Done a couple sets,myself.Was wondering who out there made the jump,and were happy.or unhappy with the results.I failed on two of my five endeavors,alawsys a learning experience.Thanks,in advance who post.
Home ported small block heads.....
- Thread starter Abodybomber
- Start date
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OldmanRick
Well-Known Member
My first try was in 1975 and was putting together SBC for a 63' Duece. Had a low comp. short block and found a set of early heads that after cleanup were 62cc chambers. Figured 9.5 to 10.1 comp. so that was good. My friend had a pair if Crane heads, yes they did sell heads back in the day. They were really hoged out and had round exhaust ports so i copied them with gasket matching and went pretty deep in the ports. Had no clue about bowl work so didn't touch them and just had a 3 angle valve job done when i finished. I ran a straight pattern cam 480/[email protected] and ran surpisingly well, but at best i left alot on the table and a split pattern cam would have been much better because i'm sure i killed all the velocity on the exhaust ports
.I did these with a Sears dremel tool and burnt out 3 of them before i finished.......lol.
Thanks for responding,Rick.One of my neighbors,(Perry,Flo Dynamics,owns thr pantet on dual plug Harley heads!)knows Harvey by name,and ported a few.If you running a 4 speed,your golden.My. go to cam was the 350/327 grind with camel humps, no work.That cam waxed everything,until Comp threw out the Magnum stuff.
OldmanRick
Well-Known Member
Yep, .447/ [email protected]. Used several of them and were extremely strong.
Still are.A lot of people diss these cams.Like you said in another post,yes you are old.I am too,people forget how well tbe stuff works.Thanks,Rick.My story is like yours.Picked up a 72 Formula 400 firebird. 0 deck.All Pontiacs are 0 deck from the factory.Swapped a set of pocket ported 16 castings.Compresdion went from 8 to1,to 11 to 1.Man, that thing cracked.Went with a narrow lobe center version of the Ram Air 4 cam. I could not hook it up,with slicks.
Sorry, everyone.I like homespun stuff,Thanks
fishy68
Tyr Fryr's Inc.
First set I did was in 89. Had an old Monte Carlo that the engine was shot on and needed rebuilt and I found a set of heads and going by an article in a auto magazine (sorry I don't remember what one) did what they said. Took me over a week cause I didn't have a compressor and had to use one at a buddy's place and man was it junk. I'd grind for about 10 minutes and it'd be down to 40 lbs. so I had to wait 20 minutes for it to pump up again. I didn't know anyone with a flow bench at all so I have no idea what they flowed but they must not have been terrible cause with a comp 262xe, stock torque converter and 3.08 gears that little 9 to 1 350 pushed that lead sled to 14.40 in the 1/4.
Fast forward to 2007 and I did a set of X heads for my old 360. went by memory on that one and by then I did know someone with a flow bench and they flowed 252 on the intakes and 178 on the exhaust.
Last set I did was a set of EQ's for my mild 408. They flow 268 and 198. I'm running a mild Racer Brown (240 at .050) solid flat tappet. I think if it hooks up good it'll run real low 12's. I'm very happy with it considering how mild it it.
Fast forward to 2007 and I did a set of X heads for my old 360. went by memory on that one and by then I did know someone with a flow bench and they flowed 252 on the intakes and 178 on the exhaust.
Last set I did was a set of EQ's for my mild 408. They flow 268 and 198. I'm running a mild Racer Brown (240 at .050) solid flat tappet. I think if it hooks up good it'll run real low 12's. I'm very happy with it considering how mild it it.
My friend Logan and I are working on our first set, my magnum 5.2 heads. We are basically using a bunch of guides online, and were just cleaning up the valve guide bosses and all the rough edges inside the ports and the chambers, I will probably do a gasket match on both sides too. I believe learning on iron heads is the best way to start because its more forgiving. All we've used is our cheap little dremel with some nice carbite bits and some cartrige rolls for smoothing. We took one untouched head and one pretty much done head to the machine shop here locally, and they were really impressed with our work so far so we will see how well it works out. I also just sent my stock cam out to be regrond to .224/224 at .050 and .496 lift with 1.6 rocker on a 112 lsa. I'm pretty excited.
I love your224/230 cam.Who did the regrind?.
If your talking to me, I just sent it out to Oregon cam grinders out in Washington yesterday. Won't be back for a week or two.
Sweet!I know the lobes well.You made StrokerScamp happy.
Yeah, it should work pretty well Im hoping. I've got a built 904 with a Hughes 25-2800 stall converter to go behind it. Just gotta be careful with that stock 7.25 rear..... Lol
I did a set of J heads years ago...I did a BAD job on them, looked UGLY, uneven...bolted them on my 318, no torque :-(, but ok horsepower. Bolted on some 302 heads, made ok torque and ok horsepower.
Ran both sets of heads at the track, my home ported J's were just a little quicker on the motor (about 0.1 quicker if I recall correctly)....but on the bottle (150 shot), the J's were over half a second quicker than the 302's (0.7 seconds quicker if I recall correctly)!..........Then I sold the 318, both sets of heads, and got a 360 with some eddys...this combo was faster than the 318 on the bottle ...no joke.
Ran both sets of heads at the track, my home ported J's were just a little quicker on the motor (about 0.1 quicker if I recall correctly)....but on the bottle (150 shot), the J's were over half a second quicker than the 302's (0.7 seconds quicker if I recall correctly)!..........Then I sold the 318, both sets of heads, and got a 360 with some eddys...this combo was faster than the 318 on the bottle ...no joke.
blue missile
Well-Known Member
I too found water on a set of J heads on the last cylinder's exhaust cleanup! I even went to the trouble to braze the floor of the tight turn in each exhaust runner to build it up and smooth it out.
I just happened to find a thin spot where I didnt need one.
the pics are of the before and after of the intakes and the complete chamber
Andrew
I just happened to find a thin spot where I didnt need one.
the pics are of the before and after of the intakes and the complete chamber
Andrew
mischiefdart
Well-Known Member
I just did a set of '81 318 heads with the air pump bosses. Took at least a pound or two off of them. I raised the roof of the intake port, profiled the guide boss, took a lot of material off the parting wall, cleaned up the pushrod pinch, bowl blend and port matched the intake. The exhaust ports got a basic bowl blend and guide profile but not much more. I have got a old dc .455"-272* cam and lifter kit in a stock low compression bottom end. Carter TQ off a '73 440 on a performer 318-360 intake. I was curious if I could get some decent flow out of the heads and was not too worried about over doing it as 318 heads are not hard to come by. I was more worried about all the hours I spent working on them. The motor pulls hard and I have yet to find where it stops pulling as I need some better valve springs than the stock ones that are on there right now. I have a set of comp single springs with dampeners and keepers but have not gotten around to putting them on yet. It is in a beater '70 dart built out of nothing but spare parts.with an OD four speed and 2.93 open rear.
fishy68
Tyr Fryr's Inc.
I give it a 2, i.e. the 2nd time it hooks up the 7.25 will go poof!:burnout:
Better start saving for a 8-1/4 or 8-3/4
darndart
Well-Known Member
About 12-13 years ago I did a set of 915 J heads for my 73 Dart Sport 340. It had a stock 70 short block, 296/557 MP solid, M1 single plane, my ported J-heads, backed with a 727 & 4.10 gears it ran 11.90's @ 110, so I was happy with the results.
MopaR&D
Nerd Member
I would have loved to port the Magnums on my 360 but didn't really have the time or the tools, also was a little scared to mess them up since I've never ported before... Rockerdude how long did it take you to port those heads with a dremel?
BTW blue missile those pics look great, what did you use to polish the chambers and ports like that?
BTW blue missile those pics look great, what did you use to polish the chambers and ports like that?
1wild&crazyguy
Banned
I decided to try and port a slant head about 11 yrs ago, i played it safe and netted about 20 cfm over stock flow. I really got into porting about 8 yrs ago on a set of x heads, after removing the kink in the bowls roof just off the guide and a lil laying back of the turn and bowl enlarging just off the seat...they went 242 cfm on the int, on the exhaust i polished the entire port and worked the tall side of the turn at the wall trying to exaggerate it more 'like it had more short turn' and netted 192 or so cfm. i believe i posted the flow sheet on this site already.
I also went to town on a set of '71 j heads with 11/32 stem 2.02 /1.60 valves and netted [email protected] int first shot with 190's exhaust flow.
The thkngs i did were cutting the guide narrow and shortining it, working the straight/dividing wall, raising the roof, opening the bowl up big time and widening the short turn as much as i?felt comfortable with 'at the time', on the exhaust i did the same exaggerating of the tall side at the wall, opening the bowl up and going straight up from the seat with a lil roundness at the top of the turn at the floor, then grinding the kink out of the roof and working the walls to an even cross diameter from the bowl out making sure not to end up bigger at the port window 'slows velocity if too big'. I found with the addituon of a flow bench that i could olay around with the chamber shrounding and chamber side angles off the seat and load the seat in different areas, so if i played with too much unshrouding at the short side especially at the bore/close to chamber side...that all the air would want to go there and if not more than the total flow 'pre existing' would become a wall and cause turbulence giving -less flow...
factory casting in the right hands will flow as much as most of the bolt on after market performance offerings...and sometimes even more in the low lift range and with the right piston can be more practical/helpful on a street motor/street lift range for power. im typing on my phone, sorry for my engrish.
I also went to town on a set of '71 j heads with 11/32 stem 2.02 /1.60 valves and netted [email protected] int first shot with 190's exhaust flow.
The thkngs i did were cutting the guide narrow and shortining it, working the straight/dividing wall, raising the roof, opening the bowl up big time and widening the short turn as much as i?felt comfortable with 'at the time', on the exhaust i did the same exaggerating of the tall side at the wall, opening the bowl up and going straight up from the seat with a lil roundness at the top of the turn at the floor, then grinding the kink out of the roof and working the walls to an even cross diameter from the bowl out making sure not to end up bigger at the port window 'slows velocity if too big'. I found with the addituon of a flow bench that i could olay around with the chamber shrounding and chamber side angles off the seat and load the seat in different areas, so if i played with too much unshrouding at the short side especially at the bore/close to chamber side...that all the air would want to go there and if not more than the total flow 'pre existing' would become a wall and cause turbulence giving -less flow...
factory casting in the right hands will flow as much as most of the bolt on after market performance offerings...and sometimes even more in the low lift range and with the right piston can be more practical/helpful on a street motor/street lift range for power. im typing on my phone, sorry for my engrish.
1wild&crazyguy
Banned
btw, i have the 974 head from the the 360 head trip thread i had started all hardened seated, valve jobbed and ready to go for a fresh start with porting. If you guys are still interested in this stuff then ill start the thread back up again ...and idc if i go into water getting the numbers.
Itll be as in depth as u can imagine, for its a tester head.
I also am building a hyd roller 360 and will be starting on a set of 974's set up with 2.02/1.60 11/32 stem valves, will do a full write up as i work them/test them and provide pics. The target is 450-480 hp and the customer is looking at a dyno test when all is assembled.
Itll be as in depth as u can imagine, for its a tester head.
I also am building a hyd roller 360 and will be starting on a set of 974's set up with 2.02/1.60 11/32 stem valves, will do a full write up as i work them/test them and provide pics. The target is 450-480 hp and the customer is looking at a dyno test when all is assembled.
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