Here's the link to the heads in question:

http://www.thirdgen.org/techboard/en...ild-202-a.html

#416 casting heads, from what I've read these are a good flowing stock 305 head. He says it has springs and retainers good for up to .525" of lift, and stainless valves. Looks like he did some P&P on them as well.

My question, what power difference will I see between these heads and a set of worked over Vortec heads? Worth spending the extra $250 or so for the Vortecs?

The heads will be used in conjunction with Comp Cams' Thumpr 12-601-4 cam (.489/.476 lift @287/305 duration)

While we're on the subject, is that going to be too much cam for a street driven DD? I'm also running 1.6/1.5 ratio RR's that will bring the intake lift to about .522".

Would I be better suited running the 12-600-4 (.479/.465 lift @279/297 duration)? With the 1.6 ratio intake RR's that would bring the intake lift to .510".

My goal is 350RWHP (400-425 at the crank.)

 

I actually just saw a 355 on youtube setup similar to what I'm doing, with a Crane 1064 cam. It sounded BEAUTIFUL!

 

Well I think the 416's are out of the picture. I'm pretty certain I'm going with a set of 210cc runners/64cc combustion chamber Pro Comp aluminum heads.

Yes, Pro Comp. After much research, I've found that Pro Comp has much improved their quality over the last few years. I've seen few negative reviews on their new revised aluminum heads. Nothing worse than Patirot or Edelbrock heads honestly.

I think I'm going with the Crane 1064 cam as well. I'll be getting the heads (fully assembled) with the Crane 1064 cam and Eaton anti pump up lifters for about $725 shipped.

Hard to beat that...

 

That's probably just as well on the 416's. I was gonna recommend the Vortec heads over those since you were considering them, but I guess you ruled those out as well? I don't know much about the Pro Comp heads, but that whole package is a good deal for that price...if the heads are any good. Where are you getting them from anyway? FYI, if a tight budget isn't an issue, AFR aluminum heads would really be the way to go.

 

Ummmmm.....http://www.hotrodders.com/forum/awar...ads-86598.html

 

Really, I was set on the Patriot Performance Vortecs. $630 assembled for the pair. I got on ebay to see if I could find some deals, and of course the Pro Comps kept coming up. Normally when I see Pro Comp I think garbage, but I decided to do some investigating and contrary to my belief, Pro Comp is starting to make a good name for themselves.

I still see plenty of negatives, but most are from people that don't actually own any Pro Comp products. The rest of the negatives are from people who had problems with the distributor they bought the heads from, but then of course you still have a few that have problems with manufacturing defects. This happens with any manufacturer though.

I'll be buying the heads from Skip White Performance. They're a machine/speed shop in Tennessee, and use all the parts they sell themselves. They seem like knowledgeable, trustworthy people and I can't find anything negative about them. I hear a lot of bad things about Pro Comp's electronic products, so I'm staying clear of those. However, they also offer a nice rocker arm stud girdle, valve covers, balancer, head stud kit, oil pan, and a few other things for a great price. I figure I see what kind of quality the heads are. If they seem nice, I'll look into buying some more parts from them.

I am on a tight budget, and that's why these heads seem appealing. The AFR's are VERY nice heads. I almost bought a set recently, but that would have blown my budget way out.

I'm building a budget, daily driver street rod that'll see the track a couple times a year. I'm shooting for around 420hp at the crank, and that's exactly what Skip White produced with his stage 1 engine. The bottom end specs are almost identical to mine, coupled with the Pro Comp heads and a Crane 1064 cam.

Here's a video of their Datsun running an 11.9 with that setup:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BGH4JJ4HxtY

 

I read that. It was posted 3 years ago. This the old style Pro Comp heads, not the revised style. Part of the problem too was the guy bought them from a shady distributor. He claimed they were made in Australia, and sent two sets of mismatched heads.

Here's a link to the heads:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/SBC-C...item4cec64176e

 

If Pro Comp cleaned up their act, then I guess it's hard not to consider them. The only thing I've heard about them is not much good, that quality was hit and miss. But, that can just be their bad reputation from the past that they have to overcome, if that's no longer the case. You can be the guinea pig then, and let us know how they are. You going with angle or straight plug, or do they not have an option?

 

I don't know for certain that they have in fact cleaned up their act, but weighing the good and the bad, I think I am in fact going to be the guinea pig. If anything, they have a good warranty and Skip White backs his products pretty well from what I've seen.

I plan on angle plug heads, I'm going to be running Hedman Elite ceramic coated long tubes and they specifically say they'll work with angle plug aluminum heads. Angle plugs are preferred because of their slightly better combustion properties, correct?

 

It depends on the design. The concept is that if the plugs are angled towards the exhaust valves, it produces more power. But some more modern straight plug heads have the plugs closer as well. The bigger benefit as I see it would be better plug to header clearance, unless the Pro Comp's have some funky angles.
I've run some comparison numbers, and narrowed my wish list down to the AFR heads. I know someone who has a set of angle plug AFR's on his Camaro. All the plugs and boots clear the headers so well, you could practically put them on with your eyes closed.