Edelbrock RPM aluminum heads for 360LA.. opinions

[Scooter]

Everyone that I trust that have worked with the Edelbrock SBM heads says that the quality has slipped significantly in recent years.  Poor casting and finish machining.  Cruddy valve jobs and occasionally a sticky valve. 
If you do go with the Edelbrock, they will work, but you would be smart to have a good shop go through them.  Will add a couple hundred to the cost.

Other options for aluminum:
Speedmaster heads. As cast or CNC, bare or completely assembled.  Pretty good casting that flows well.  Least expensive solution but you would be wise to have them gone through and probably a new valve job.

ProMaxx 171.  I have a set and they are nice.  Excellent casting and machine finish, good parts and no issues out of the box.  Cast offshore but machined and assembled in the USA.  Reasonable mid-range pricing IMO.

TrickFlow. Probably the best out there and the easy button, but quality comes at a price.

Would love to have the TrickFlow but price, availability and not sure if they will work out of the box with my TTI shorty's.

Looked at the Speedmaster CNC & non-CNC last night. Not a bad looking piece of kit bit I think the front of the head only has one threaded accessory mount hole. I need all 3 for my aftermarket AC bracket. And again.. unsure if they will work out of the box with my TTI headers.

Will look at the ProMaxx 171 when I get home tonight. *** Just took a look.. Summit will not be shipping any until June. Jegs says wont ship till August..***

Of the heads listed (non Eddy's) anyone have a set that gave issues with TTI headers?

[Scooter]

I have personally had good luck with them. I like the fact that everything is new, they save weight and tolerate a little more compression. One set running stock out of the box on my 340 Road Runner and a ported set on my Cuda. The flow numbers are low compared to the TFS's. Here's the true numbers on mine before and after porting. I have several sets of factory heads but it cost a small fortune to redo them these days. You have to figure they need everything.

^^ This. Seems some consider the Eddy heads anchor iron... some perfectly happy. Thing that is making me lean toward rolling the bones with the Eddy's is comparability. Possible casting~valvetrain quality issues aside... I know they will work with everything currently in my ride.

[Shane Kelley]

I think Bruce Toth has a line of aluminum cylinder heads. Look a lot like the Eddies.  I think he sells them different ways from stock to fully ported.

https://www.facebook.com/Toth-Performance-cylinder-head-service-258762894475356/

[Chryco Psycho]

I believe Indy still has the LA X heads but I have no experience with them.

[ledphoot]

Accessories mount up, including TTI headers.

Here is the first start of my stroker once it was in the car. Zero tune on the Holley sniper.

[gzig5]

Accessories mount up, including TTI headers.

Here is the first start of my stroker once it was in the car. Zero tune on the Holley sniper.

Cam specs?

[Scooter]

Everyone that I trust that have worked with the Edelbrock SBM heads says that the quality has slipped significantly in recent years.  Poor casting and finish machining.  Cruddy valve jobs and occasionally a sticky valve. 
If you do go with the Edelbrock, they will work, but you would be smart to have a good shop go through them.  Will add a couple hundred to the cost.

Other options for aluminum:
Speedmaster heads. As cast or CNC, bare or completely assembled.  Pretty good casting that flows well.  Least expensive solution but you would be wise to have them gone through and probably a new valve job.

ProMaxx 171.  I have a set and they are nice.  Excellent casting and machine finish, good parts and no issues out of the box.  Cast offshore but machined and assembled in the USA.  Reasonable mid-range pricing IMO.

TrickFlow. Probably the best out there and the easy button, but quality comes at a price.

Did a lot of reading the last few days.

Speedmaster heads are out as they are a bit longer up front on the passenger side and I need as close to stock as possible due to the Vintage Air compressor & alternator bracket.

Just received an email back from a rep at ProMaxx and they have SB Mopar castings.. If I order today shipping will be in about 4 weeks. Can you tell me what the fitment is like on your Promaxx heads? Are they pretty flush to the block on the passenger side? Would you be able to post up a photo? Been searching the interwebby and am unable to find.

thx
-Scoot

[Northcuda]

I use Indy 360-1 heads with TTI manifolds on my 416 ci but the price of these heads is expensive.
There are also Brodix B1BA cylinder heads at Shanon's engineering. https://shanonsengineering.com/products/brodix-b1ba-series-small-block-mopar-195-65cc-cylinder-heads-bare-3180000
I also used Speedmaster CNC cylinder heads on 393ci with TTI which were very good value for money and very well finished. The finishes are superior to Indy.

[Scooter]

^^ Thanks for the info all who posted!

I just bit the bullet and ordered a set of ProMaxx 171's direct from the website, $1540 for the pair shipped. Hoping they arrive in the est. 4 weeks.

[ledphoot]

Cam specs?

Comp Cams XE284 Cam 240/246 @.050 .507/.510

If I were doing a stroker build today I'd likely use a roller cam. A friend of mine did and got similar horsepower with slightly better idle characteristics, i.e. more steetable.

[Scooter]

Cam specs?

Comp Cams XE284 Cam 240/246 @.050 .507/.510

If I were doing a stroker build today I'd likely use a roller cam. A friend of mine did and got similar horsepower with slightly better idle characteristics, i.e. more steetable.

Nice.. what rocker setup did you go with?

[7212Mopar]

Roller cam, lifters and roller rockers are worth the money IMO. If stay away from the fancy aluminum type, the price difference is not too bad. No need to worry about wiped cam lope and need for special oil.

[ledphoot]

Just crane gold

[gzig5]

Everyone that I trust that have worked with the Edelbrock SBM heads says that the quality has slipped significantly in recent years.  Poor casting and finish machining.  Cruddy valve jobs and occasionally a sticky valve. 
If you do go with the Edelbrock, they will work, but you would be smart to have a good shop go through them.  Will add a couple hundred to the cost.

Other options for aluminum:
Speedmaster heads. As cast or CNC, bare or completely assembled.  Pretty good casting that flows well.  Least expensive solution but you would be wise to have them gone through and probably a new valve job.

ProMaxx 171.  I have a set and they are nice.  Excellent casting and machine finish, good parts and no issues out of the box.  Cast offshore but machined and assembled in the USA.  Reasonable mid-range pricing IMO.

TrickFlow. Probably the best out there and the easy button, but quality comes at a price.

Did a lot of reading the last few days.

Speedmaster heads are out as they are a bit longer up front on the passenger side and I need as close to stock as possible due to the Vintage Air compressor & alternator bracket.

Just received an email back from a rep at ProMaxx and they have SB Mopar castings.. If I order today shipping will be in about 4 weeks. Can you tell me what the fitment is like on your Promaxx heads? Are they pretty flush to the block on the passenger side? Would you be able to post up a photo? Been searching the interwebby and am unable to find.

thx
-Scoot

Sorry, just saw this.  You may find out before I do.  I don't have the heads mounted.  Car and engine are currently blown apart.  I might be able to set a head on the block later this weekend, but I have to get them from storage. 
Either way, I don't think you'll have any major problems.  Header fitment is straight forward and accessory fitment can be tweaked.  Lots of people running Eddy and SM heads without issue and the ProMaxx are supposed to be the same on the outside.

[Scooter]

Everyone that I trust that have worked with the Edelbrock SBM heads says that the quality has slipped significantly in recent years.  Poor casting and finish machining.  Cruddy valve jobs and occasionally a sticky valve. 
If you do go with the Edelbrock, they will work, but you would be smart to have a good shop go through them.  Will add a couple hundred to the cost.

Other options for aluminum:
Speedmaster heads. As cast or CNC, bare or completely assembled.  Pretty good casting that flows well.  Least expensive solution but you would be wise to have them gone through and probably a new valve job.

ProMaxx 171.  I have a set and they are nice.  Excellent casting and machine finish, good parts and no issues out of the box.  Cast offshore but machined and assembled in the USA.  Reasonable mid-range pricing IMO.

TrickFlow. Probably the best out there and the easy button, but quality comes at a price.

Did a lot of reading the last few days.

Speedmaster heads are out as they are a bit longer up front on the passenger side and I need as close to stock as possible due to the Vintage Air compressor & alternator bracket.

Just received an email back from a rep at ProMaxx and they have SB Mopar castings.. If I order today shipping will be in about 4 weeks. Can you tell me what the fitment is like on your Promaxx heads? Are they pretty flush to the block on the passenger side? Would you be able to post up a photo? Been searching the interwebby and am unable to find.

thx
-Scoot

Sorry, just saw this.  You may find out before I do.  I don't have the heads mounted.  Car and engine are currently blown apart.  I might be able to set a head on the block later this weekend, but I have to get them from storage. 
Either way, I don't think you'll have any major problems.  Header fitment is straight forward and accessory fitment can be tweaked.  Lots of people running Eddy and SM heads without issue and the ProMaxx are supposed to be the same on the outside.

^^ LOL.. no worries. Don't bother pulling anything out of storage. I've already ordered and as you say will just have to sort out any fitment issues like anything else... hopefully not with a hammer. Don't think my TTI shorty's will present any mounting issues. My biggest concern is the clearance at the front of the passenger side head where the Vintage Air compressor and alternator mount is. It's one solid piece and as is the backside of the alternator barely clears the front of the head.

Called my machinist buddy who rebuilt the heads on my 390FE and he is going to check the heads out for me when they arrive.