[ponyakr]

there are lots of other heads you can use 2 build a lower comp 455. the 4x & 5c are just 2 that come 2 mind. any of the heads that came on 350's & 400's will raise the comp of a '71-'76 455 with original heads. but be aware that some heads along in the '72-'73 period either did not have all the exhaust bolt holes drilled or didn't even have a boss cast in the heads where a bolt hole should be. again, if you want these head #'s just ask on just about any forum on this site--there are lots of guys here who know all the #'s. i would just avoid these heads totally. now--here's another area where my opinion will differ from most. starting in '71 455 heads had huge chambers 2 reduce the comp down into the 8 range. these heads are useless on a 350 or 400 & are considered junk by most. now i'm not talkin here about '71-'72 455 HO heads or '73-'74 455 SD heads, but only '71-'76 455 d-port heads. the 6H is an example--probably around 124cc chambers. these don't make much comp, but you still have that long 4.21 stroke for low end tire melting torque/starting line jump. of course, the big advantages are that you can use pump gas with no additives & it should be very easy on head gaskets. naturally, it will produce less power & higher ets--but with the rite combo of parts--still no slouch. 1 more advantage i just thought of--initial purchase price of cores should be extremely low. if you can find a pontiac guy whose been using 455 blocks for very long--he probably has a stack of these big chamber heads(if he hasn't sold em for scrap) in the corner of his shop & may give you a set, just 2 get em out of his way. there was probably a time when i had at least a dozen sets--cause every single 455 i bought had a set on it. i never used any because i had plenty of hi comp heads 2 race with. i would consider a low comp 455 a good, low budget gbt motor, which would probably run hi 12's to mid 13's in a lite bracket car like the '68 birds we raced. at our local track, there is no min et required 2 run in the no-e footbrake class--so 2 run 10's & 11's is just spending $ you don't have 2 spend 2 be competitive in the class. but if you just wanna go quicker & have the $ 2 burn--pull out your wallet & make it quicker! just know that you don't have 2 go fast 2 have fun & win races. we won dozens of races running in the 13 sec range against lots of 10 & 11 sec cars. all ya have 2 do is learn enuff about it 2 beat a few chevys!

[ponyakr]

now, here's something i know many will disagree with. 1st let me say that i think d-port iron heads that cost in the $1500 range is rediculous unless you need 2 make every last bit of power you possibly can, runnin in a class that requires iron heads. otherwise, when you get that close 2 the $2000 mark, i think its time 2 switch 2 alum heads. that was not an option for me in the old days, but now it is. here's another fork in the road where i'll take the 1 less traveled. for street & any bracket racin down into the hi 10's, i say a d-port alum is plenty & is definately good gbt--they're a little cheaper initially, but get cheaper quick when you buy new headers. as most know, round ports are now around $600+. a hedman d-port is around $250 new & there are lots of cheap used 1's out there. i'd suggest that if you insist on round ports you find a good used set of headers before you buy the heads. again, if you've got the $ buy k hi-ports & new dougs & go rite on down the road. but if your budget is not unlimited, d-ports will save $$$. as for the choice between k or e d-ports--i don't know. i've read that e's have heli-coils in some of the bolt holes, instead of threaded alum. but, they have the heat riser 2 warm the intake on cold mornings. i don't consider this a drawback. i never filled a single heat riser--just used mr.g 502g intake gaskets with the thin metal block off plates--never a problem. but, if your race only, fill em if you like. if you got a little more $ & wanna go on down into the 9's--k hi-ports will getcha there for less than $3000. but its the rest of the 9 sec stuff that will cost ya! convertor, tranny brake, hd rear, dom carb, intake, roller cam set up, lifter bore brace, 4-bolt caps, extra hi-$ machine work, etc, etc, etc. 9 sec everything is hi-$ & is definately not gbt. but if you got the green--go for it! & if you really wanna have some fun entertainment, get yourself a big bowl of popcorn, or your favorite snackfood & a big soda pop(or your favorite tasty beverage), then pose this ? on the race forum--"whats the best way 2 build a 9 sec bracket car on a limited budget?" then just sit back & relax & enjoy the show!

[ponyakr]

well, its time for me 2 admit my ignorance again. some things are just so simple that once you learn how--you wonder why you didn't know that long ago. ex: lately i've had problems gettin pics 2 upload from my camera card during hi usage times on py. many times i had quite a bit of text typed before i tried 2 upload the pics & when they wouldn't go thru--i lost the text & had 2 retype the whole thing later. i asked for help. the solution somebody offered was 2 just upload the pics 1st. if they go thru--THEN add the text. so, why didn't i think of that? it is so simple! well, here i am again--1 of those simple things i did not know but had wondered about. i'd seen some of those neat little smilies people put at the end of a post & wondered how they did that. then i saw 1 of them under the post text space & decided 2 click on 1 & see what happened--low & behold it magically appeared at the end of my text. but some, like the popcorn, i didn't see--assumed those who posted those got them off of some program on their computer. i mentioned it 2 TJ yesterday & she took a quick look & quickly said "why don't you just click on the word "more" under the other smilies". now--wasn't that difficult. i coulda been using all those cool smilies all this time & was just 2 dumb 2 know it. have ya'll ever done anything dumb? boy, it really makes me wonder what other simple things i don't know about & which one of them i'll discover next. anyhow, now that i've seen all the smilies, i can think of so many posts where i would have used certain 1's. but i just found out you can't go back & edit old posts. but some are just crying out 2 me for a certain smilie so instead of recalling the whole post--from time 2 time, as i recall some i may just mention the post # or the jist of it & show the smilie i would have used if i'd have known about them. all this may sound silly 2 ya'll, but i've always had a good sense of humor i suppose & it'll just make some posts a little more fun for me.

Edit: I also just learned how to "copy and paste" - saves me a lot of retyping! Better late than never to learn new tricks, huh?