if the extra 150 for studs and rockers is worth it. I just find it hard to believe that opening up the pushrod pinch to an actual rectangle and knocking off that huge protrusion of the exhaust seat won't create any "free power" so to speak. Maybe guys who are porting these successfully are keeping their secrets guarded. Nonetheless I trust you and trailbeast more than myself and am sure I would be happy with these in stock form, but like I said, I just can't leave well enough alone. I think I'll definitely waste some time smoothing out the exhaust side playing with some of the new bits and tools I got. Stay tuned

You must have more money than ...... um, I do then.
JK man, it all belongs to you to do what you will with.

I got a ticket once for "Wasting finite resources" (basically a your wasting gas ticket) and I told the cop that if I'm willing to spend 4 dollars a gallon to help support the stability of my oh so honest and patriotic oil companies I should be allowed to pour it out on the ground if I want.
After he explained that it was either that or a ticket for 75 in a 45 I shut up.
Hm, 30 bucks and no points, or 30 mile an hour over ticket?

 

[magnummopar]

Maybe guys who are porting these successfully are keeping their secrets guarded.

I got this info from THE guy that managed to squeeze 600hp out of a 5.2 based EQ headed engine. He literally runs 1.97 intake and 1.62 exhaust. His quote" dont mess with exhaust more than mild gasket match, no polishing, nothing, just leave it alone. If you use more than 1.97 intake you will loose power, flow bench says yes but dyno says no and time slip says no." I am sure some of the engine builders might argue this point but, where are the dyno runs with 1.92 vs 2.02 side by side with same cam? Never see em, do ya? I can sell EQ's with bowl hog and 2.02 for $350 more like other guys but I dont because it doesnt make any more power. Just like screwing with push rod bump. How big of a cam are you planning on using that ootb EQ's wont be enough, over .550 lift?

 

[macdrew77]

Don't plan on a cam above .550 lift. Most likely a 5.2 regrind or used roller. Plan is to use a junkyard block, but one day these heads will warrant a built bottom end so I simply don't want to leave any 'easy' power on the table while the heads are at this stage. If his castings looked similar to mine when he started I have no reason to not follow his advice. I will leave the exhaust alone, but that seat looked like a big protrusion, so I wanted some opinions. Another thing is I've noticed about the pushrod pinch points is they are not consistent. Some are close to rectangular and others very much ovular, surely evening them to a degree would be worthwhile, no?

 

[Abodybomber]

I got this info from THE guy that managed to squeeze 600hp out of a 5.2 based EQ headed engine. He literally runs 1.97 intake and 1.62 exhaust. His quote" dont mess with exhaust more than mild gasket match, no polishing, nothing, just leave it alone. If you use more than 1.97 intake you will loose power, flow bench says yes but dyno says no and time slip says no." I am sure some of the engine builders might argue this point but, where are the dyno runs with 1.92 vs 2.02 side by side with same cam? Never see em, do ya? I can sell EQ's with bowl hog and 2.02 for $350 more like other guys but I dont because it doesnt make any more power. Just like screwing with push rod bump. How big of a cam are you planning on using that ootb EQ's wont be enough, over .550 lift?

HEY,COMMON SENSE!! You can't RPM a Magnum,treat it what it is.....A well designed bottom end,with limitations,(and those are pretty damn good....) 425-450 h.p.capability,out of a used short block is completely insane... The Explorer 5.0, & Magnum 5.2\5.9 ,are what's left,for traditional hot rod guys.....