sbc aluminum heads? affordable or headache?

[hotrod preacher]

have been looking at alot of adds lately (dabay) offering "cheap" aluminum heads...2.02 valves springs, guide plates etc. one place is even a machine shop claiming to "build" these castings making them "ready to bolt on" pro-stars, pro-comps, and others...anybody used any of these??

not to be rude, but i don't want the "get what ya pay for lecture" i'm wanting to know if any one has ACTUALLY USED ANY OF THESE HEADS, OR KNOW SOMEONE WHO HAS

i'm really not wanting to spend 600-700 right now, but if i wind up with 400 in stock vortec replacements, it seems as if this would be an improvement...just a lil better than what i got or not

 

[TiredIronGRB]

One of the largest sellers on eBay is SkipWhite, he shop is just down the road from me and he has the best prices out there and stands behind his parts. If you call him ask for Charlie and tell him George sent you.

I've used several sets of these heads and had good success with them.

 

[sgtpontiac]

Yep, Skip White..... bought a few items from them...

One of the largest sellers on eBay is SkipWhite, he shop is just down the road from me and he has the best prices out there and stands behind his parts. If you call him ask for Charlie and tell him George sent you.

I've used several sets of these heads and had good success with them.

Always had good luck with them......jmho

 

[Tripper]

Preacher,
My fav add-on. WAY lighter & they look kool too. Just remember though... they warp if they get overheated! While u're at it... mite as well get some that have been ported & matched... that really wakes 'um up!!! Try to buy a clean used pair on daBay!

BoB

 

[hotrodbill]

The thing about those cheep heads isn't the heads themselves....it's the valvetrain. If they were assembled with cheep China Junk valve train, you can expect a droped valve or broken spring.

I've heard good things about the skipwhite heads, because he assembles them "in house" with quality valve train parts.

 

[hotrod preacher]

a big thanks already guys! skipwhite has the ones i really liked and thought since they were supposed to be built by them that they ought to be ok...

a special thanks Tirediron for the info, knowing that this guy meets your approval means something to me...

right now i must wait until i find out whether this round of vortecs are good--if not, skipwhite will be getting a call from me

"IT'S A BIRD! IT'S A PLANE! IT'S A.....WHAT THE? HAVE YOU EVER SEEN A 46 FORD FLY LIKE THAT?!?!? BWHAHAHAHA[ddd

 

[RPM]

I have a set of heads from Skip White. I need more seat pressure to run a blower, So I took the heads all apart and checked them all out. I called and talked to Skip himself, and made arrangements to take the heads back to him. We are just about 75 miles away. So I went on a Saturday morning as planned and the head guy layed out. So I told him I worked in a race shop for about 10 years and knew how to do it, if I could just use the spring checker. He took me back in the shop, showed me where all the stuff was and left. So I set up all my springs and used some of their shims. So when I got done and was going to pay for the shims he gave them to me. They have a great shop and great people to work with.

 

[hotrod preacher]

that is a guy going the extra mile for ya RPM, and it says alot to me about the kind of people that run that company...

i'm still waiting to see where my machinist is on the last round of factory vortecs, but if they're cracked, skipwhite will be getting my money...


thanks again for the comments/references

 

[jfg455]

Some of the pro comp, pro star BBC heads had a bunch off issues with port alignment. Intakes would not seal, big variations in port wall thickness etc. you get what you pay for. At least Skip white checks and assembles his own with quality parts.

 

[hotrod preacher]

alright guys, for the next "dumb question" about aluminum heads....or maybe 2

1) does a guy need special bolts or bolts w/washers on aluminum heads? -do you run 'em or not

2) how about the head gaskets? special there as well? or will a "regular" head gasket work?



thanks guys!
maybe this will be the last round...still trying to talk myself into it-

 

[RPM]

alright guys, for the next "dumb question" about aluminum heads....or maybe 2

1) does a guy need special bolts or bolts w/washers on aluminum heads? -do you run 'em or not

2) how about the head gaskets? special there as well? or will a "regular" head gasket work?



thanks guys!
maybe this will be the last round...still trying to talk myself into it-

Yep got to run special bolts and washers. Whites has them also and yes a special head gasket too. Felpro has them but can't remember the #.

 

[tator]

I have pro-comp cylinder heads from Skip White on my 29 studebaker. The car is on it's second season of drag racing and is street driven. The car has ran 137 mph in the quarter mile at 6600 rpms. The only problem I had was some cold water leaks from the head gaskets when the motor was first put together. We ran the motor up to temp. and let cool several times and things worked out. the intake manifold is also from pro-comp which mated to the heads with no problem. They come with the head bolts and guide plates for the push rods, and gaskets, but they do take 100 thousands pushrod longer than stock. I ran the 1-6 rockers. Good luck.....Terry

 

[Crossfire]

Aluminum heads

Before laying down the cash do a complete check on the vendor you are using. Prices may be good but customer service sucks after you recieve the part so do a complete search on the vendor. To many just middleman vendors sending out products these days that they never even see,just order takers.

 

[RPM]

Before laying down the cash do a complete check on the vendor you are using. Prices may be good but customer service sucks after you recieve the part so do a complete search on the vendor. To many just middleman vendors sending out products these days that they never even see,just order takers.

You could not have read this thread!

 

[Crossfire]

thread read

Yeah,read the thread did some research on vendor everybody is recommending to him and decided not to use that said vendor. To many negative posts and in responce the vendor doesn"t take responcibility and right the problems. If you get good service good for you.All I said was for the op to check out his vendors before investing in parts.If you got a problem with that so be it.

 

[hotrod preacher]

99.8% positive feedback, "excellent" track record....yeah i'd be worried with only 93479 transactions and that rating...[S
...sorry you feel that way crossfire, but this guys reputation is not exactly what the thread is about, but whether or not these "generic" sbc heads are any good...and i have gotten enough info from the guys here on this site to convince me if i use aluminum heads they will come from this guy...

thanks again every body

 

[Outlawracer]

I have bought stuff from Skip White and had no problems. As far as the Pro Comp heads they did have a bad rap for awhile but in the last couple of years they have came around very well. I have not used the small block heads but have a set of oval port big block Pro Comp heads. When I got them I disassembled them and checked everything out. I matched the gaskets and cleaned up the bowl areas. Have had them on for over a year and have had no problems and they seem to work well. I had to use Manley head bolts and washers. Longer push rods which I got from Trick Flow and Fel Pro head gaskets. The head gaskets and head bolts I also got from Skip White.

 

[NitroJohnny]

Bolts and gaskets? I would get a new set of ARP head bolts. Actually I use studs and nuts, not bolts. Go look at the ARP website and you will see that they use the exact same bolts and studs for all 23 degree heads, cast iron or aluminum and this includes Dart, Brodix, Trick Flow and most World products and Edelbrock. And yes, stock gaskets will work. We run stock Fel-Pro gaskets on our stock car motors with no issues. These are up to about 600 hp. I ran them on my dragster motor. 565 Reher-Morrison 1000hp with no issues. Reher-Morrison does not sell any special head bolts. Just new sets of ARP's. Now sometimes we do run a copper head gasket, but not very often. We run a copper gasket on our ProMod motor that is a dual plug Brad Anderson blown alcohol and over 3000hp and also on our Top Sportsman motors that with nitrous make about 1900-2000hp.

But for street motors, I would just stick with a stock head gasket. You can get them in different thickness's so you can adjust your compression a little and account for any deck height issues you may have. The copper gaskets can leak easier than a stock gasket.

The heads themselves. Just research them before you buy them. Seems like the guy you guys are talking about is a good guy to deal with. I also like Dart heads myself. Brodix is my second choice depending on what we are trying to achieve.

Hope this helps.

 

[hotrod preacher]

thanks johnny for the info and every one else as well, i bought a set of heads from skip, also bought mls head gaskets, bolts, and pushrods, however the pushrod length was not long enough on my application, so i'm now awaiting a set .200 longer...

cannot figure how to thumbnail my laptop pics so here is a link to one

https://www.facebook.com/home.php?sk=lf#!/photo.php?fbid=1403614546465&set=a.1237713599045.294

 

[NitroJohnny]

No problem. I try to help when I can. And the linky no worky... Good luck on your new heads. They not only drop weight but almost always flow better and create more hp. So you get 2 things working for you. And be carefull when porting, valve sizes ect.. Bigger is not always better. Its all about velocity and atomizing fuel mixtures properly for your setup. So have them setup for your chosen cam, carb ect.. You'll be happier when you get it right the first time. Chasing power always sucks and can get expensive.