[blueghoast]

WOW, Thats not core shift. Look at an E-head bare casting you'll
see the same thing. Ask me how I know.
If you want a 87cc head open up the chamber?

GT

[blueghoast]

Originally Posted by 72projectbird

Iirc they are cast in Australia, and finished machined in China. Normally I'd expect core shift like that from something cast in China, but apparently the Aussies are up to the same things.

Still, I'd take a shot at them if they made an 87cc version, but I guess they don't want half of their customer base.

The aussies finish there own. They are seriose about there HP

GT

[many birds]

My engine is strictly a street setup 400 in a ‘69 firebird.

My main reason for going this route on the heads is the cost to recondition my stock ‘68 small chamber, small valve #15 heads was going to to get close to the cost of these. My current heads are basically stock except for the crower springs and screw in studs. The valves are original and the guides are worn out. The seals leak and I get a puff of blue smoke on cold starts. And because of the oil issue, I’m getting a very slight ping when climbing hills.

If I’m understanding the general thoughts from the responses, I should be ok to get some head bolts, BBC rocker studs and nuts, and guide plates and slap these on? Or do I need to do a full disassemble? Another question is: will the already installed springs be adequate for my voodoo 703 cam and do i need new pushrods and a new head gasket? My current head gasket is the steel one where you copper coat on one side from Butler.

[NeighborsComplaint]

Originally Posted by blueghoast

WOW, Thats not core shift. Look at an E-head bare casting you'll
see the same thing. Ask me how I know.
If you want a 87cc head open up the chamber?

GT

The cost of doing that puts you right at what you can buy a Kaufman 87cc set for.

[blueghoast]

Sorry I meant do it your self. Thats what I do.
I didn't think some may not be able to do this
My Bad.

GT

[70 bird]

Run dished pistons.

[NeighborsComplaint]

Yeah. Hogging 15 cc out of the chambers is one thing, taking it out of the correct area, and maintaining the identical shapes and angles is a different story.. I’ve unshrouded for oversized valves and eyeballed the chamber shape on junk iron heads, but that was different.

[gobrdgo]

Anyone cnc porting these yet?

[wbnapier]

Originally Posted by 72projectbird

Iirc they are cast in Australia, and finished machined in China. Normally I'd expect core shift like that from something cast in China, but apparently the Aussies are up to the same things.

Still, I'd take a shot at them if they made an 87cc version, but I guess they don't want half of their customer base.

Most be people cast and rough finish in China, as that is the most labor intensive part, and it makes sense to outsource it. Also, China has been sand casting longer than anywhere else on earth and have more foundries than the rest of the world combined.

[Sirrotica]

Originally Posted by wbnapier

Most be people cast and rough finish in China, as that is the most labor intensive part, and it makes sense to outsource it. Also, China has been sand casting longer than anywhere else on earth and have more foundries than the rest of the world combined.

I know the casting information is true. Having grown up and lived in Erie PA most of my life, there is a GE locomotive plant in Erie. I worked there after graduating from high school in the foundry, and also am friends with people that worked there until they retired.

One friend of mine that was a lifer there was telling me that until recently the chinese used steam powered locomotive and were building new steam powered locomotives through most of the 20th century. They only recently have copied the technology from the diesel electromotive locomotives for their own railroads, and switched from steam powered locomotives.

The castings to build one of there locomotives are large, and complex, I would say that the chinese might have a handle on sand casting, maybe as good as the US, or better.

[wbnapier]

Yes, in my previous career, I worked for a Chinese company. In house we did hot and cold forging, fabrication, wax cast steel, light machining, and we had a "boutique" hot-rolled steel operation. Our production was about 500 tons a month, which is small.

We outsourced to other foundries for sand cast iron (pig & ductile), sand cast aluminum, and die casting. I traveled frequently to Hebei and visited the foundries we worked with. They've been casting there for about 3,000 years.

The problem in China is sourcing quality material for low volume production. We required good material for forging. Good meaning low carbon, consistent properties, and sharp profile.

[Formulajones]

Originally Posted by many birds

If I’m understanding the general thoughts from the responses, I should be ok to get some head bolts, BBC rocker studs and nuts, and guide plates and slap these on? Or do I need to do a full disassemble? Another question is: will the already installed springs be adequate for my voodoo 703 cam and do i need new pushrods and a new head gasket? My current head gasket is the steel one where you copper coat on one side from Butler.

I'm with Tom way back on post 3. I learned a long time ago to never install new aftermarket heads without first taking them to a competent shop to check the valve job, valve guide clearance, and check the springs. Most will do this for a minimal fee.
If you do that, one of your questions of whether the springs are adequate for your camshaft will be answered. I find more times than not, a generic spring supplied with aftermarket heads don't always suffice for the intended camshaft being used unless you talked to them upon ordering and specified a particular spring package.

Just having them looked over is good piece of mind and can save you down the road. I wished I had done that 20 something years ago on a set of AFR's I bought. That mistake cost me $1500 to fix after the fact.

Now I have them all checked before use.

[Formulajones]

Mark does a nice video on why it's a good idea to have new aftermarket heads checked.

https://youtu.be/TsOmhHj-zqA

[ID67goat]

Originally Posted by Formulajones

Mark does a nice video on why it's a good idea to have new aftermarket heads checked.

https://youtu.be/TsOmhHj-zqA

Man, that guy is a little rough on the equipment....

[Formulajones]

He seems to be in a hurry, I would guess to maybe keep the video short.

I think he gets the point across well enough though. Even with an expensive set of heads, they aren't perfect out of the box. And those tolerances he found, as he points out, are considered better than a lot of the lesser heads on the market.

As he said, it's not terrible and better than most, and it'll run like that, but when you spend $3200 on a set of heads (that's what mine cost 20 years ago) It makes you wonder.

Even though we aren't talking about race engines here, and neither was Mark, I still want my stuff to be right. Most others just want their engine to run and these small details don't matter to them.

Just offering this as food for thought.

[AG]

Originally Posted by Formulajones

He seems to be in a hurry, I would guess to maybe keep the video short.

I think he gets the point across well enough though. Even with an expensive set of heads, they aren't perfect out of the box. And those tolerances he found, as he points out, are considered better than a lot of the lesser heads on the market.

As he said, it's not terrible and better than most, and it'll run like that, but when you spend $3200 on a set of heads (that's what mine cost 20 years ago) It makes you wonder.

Even though we aren't talking about race engines here, and neither was Mark, I still want my stuff to be right. Most others just want their engine to run and these small details don't matter to them.

Just offering this as food for thought.

This is the reason I got my CNC Eddy heads from SD, they are a work of art.

[Formulajones]

Originally Posted by AG

This is the reason I got my CNC Eddy heads from SD, they are a work of art.

I agree that getting a set of aftermarket heads through another vendor that runs a quality machine shop can pay big dividends.

You then have piece of mind when you open the box they are ready to go.

[70 bird]

Originally Posted by AG

This is the reason I got my CNC Eddy heads from SD, they are a work of art.

How much did that work of art set you back?

[PontiacLars]

Just got my cylinder heads today. I think they look nice.

[PontiacLars]

Springs and exhaust port