What are some affordable heads for a SBC 355?

I just acquired a 4 bolt main 355 SBC. I have the stock heads, but I was thinking about starting the search for performance parts for it. I hear AFR are very good but they are very expensive. I hear RHS is good and they are a little more in my price range. Any other alternatives? What about a set of aluminum Vortech heads? Also what do you guys think about Edelbrock intakes and carbs? I like the Edelbrock dual carb setup.

Another question, will these fit in my firebird now that I have a WS6 hood?

[Phantom409]

Alum. or steel?
Assembled or bare?
What CC's?
Amount of HP do you want??
What cam are you going to run?
Street or strip?

[shawnc16]

The set of Canfields I have for sale are affordable

[WMCCjames]

AFR's are the shiznit, but pricey. Dart Iron Eagles are nice and more afforable. Vortecs are a great bang for ther buck if you have an intake for them already.

[PACE]

well what ever you want i can get for you. LOL LOL,, tell me what is your HP goals and what do you want to do with it??.
i can give you some options ... and help ya out as much as you will allow me to.... Whats the goal in the 1/4 mile you want to be around????
Justin

[VictoryRacingEngines]

Dart Pro 1's are pretty good heads. We carry a variety of SBC heads from Dart, AFR and RHS so don't hestiate to contact us with any questions.

[phoenix_rising]

I am thinking of building up a '67 Bonneville like this one...

http://www.cardomain.com/ride/2447629

His car, close to stock is in the 13's

I want to build a bulletproof motor so I would probably grab a set of steel heads unless someone can tell me why I should get aluminum ones. I do not know what is involved with assembling a head so I think it would probably be best if I bought assembled ones. The block is a 350 SBC. I am not sure the CC's. I understand that the stock SBC should push around 200-230 HP. So I would like to aim for about 400 HP on motor. 500-700 with a power adder or nitrous. I will probably run the stock cam until I can grab a Comp cam setup when I get turbo / SC. I do not have a vehicle to move a car back and forth so I would like to keep the motor streetable. I would like to see a low 11-12 sec 1/4 mi.

Oh here is the intake / carb I am looking at...



http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/SBC-E...em300192473354

The set of Canfields I have for sale are affordable

They sound pretty cool. Will they work on my setup and how much are you looking for out of them?

Justin and Victory, I'll keep you guys in the loop once I get a better idea about what I need.

What does these guy have?

http://video.google.com/videoplay?do...arch&plindex=2

http://video.google.com/videoplay?do...arch&plindex=2

http://video.google.com/videoplay?do...arch&plindex=2

http://video.google.com/videoplay?do...arch&plindex=2

http://video.google.com/videoplay?do...arch&plindex=2

[phoenix_rising]

Bump!

[81DaytonaPaceCar]

I want to build a bulletproof motor so I would probably grab a set of steel heads unless someone can tell me why I should get aluminum ones. I do not know what is involved with assembling a head so I think it would probably be best if I bought assembled ones. The block is a 350 SBC. I am not sure the CC's. I understand that the stock SBC should push around 200-230 HP. So I would like to aim for about 400 HP on motor. 500-700 with a power adder or nitrous. I will probably run the stock cam until I can grab a Comp cam setup when I get turbo / SC. I do not have a vehicle to move a car back and forth so I would like to keep the motor streetable. I would like to see a low 11-12 sec 1/4 mi.

Oh here is the intake / carb I am looking at...



http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/SBC-E...em300192473354



They sound pretty cool. Will they work on my setup and how much are you looking for out of them?

Justin and Victory, I'll keep you guys in the loop once I get a better idea about what I need.

Ben, Ben, Ben...where to start...

1. Are you building a Chevy or a Pontiac? You can make a Chevy fit into a Bonny, but it's more work and more $$$. Conversely, to build a Pontiac motor will be more $$$ than a Chevy.

2. Go aluminum heads if you can afford it...and, yes, buy them complete. Lighter and better heat dispersion.

3. Dual quads are a waste of time and $$$ 95% of the time...ANY multiple carb setup is generally a waste of time and $$$...but they do look cool. That setup you have a pic of is for a SBC...a Pontiac setup like that will be triple the price, as a guess.

Let's backup and start over...

A. What is your goal? What do you want as an end product?

B. What type of car will you use as the platform?

C. How much money do you want to spend?

Tell us those three things and we can get started...you change direction faster than Brittany Spears...

[Orange Terror]

X2 for Vortec heads if you want inexpensive. Even with the dedicated intake they are still very affordable. However, 400 hp will probably be pushing them to their very max at best, I would say you can get 350 hp with them reliably though. If you want to run Nitrous or forced induction you will at least need to step up to something like the Dart Iron eagle to get adequate flow to support it. As for aluminum, if you can afford them, go aluminum, lighter, and they dissipate heat better.

That edelbrock dual carb setup is WAYYYYY overkill. To much carb. The only reason to run a dual carb setup on the street like you are talking is for looks. Personally I would run a single Holley. Edelbrock carbs are reliable and simple, but a Holley style carb will make more power. A good 750-800 cfm Holley should do everything you want with ease.

As for your cam, if this is a flat tappet setup you might as well get the cam you want to start with, it will cost the same. Even if you are going roller, if you gotta buy a cam, might as well get a good one from the get go cause it will cost about the same, and buying good heads won't do you much good if you don't have a good cam to compliment them. Remember, all the parts have to work together, if they don't, you are just wasting money and time.

Goodluck.

[81DaytonaPaceCar]

X2 for Vortec heads if you want inexpensive. Even with the dedicated intake they are still very affordable. However, 400 hp will probably be pushing them to their very max at best, I would say you can get 350 hp with them reliably though. If you want to run Nitrous or forced induction you will at least need to step up to something like the Dart Iron eagle to get adequate flow to support it. As for aluminum, if you can afford them, go aluminum, lighter, and they dissipate heat better.

That edelbrock dual carb setup is WAYYYYY overkill. To much carb. The only reason to run a dual carb setup on the street like you are talking is for looks. Personally I would run a single Holley. Edelbrock carbs are reliable and simple, but a Holley style carb will make more power. A good 750-800 cfm Holley should do everything you want with ease.

As for your cam, if this is a flat tappet setup you might as well get the cam you want to start with, it will cost the same. Even if you are going roller, if you gotta buy a cam, might as well get a good one from the get go cause it will cost about the same, and buying good heads won't do you much good if you don't have a good cam to compliment them. Remember, all the parts have to work together, if they don't, you are just wasting money and time.

Goodluck.

Nice job, Jasen...we essentially quoted each other...lol...

[TSTONE]

thats because you share a brain

[phoenix_rising]

Ben, Ben, Ben...where to start...

1. Are you building a Chevy or a Pontiac? You can make a Chevy fit into a Bonny, but it's more work and more $$$. Conversely, to build a Pontiac motor will be more $$$ than a Chevy. I am building a Chevy for a Pontiac transplant. I have the motor now, I won't have the car for another 3-4 months or so.

2. Go aluminum heads if you can afford it...and, yes, buy them complete. Lighter and better heat dispersion. Okay, thats what I needed to hear.

3. Dual quads are a waste of time and $$$ 95% of the time...ANY multiple carb setup is generally a waste of time and $$$...but they do look cool. That setup you have a pic of is for a SBC...a Pontiac setup like that will be triple the price, as a guess. But they look so cool! If this is for a SBC than thats good because thats what I am builing.

Let's backup and start over...

A. What is your goal? What do you want as an end product? 500-700 RWHP using motor and 125-150 shot nitrous.

B. What type of car will you use as the platform? '67 Bonneville or something else if I find something I like better in the meantime.

C. How much money do you want to spend? As little as possible. I know, I know. I would like to put less than $5K into this project including the cost of the car but I am open to ideas.

Tell us those three things and we can get started...you change direction faster than Brittany Spears...

Well when I find a good deal on something I jump on it. When I found a complete 355 SBC longblock on a stand for $50 I could not pass it up. Since I am painting my firebird, I am not going to do any major performance mods to it. I will be building up this V8 to go into a race / street project. I can't help it. I don't have a lot of money at one time so I buy things in parts and pieces.

[Orange Terror]

Nice job, Jasen...we essentially quoted each other...lol...

Yeah, posted at the same time even, lol. Be less work if we communicated better, lol.

thats because you share a brain

I think somebody's jealous...........

[81DaytonaPaceCar]

1. Are you building a Chevy or a Pontiac? You can make a Chevy fit into a Bonny, but it's more work and more $$$. Conversely, to build a Pontiac motor will be more $$$ than a Chevy. I am building a Chevy for a Pontiac transplant. I have the motor now, I won't have the car for another 3-4 months or so.

2. Go aluminum heads if you can afford it...and, yes, buy them complete. Lighter and better heat dispersion. Okay, thats what I needed to hear.

3. Dual quads are a waste of time and $$$ 95% of the time...ANY multiple carb setup is generally a waste of time and $$$...but they do look cool. That setup you have a pic of is for a SBC...a Pontiac setup like that will be triple the price, as a guess. But they look so cool! If this is for a SBC than thats good because thats what I am builing.

Let's backup and start over...

A. What is your goal? What do you want as an end product? 500-700 RWHP using motor and 125-150 shot nitrous.

B. What type of car will you use as the platform? '67 Bonneville or something else if I find something I like better in the meantime.

C. How much money do you want to spend? As little as possible. I know, I know. I would like to put less than $5K into this project including the cost of the car but I am open to ideas.

Alright...let's go point by point...

A. No problem...it can be done. For a 67 Bonney, plan on new motor and trans mounts and driveshaft.

B. Keep in mind that resto parts for 67 Bonneys can be tough to find...a lot of one-year-only parts, especially trim parts...make sure it's as complete as possible.

C. $5K will be a challenge, especially including the cost of the car...for 500-700 RWHP, you'll have that into the motor before you're done. For arguments sake, let's say you want 500 RWHP with nitrous...this is what I would recommend as a start...

500 RWHP is essentially 500 flywheel horsepower before nitrous.

383 cubic inch SBC (350 block with 400 crank...do NOT skimp money on the crank, especially with nitrous).

Aluminum heads...I'll guess you'll want 11:1 compression...and don't skimp on the heads...the heads is where you make horsepower...

High quality rods and pistons...I'd go forged.

Intake and carb...avoid dual quads...this is where you can save money for important stuff...like heads...for a carb, you'll want a 750-800 cfm as a guess.

Ignition...another place to not skimp on money...buy the best you can afford...and no, the factory setup will not do...

Fuel...plan on an electric fuel pump.

Cooling...plan on spending money here too...factory setup will not do...

And then the cost of the nitrous setup...not sure what that would be.

But without the price of the car, and you doing a lot of the work yourself, the above list is probably $5000-7000 to do it right...as a ballpark.

OK...everyone pile on...lol...

EDIT: I didn't include the cost of the trans...I'd go Turbo 400, but you can build a 350 to do what you want it to do...another $1000.

And you'll probably want to go 12-bolt for a rear end...the Bonney likely has a 10...another $500-1000.