Hey Guys,
Putting together a fairly basic 400 w/30 over flat tops,480/230 hyd.cam,750dp Holley,1.6 rockers
Will be used strip/street, want to run 93 octane.
How much compression can i get by with?

What heads to you recommend?
64-72 cc chambers?
170-230 cc intakes?

World Torqures?
World II's
eldelbrock performers
dart
vortec
OTHERS?

Also, what intake would ya match with'em?
It gets kinda confusing!! So i'm to all suggestions.
thanks inadvance.

If you use iron heads...stick with about 9.5:1 compression. And on the heads you have mentioned, the Edelbrock aluminum's would be sweet. But for iron, I'd choose the Dart Iron Eagle heads. The flow better out of the box than the WP's and have bronze guides.

Compression would be told by the cc sze on the heads, and the pistons you use.

isnt 9.5-1 too low for a 230 duration cam?

If you will be using a flat top piston for sure you need fairly good size chamber to keep the compression down in the pump gas range. With iron heads you need a 76cc chamber to make 10:1, with aluminum heads you will need a 72cc chamber to make about 10.5:1. That is about your max static compression ratio for 93 octane gas with a 280* cam.

As for which heads to go with it depends a lot on your budget. I would look for heads with 195-210 cc intake runners with the larger end being more suited to strip duty.

As for brand --- AFR 195s or AFR 210s would be my choice if you have the cash to play with. If your converter is 3000+ and rear end gear 3.5:1+ I would lean towrd the AFR 210s with a Victor Jr intake. If your stall and gear are milder then I would look at the Performer RPM and AFR 195s. You can go either route with that cam although IMO it is better suited to the milder AFR 195 / Performer RPM combo.

If you really want max power out of this combo you may want to consider going with a solid flat tappet cam like the Comp XS282s. This cam would fit nicely with the AFR 210 / Vic Jr setup I mentioned above. Specs are: 282/288* advertised, 244/252* duration @ .050 lift, lift is .520/.540" on a 110* LSA.

Now there are also many different brands that will flow nearly as good as the AFRs for less money, so you may only be sacrificing a few HP with much cheaper heads. I would Look into Trick Flow 23* heads (available in 195cc or 210cc I believe) or even cheaper yet are the ProTopline heads which are available in aluminum or iron with many different sizes / combustion chamber configurations.

Hope this helps.

Hey Guys,

Update to my original post, i'm now getting the Block decked to zero.

Thanks, for the help.

I personally dont like the RPM heads, but hear that they've redone them.
(havent seen a set yet) I'd stick with a better head, like a Canfield, TFS, AFR,
and wouldnt hesitate to stick a 210-220 head on it, since per cubic inch it
would be like running a 195 on a 350. I would clean them up some, atleast
the ruf casting. It should make around 450hp/500tq, with a rpm intake, and
a 850, and make a nice cruiser.
11:1 is about the max for pump gas, and zero deck will help.
Good luck

Yes, 9.5 to 1 CR. is a bit low for a 280 cam but it still will get down the road quite well, imho... Anything over a 270 really needs more CR then 9.5 to 1 to run it's best...

My cheap 406 did quite well with one with just an old set of stock big valved -461 heads and a set of cheap headers!! But nothing like it would have if I woulda opted for a good set of heads!! pdq67

I don't think you would need an intake port larger than 195-200 cc's. That 280H cam with 1.6 rockers is .512 lift. The 210 cc and above heads will require more lift to take advantage of the flow through the port.


My choice would be the AFR 195's with the 74 cc chambers, and a Performer RPM intake.
Good Luck George

What about the Pro Top Line heads ? I've heard good things about them.

I'm extremely pleased with my Pro Topline aluminum heads (the 180cc runner, 64cc chamber). They make great power throughout the powerband! If you go with Pro, I'd put there 200cc runner head on that 406. Get whichever combustion chamber will get you between 9.5:1-10:1 I would say.

Dart Pro 1`s...200cc smile.gif

another vote for pro topline, thats what i run, and i love 'em. you will probably need a 76cc chamber with a zero decked 406 for pump gas compression. but with a good "fast burn" type chamber, like pro topline or dart or a bunch of others run now, a good tight quench and that 280 cam, you may be able to get away with 72cc chambers. i'd run no smaller than a 200cc runner regardless of head choice, also. just some things to remember, 400's like a little bigger everything than a 350, they'll soften up a larger cam, and like bigger heads to fill up the bigger bores/ longer stroke. but they are also sensitive to detonation it seems, so you need to be careful. 76cc chambers on the safe side, 72cc on the edge for pump gas. and they make a buttload of torque so don't worry about softening up the bottom end a bit. good luck you'll love it graemlins/thumbsup.gif btw, i think erics post sums it up nicely.

What is your ET/MPH goal?

Ya know i just want to put together a kinda hot, fun to drive street car then take her to the track and see what it does. On a tight budget so I'm using stuff that i've just had laying around, but i will spend $$ on the heads. Right now leaning toward the Dart 72/200cc. I think my set up will be with a power glide and 373 rear in a 67. What cha think?

The 'Glide and 3.73's, if you can keep her light should run quite well!!!

A 'Glide is really best in a 2800 or so pound car but like I said, maybe you can get yours down to the 3050 or so pound range and run well.

As always, jmho. pdq67

The Dart Heads are nice, I have been running a set for a couple years now. Pro 1 Aluminum on my 383, for your 400+ cube engine 200cc would be mild in my opinion. For what you want I think that might be just right. I have the 215cc on my 383, but I have more cam, gear, and compression. You might want to give Doug Herbert Racing a call. They had a good deal on them when I bought mine (including blended bowls). they suggested the 215's to me after asking the correct questions (use/cam/stall/gear). I think they leave me a little room to grow. After all you wouldn't want to buy them twice.

Ya got that right Camaroman, would'nt want to buy them twice. I guess thats why it's so hard to turn loose of the $$ until you think you've got it narrowed down and that goes for everything. That's where you guys on camaro.net ROCK!! Thanks for all the help, keep on keep'n on!!

sidsea

What size rods are you useing. 5.56, 5.7, or 6.0
What piston material are you useing. cast, hyper, or forged.

George

[ 07-13-2003, 04:22 AM: Message edited by: run-a-way-69 ]

I wouldn't use the Dart Pro 1s unless you are willing to do a little porting. The 200cc Pro 1's have a lot of extra material around the valve guides. The castings on the pair I looked at just looked rough. The ProToplines looked like they had been ported already - beautiful. Trick Flow ports look pretty nice to start with, but could use some very minor cleanup.

If you are willing to spend the money I would get the AFR's or Canfields with 200cc runners. If you don't want to spend as much money the Trick Flow heads are also very good, but the price has been creeping up lately which makes them a little less attractive than they were a couple years ago. If you are on a tight budget the ProToplines are a great deal.

On my budget, using stock rods and Hyper pistons, And the Pro Topline heads are looking better and better.

just so you don't feel bad about going with the pro toplines, my heads outflowed my buddies pro 1's on the exact same flowbench. and across the board, for the most part. i know flow numbers aren't everything, but it cost him about another 3-400$ in port work to surpass my box stock pro actions, just because he had too :D . great heads and they do perform, i might add graemlins/thumbsup.gif

If you install the cam with the built in 4º advance you should run aluminum heads with 72cc chambers. The DCR worksout to be 8.35.

If you use a timingset that is adjustable you can retard the cam timing 4º this will bring your DCR down to 8.09 you can now run the cheaper iron heads 72cc.

There are some tradeoffs in retarding the cam 4º you'll lose a bit of torque approx. 10 ftlbs. but you'll gain a little horsepower up top maybe 15 and the power band will move up a few hundred rpm's.

As for the tranny I think you'll like a turbo 350 much better.
Good Luck George