Budget-ish aluminum heads

[Dan-K]

Looking to upgrade to some cheaper aluminum heads . I would prefer not to go Chinese or ebay cheapos . Looking for 64 cc with smaller runners for a mild street engine for my 350 . I saw some AFR #1001 heads for $477 each assembled that look promising . Has anyone used these ? and are there any similar heads cost wise that anyone would recommend ? Thanks for any advice .

[Myself]

No need for aluminum on a mild street 350. Put a set of refurbished Vortec heads on it.

[tim_mc]

I have Brodix IK-180 heads for hydraulic roller, about $1131 for the pair at Summit. The only issue I had is that the COMP push rod guides that come with the heads are fixed and I had to swap a couple to COMP 1435 adjustable guide plates to get the rocker arm tips centered over the valve stems on #3 & #4 cylinders. I believe Brodix may also make the Summit SBC alumimum heads, which are also USA-made and priced at $1129 for either flat tappet or roller cams. Since aluminum heads allow higher compression I probably could have went with the 64cc over the 70cc heads.

[Big Kev-O]

From what I have read those are actually made from a Chinese castings based on a copy of Dart Pro-1 Platinum. Speedmaster / ProComp and many others sold on ebay use a similar or possibly the same casting. AFR is a reputable company and I would consider using them if I already had a gen 1 intake manifold I wanted to reuse. They are equipped with some pretty solid parts and can handl cams up to .600 lift.

Vortec heads work great for a mild build but will not work with Gen 1 manifolds so you would need to purchase a intake manifold designed for vortec heads and you are limited to .420 lift unless they have been modified. A set of new modded vortec heads sell for $100 less than those AFR heads so that would only make sense if you alread had a vortec manifold or scored a good deal on a set of rebuilt heads.

[Dan-K]

I thought about vortecs but I have the old style intake manifold and am running rams horn exhaust manifolds which are not compatible with the vortec heads.

[jimijam00]

Why aluminum? A guy could get some good power out the iron heads he alreadys has.

[Myself]

......and you're running 'rams horn' manifolds. Brother, you'll be throwing money away on fancy aluminum heads. It would help if we knew compression and cam specs.

[tj1970cst]

I found the Edelbrock e streets with 64cc on sale and got those

[72Cheyenne454]

Originally Posted by Dan-K

I thought about vortecs but I have the old style intake manifold and am running rams horn exhaust manifolds which are not compatible with the vortec heads.

Rams horn manifolds will work on vortec heads. I just put a set on my truck which has GM vortec heads with no issues.

Miles

[Mike C]

The AFR heads are a Chinese casting, but assembled with the same components as their other heads and they are doing quality control. They use lightweight 8mm valve components and PAC springs. They seem to be a hell of a deal and are the best value 195cc intake runner head out there IMO. I have a set on my short list...

The Brodix Iron Killers would be probably my next choice and then the Summit branded heads which are TFS manufactured most likely since they are USA made and Summit owns Trick Flow.

Unless the iron heads you are starting with are a 64cc performance casting, 194, 492, 292, etc. it makes zero sense to refurb them. And at $950 for the AFR heads no way would I spend my money on iron heads.

[TXgearhead67]

I didn’t know SummitRacing owned Trick Flow. Good to know.
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[TATE228]

At $477 dollars a head you can't go wrong. by the time you go find a set of vortecs, purchase valve studs, springs, guide plates, new intake manifold, and valve covers. Then take them to a machine shop to put the whole thing together. The vortecs will make good power. But are they really worth the hassle?