Aluminum Cylinder Heads

Hey, look what I found!
IMG_19700114_142808.jpg
 
Something else, and no one likes to hear this. I bought a pair of edelbrocks and took them to a machine shop. Out of the box the worst valve seat was .005 out of round. The machinist said he had a pair of brand new dart heads that were .012 on the worst seat. I'm just saying when you're that deep into a build don't take anything for granted. Imagine a brand new engine with leaking valves! It's a good idea to have the brand new $2000 heads checked out. I know,that sucks.

.005" out of round, you could detect that with a flash light! Poor setup allowing deflection in the cutter.
I suppose one could quickly check their valve seats at home with some lapping compound too.
I also recall the 440 source aluminum heads being ripped on here a while back, same comments about them needing a full check at a machine shop before being installed. I think the consensus was their heads were chicom made. Not sure where the Edelbrock heads are made.
 
In their day. The world has moved on to some dual pattern cams well suited for a heavy car.

Looking at the MOPAR Performance catalog list posted by Dana, it looks like the MOPAR 268 degree cam IS a dual pattern cam. The 272 degree cam in the list, however, appears to be a single pattern cam.
 
Dual pattern generally is used to fix a engine with weak exhaust ports, Pontiacs, Olds, Ford FE and 385 series. Not that a BB Mopar has great exhaust ports they are respectable. A dual pattern will help with exhaust manifolds, more time to force the exhaust out into manifolds with no scavenge at all.
 
Since I greatly respect your opinion, please elaborate as to the cam you would recommend for Bob's build.
Well those are nice words...

It's kind of tough to write a detailed reply from a cell phone, so i'll just say (as Stan has shown) there are tons of dual vs. single pattern articles on the Internet. I'm assuming this build is for a NYB and the exhaust side will be less optimal than let's say a B-body with headers. A dual pattern gives more time to open up the exhaust without the rougher idle and compromised torque.

However in discussing this with a friend at work, he suggested the .509" purple shaft with a newer, wider 112 CL which I was unaware of. With more cubes at 470 this should be better on the street. He also suggested Bullet cams for a dual pattern.
 
OP,
The Trick flow heads I bought were 100% OOTB ready to run.
I had them ported, but my head guy said they were spot on. I haven't heard anything different.
For the money, it seems you would be hard pressed to get better bang for the buck.

As an aside, I have 10.1-1 CR, on a 520 CI 440 source kit. It runs just fine with 90 octane. My cam, however, is a 260/266 @50 duration, so it's an all together different animal.

Well those are nice words...

It's kind of tough to write a detailed reply from a cell phone, so i'll just say (as Stan has shown) there are tons of dual vs. single pattern articles on the Internet. I'm assuming this build is for a NYB and the exhaust side will be less optimal than let's say a B-body with headers. A dual pattern gives more time to open up the exhaust without the rougher idle and compromised torque.

However in discussing this with a friend at work, he suggested the .509" purple shaft with a newer, wider 112 CL which I was unaware of. With more cubes at 470 this should be better on the street. He also suggested Bullet cams for a dual pattern.

I would be curious to see the effect on idle quality/vacuum/cylinder pressure with the 112 VS 108.
My old 440 has a 509/108, and though it ran fine with 90 octane non-ethanol fuel, there is no way in hell it would be a good choice for a big car with manifolds.
That motor/cam combo would hold about 8.5 " of vacuum at 900 rpm idle,which coincidently, is what the 520 engine draws for inches of mercury.
 
So let's enhance it, why stroke a 400 over building a 440?
Dave, the stock 400 has .040 bigger pistons than a stock 440. The 400 will rev a hell of a lot faster than a 440.

My car is never going to going down the 1/4 mile (much). But the main reason is economics. I already have B engine performer intake and all the brackets and pulleys don't interchange from 400 to a 440. And I was able to buy a running 400 that will require minimum machine work. I always wanted to build a stroker motor. It just happens to be a 400.
 
So let's enhance it, why stroke a 400 over building a 440?
The real reason is the deck high is the lowest with the bore the biggest.
Bigger bore unshrouds the valves on a wedge engine the most or allows bigger valves.
Shorter deck height is to shrink piston compression distance down, anything between the pin and oil ring is extra mass along for the ride. All new cars are using this technology short piston less mass in engine less fuel used to drag all the weight around. Racers use it to Max displacement and use long rods to rev really high at 500"
 
Also B block gives more hood clearance. If dont want to install scoop.
 
451 Manifesto | AR Engineering
Here is a link to the 451 Manifesto . This is for the 451 but it applies through out the 400 stroker range . Its a good read and will explain a lot.
This article was written several years before 440 Source and others came out with kits. Another good stroker is the 383 B Block , like the 400 's there are a butt load of them and stroking really wakes them up.
 
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So where does the torque come in?
Longer crank arm with short rods. Also using standard port heads on a larger cubic inch engine moves the torque and hp range lower in the RPM range. More displacement(470 let's say) being drawn through same square inch port window as a 400 the velocity will be higher creating better vacuum/ keeping gasoline suspended from same duration/lift cam.
 
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