440 source heads

[Tom J]

Hello All! Wondering what yall's thoughts are on the 440 Source stealth (single spring) heads are? Thinking of getting a set for a low compression 440. Looking to also replace cam...ideas? Have a performer RPM intake on motor now.
Looking for set up suggestions ETC.. Car has 727 stock converter and 8 3/4 sure grip with 3.73 gears.
Thanks for help in advance!

 

[68-500]

What year 440, 1967? If so I wouldn’t bother switching cylinder heads. As fat as camshaft I would contact a grinder like Jones Cams and ask for a custom grind.

 

[Sinitro]

Best Mopar wedge performance heads on a budget...

Just my $0.02..

 

[furious70]

I had Dwayne (PRHeads) brush up a set that I'm going to put on a 72 440 with a comp 501/510 solid and a gear vendor OD and 4.10's. I expect it'll run ok.

 

[matthon]

I got the dual spring heads on a bored 383, less expensive than rebuilding the 915s I was going to use, lighter, iirc flow better.

I ran it with an RPM intake for a bit, no complaints.

 

[Runcharger]

Decent upgrade I think. And man that's a great looking 66!

 

[RebelRider]

What did you end up doing? Anyone know if I would be around the same money reworking a set of 915 heads?

 

[RemCharger]

What did you end up doing? Anyone know if I would be around the same money reworking a set of 915 heads?

Yes. There's many different operations to rebuilding a stock pair of heads. Seats. Guides. Valves. Springs. Retainers keepers. Milling. Cleaning. Crack checking.
It all adds up fast

 

[PRHeads]

Yes. There's many different operations to rebuilding a stock pair of heads. Seats. Guides. Valves. Springs. Retainers keepers. Milling. Cleaning. Crack checking.
It all adds up fast

Add to the variables……. What the auto machine shop labor costs in your area are.

At my shop it’s not hard for the price of reworking factory BBM heads to exceed the cost of a pair of Stealths.

 

[Some Car Guy]

Used to be stock ones called Aeroheads that Indy sold that were set up with bigger valves and hard seats. Seems like they were like 600 bucks a pair and you could pick the casting number for 100 more. Not sure they did 915s. I haven’t seen a price sheet for several years though. Seems that ended with Covid.

 

[Gunner1]

I bought the CNC Stealths. Double springs and 10 degree locks. Put them on a 2355 flat top, .017 down. Isky 292 mega cam, 242@050 .500 lift, 108 Lsa, rpm intake, 750 Holley. 2800 stall, 3.73 gears and a Detroit locker. 275/60/15 tires. Mild idle. 750 hot in gear. Drives easy or boils the tires. Your choice. Flows about 280 at about .500 lift.

 

[68-500]

Add to the variables……. What the auto machine shop labor costs in your area are.

At my shop it’s not hard for the price of reworking factory BBM heads to exceed the cost of a pair of Stealths.

Maybe just me. But I think I would rather have the factory castings, probably 1 of few that think that way.

 

[RemCharger]

Maybe just me. But I think I would rather have the factory castings, probably 1 of few that think that way.

You aren't alone. But the guys that want the most bang for the buck are going to want newer better flowing heads for cheaper. Factor in time.. it's a no brainer.

 

[451Mopar]

The Stealth heads are good for the price. I did not use them out of the box, they were a bit dirty out of the box also, so need cleaned.
I did minor blending from the bowls to the valve seats and gasket match, the machine shop checked the valve guides which were OK, but did a valve job on them.
Used with hydraulic roller cam, so the springs were replaced with matching 10-degree retainers and locks.
They are way lighter than steel heads, and a decent replacement head. Pretty much the only aluminum heads that look close to factory heads.
They perform good, but if looking for all out performance, there are better heads out there.
Last year I bought a set of the CNC ported heads when they had a sale on them. Seems they were cleaned/bagged better, and looked clean out of the bags.
I haven't tore them down yet. Just getting started on the engine. Got the parts and now need to get a machine shop. The machine shop I used to use has closed.

 

[Black_Sheep]

The Stealth heads are good for the price. I did not use them out of the box, they were a bit dirty out of the box also, so need cleaned.
I did minor blending from the bowls to the valve seats and gasket match, the machine shop checked the valve guides which were OK, but did a valve job on them.
Used with hydraulic roller cam, so the springs were replaced with matching 10-degree retainers and locks.
They are way lighter than steel heads, and a decent replacement head. Pretty much the only aluminum heads that look close to factory heads.
They perform good, but if looking for all out performance, there are better heads out there.
Last year I bought a set of the CNC ported heads when they had a sale on them. Seems they were cleaned/bagged better, and looked clean out of the bags.
I haven't tore them down yet. Just getting started on the engine. Got the parts and now need to get a machine shop. The machine shop I used to use has closed.

When you have to take new heads to a machine shop to have them checked and possibly reworked, how much does it cost? Maybe “budget heads” aren’t such a good value after all…

 

[Some Car Guy]

When you have to take new heads to a machine shop to have them checked and possibly reworked, how much does it cost? Maybe “budget heads” aren’t such a good value after all…

I had a build I was considering several years back, maybe ten, and for a mopar shop to give a set of new aluminum heads a going over was I believe 200-250. I trust the shop and had work done there before. I was told it is not uncommon to check a new set from pretty much all brands and find loose or tight guides or valve job off.

I thought it over and considered the chance I’d have problems and the time and expense of taking them back off and shipping them against that price and decided it isn’t worth it to me to chance it. Might be different if a mopar shop is local and you are out onky a few dollars gas to get them there.

One thing I’ve always remembered was a set of heads I bought decades ago. I ended up talking to the guy that had ran them and he said what a dog that engine had been without nitrous. I sent the heads off after I found the valve job was really shitty and the Chuck Millen said the guides were trashed after they looked at them.

I told him we should cc them while we’re at it since so much was wrong, and they came up at over 100 cc chambers! We settled on milling them to 80 so it wouldn’t be hard to make your compression number with common pistons. I dont think a few dollars on the front end to avoid all the possible problems is a major cost versus all that.

 

[Mopar Hunter]

I was told it is not uncommon to check a new set from pretty much all brands and find loose or tight guides or valve job off.

I have never heard of anybody needing to take Trick Flow heads to a machine shop to have fixed or checked, I’m sure Trick Flow would want them back for quality control.

 

[451Mopar]

I have taken every head to the machine shop (Dave Sarno at SCH Racing Heads) to be inspected and have at least one port flowed.
The old stealth heads I blended the bowls and just cleaned up the ports and the shop put a multi-angle valve job on, I believe flowed in the low to mid 290's cfm. I don't recall exact, know it was over 290, but under 300. As I recall, the low lift numbers were pretty good compared to the B-1 B/S heads I had flowed at the same time. The B-1 B/S heads were a better at higher lifts, but not by much.
The trick flow 240s did check out fine out of the box. I think the trick flow heads flowed about as advertised, around 330 cfm. Same for the Hughes Engines CNC Max Wedge Victor heads, and they did flow 400 cfm.
I like that Trick Flow offers 4 different valve spring packages for their heads. They are twice the cost of the unported Stealth heads
The CNC stealth heads are still in the box and haven't had them flowed or inspected yet.

 

[Some Car Guy]

I have never heard of anybody needing to take Trick Flow heads to a machine shop to have fixed or checked, I’m sure Trick Flow would want them back for quality control.

All well and fine until it isn’t. Molds wear down, machines do too. QC gets discarded for extra profit. I used to have perfect luck with edelbrock, for decades, this year they sent me the first water pump I’ve ever had that was made wrong. They made the deal right, but it cost me a nice weekend out in the car waiting for the new one. Private equity guys aren’t the only ones that let things slide either.

My point was eating shipping costs and lost time isn’t worth it to me when I open the box and find out the hard way something is even a little bit off.

 

[Mopar Hunter]

All well and fine until it isn’t. Molds wear down, machines do too.

I’m sure if I took a pair of heads to 10 machine shops, all of them will say they need worked after the first machine shop worked on them.