Just got W9 heads, what now?

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wigsplitter74

wigsplitter74

The Mopar Kid
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Well I've wanted a more serious head for my 367 and I'm not sold on Eddie's so I found a deal on NIB 59* W9 heads and I got them. They are bare and I'm really not even sure what valve size they use, my motor is fresh so I plan on letting these set around for some time so I can acquire parts or find a buyer. Does anyone have these? What kind of results are people getting and what kinda money does it take to make these happen on a stock block? Thanks mush guys
 
IIRC, the int. valve is a 2.15 and the exhaust valve is a normal 1.6. MoPar has the valves as well as Ferra. Being thatthere 59* heads, like a stock block, they should basicly bolt on, though the lower added line of attching points (AKA - bolt holes) can be removed for added header clearances. This may or not, be the case.

Look to the cam companies for gear and spring heights unless someone here runs them.

Oh yea, flow test them to see what they flow.
 
Start saving for rockers. T&D or Jesel. $1000-$1500. You said Bare. Do they have seats and guides? If not, you'll heve some choices for valves. Probably around 2.15" and 1.65". There's a shop here in town (HRD Racing Heads) that does a lot of development work and porting for all sorts of teams, including Nascar. Chapman and Arrington are two of their well-known Mopar clients. They know their way around W9s. Ryan Johnson at Shady Dell Speed Shop also knows what he's doing.

http://www.hrdracingheads.com/pdfs/drag-ill.pdf

http://www.shadydellspeedshop.com/w9.htm
 
mopardude318 said:
what now? get ready to shell out some MAJOR cash. lol
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and get ready to belt out some major horsepower!!! gotta pay to play.
when you say the heads are bare, have they been ported at all??? does anyone know if w9s are cnc ported from the factory?? at very least you should send them out and get them checked over with maybe some light hand finishing.
 
They do have guides and seats in them and they do not have the extra row of bolts down low. Basically I have a few diseases, going fast and buying deals when I see them. I talked to an old guy at Indy cylinder heads and he says get T&D rockers, not the Jesel's. I know it's gona cost a lot that's why the whole swap is up in the air, these are not CNC ported or anything, just regular cast ports the are supposed to flow well, I've read 290 cfm and 550 and higher lift as cast. Like I said, maybe I'll get rid of them, I do like the Indy T/A heads so IDK what'll happen
 
wigsplitter74 said:
Well I've wanted a more serious head for my 367 and I'm not sold on Eddie's so I found a deal on NIB 59* W9 heads and I got them. They are bare and I'm really not even sure what valve size they use, my motor is fresh so I plan on letting these set around for some time so I can acquire parts or find a buyer. Does anyone have these? What kind of results are people getting and what kinda money does it take to make these happen on a stock block? Thanks mush guys
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If I were you id find someone to trade those bare W9s for a set of assembled w2s + rockerarms. There's always someone looking to take a step up the "W" ladder.. you'll find alot of guys who run W5s, 7s, 9s etc will have w2s/rockerarms laying around. and you seem up in the air about the W9s anyhow, when they would be the clear choice on making the most power, wich dosent seem to be your primary concern.
 
The W9's are a good head, not what the W8 will do max ported but they were cast to be a lightweight head. 290 out of the box sounds suspect to me, but in a ported configuration they will make more power than a stock block should take. To me if it's not an all out effort you're better off with something else as just the rocker gear, valves, retainers, intake and so forth is too expensive for just a street/strip motor, but to each their own.
 
Guitar Jones said:
The W9's are a good head, not what the W8 will do max ported but they were cast to be a lightweight head. 290 out of the box sounds suspect to me, but in a ported configuration they will make more power than a stock block should take. To me if it's not an all out effort you're better off with something else as just the rocker gear, valves, retainers, intake and so forth is too expensive for just a street/strip motor, but to each their own.
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i agree. either all in or screw it and just a get a good solid set of heads that you can have fun with without having to shell over major cash.. even though your ahead of the game being that your bare W9s have guides and combustion chambers/seats already cut... and depending on how much you actually payed for them as is.
 
Problem is generally people assume W9 is better than W8 just because the number is larger. WRONG Then if you have a W9 that can be used on a 59 degree block you are backing the truck way way way up.

The improvements made with the Arrington's, W7's, W8's and W9's were in the port spacing and worked very well on 48 degree blocks because the lifter and pushrod spacing is corrected. Moving the lifter .250" seems like little to do and stand the lifter up towards the rocker by going 48 degrees is talked about alot. Problem is with the W9's you have just acquired you are limited with porting because the pushrod area required limits porting.

With only 367 cubic inches you would take substantial gains by going with a R3 block that uses 48 degree lifters. And the guys are right you are going to spend a lot of $ getting those heads ready for use.

Either set them aside for sale and buy some Indy 360-1 or something similar. Or figure on buying a block as it will be the best money spent considering what you are getting ready to do. Your heads can be worked as to take advantage of the R3 48 degree blocks.

Leon
 
Leon441 said:
Problem is generally people assume W9 is better than W8 just because the number is larger. WRONG Then if you have a W9 that can be used on a 59 degree block you are backing the truck way way way up.

The improvements made with the Arrington's, W7's, W8's and W9's were in the port spacing and worked very well on 48 degree blocks because the lifter and pushrod spacing is corrected. Moving the lifter .250" seems like little to do and stand the lifter up towards the rocker by going 48 degrees is talked about alot. Problem is with the W9's you have just acquired you are limited with porting because the pushrod area required limits porting.

With only 367 cubic inches you would take substantial gains by going with a R3 block that uses 48 degree lifters. And the guys are right you are going to spend a lot of $ getting those heads ready for use.

Either set them aside for sale and buy some Indy 360-1 or something similar. Or figure on buying a block as it will be the best money spent considering what you are getting ready to do. Your heads can be worked as to take advantage of the R3 48 degree blocks.

Leon
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While you guys are alot smarter than me, and im certainly no ed pink or keith black, im still really young and learning alot. But here's my 2 cents anyhow. =D

yea, the w8s will out flow w9s when its all said and done and the 48deg block has better geometry for sure and would be more beneficial all the way around. I think his plan is to use a stock block to avoid shelling out major cash for really exotic pieces. While the 48deg geometry for durability/porting is surely better no question, among other things that are more beneficial like the R3s revised oiling system compared to a stock block or even an R1 or X or T/A. The blocks thickness compared to a stock block is obviously superior aswell.

i think he'd be fine using a 59deg block though. My dad builds and tunes my dirt modified motor and we've been running the same ~2hp per cube 340 engine combo for a few years now on the dirt track without any problems using the 59deg block.. leaving me to believe from what iv'e seen that the 59deg valvetrain durability "problem" isn't really that big of a problem.And we even use the older stands+shaft ductile iron adjustable offset w2 rockerarms. though we do only use a small circle track solid lift roller camshaft (.650") we do rev it up pretty high for extened periods. It usually bumps against the 8000 rev limiter chip right before its time to get out of it and set the car up for the corner. now, ive seen a few chevrolets tear rockerarms up at the track but we never have had that problem with our little bullet.


Regards,
david
 
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