I have decided to order a set of sportsman II heads and have them pocket-ported and install them on a 355 cu. in. sbc engine. I have been told that they do not flow as well as other heads in their price range. I am interested in everyone's opinion. Could i have made a better choice in a cast iron cylinder head?

better off with something like Trick Flow, or Dart Pro 1.

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by mwcox:
Could i have made a better choice in a cast iron cylinder head?<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

YES.

I, myself have Sportsman IIs, so keep in mind this is from ACTUAL personal experience, NOT HEARSAY and I am only relating my experience.

If I had it do over again I would have absolutely purchased something else with the additional knowledge I've gained since I bought them 3 or 4 years ago.

What we are finding out from some of the dyno tests published and some real world results is that the Sportsmans tend to have a poorer exhaust port than most aftermarket heads. This compared to some of the other cast iron heads available. Some, including myself, have also encountered valve guide seepage and subsequent excess oil consumption very early on, ie: my motor has less than 20 (yep, 20!) miles on it and I've noticed WET exhaust ports with the headers off.

Since I bought my heads these dyno tests have been published, information via the internet has come about, and better products have become available.

My opinion? If you haven't placed the order yet call AFR and inquire about the Pro Actions. I don't think there is anyone on this board yet who is using these heads (hopefully soon) but the AFR name speaks for itself around here. I think the heads are made in Australia but I think if AFR dares to carry them they must be pretty good. http://www.camaros.net/forum/smile.gif

If you have already placed your order and don't want to send them back then go ahead with your plans to use them. They are decent heads. I plan on getting into the 11's with just the pocket porting I already performed on them if I don't get an offer from someone who wants to buy them.

Rod


[This message has been edited by rmcamaro (edited 03-23-2002).]

I also own the Sportsman II's. Mine were bought about 2 years ago now. My motor has 3500 miles on it and doesn't burn oil like some people have had problems with.

That aside, I wish I woulda known what I know now 8 months ago when I installed this motor. It's highly likely had I known otherwise, that a set of aluminum heads from TFS would be sitting on my motor.

If you can, cancel that order. There is more power/quality to be had with another head.

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79' Z28 4-spd- built 355, TRW 10:1 forged flat tops, WP SportsmanII heads, Crane Energizer 228* duration .480" lift, Edelbrock Victor Jr., Holley 750cfm, Dynomax headers, dual 3" flowmasters :) 3.73 Posi 10-bolt

when i got my afr,s 2 months ago i inquired about the pro lighning heads. afr told me they stopped handing them.

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by sheetmetal:
when i got my afr,s 2 months ago i inquired about the pro lighning heads. afr told me they stopped handing them.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Hmmmm... I wonder what happened.

Rod

Thanks very much for the input. The heads have already been ordered and i should receive them on monday. When they get here they are going directly to my local speed shop to have the exhaust ports worked on and the valve guides checked and or replaced.Maybe we will get them right the first time, thanks again.

Mine is a classic case of having to gather parts over a long period of time before a build-up. Mine's my big engine. I went with oval Merlins years ago but if I had it to do over again, I would opt for small port BB aluminum heads just to remove some weight off my cars nose, but they weren't around back then in the price ranges and selection like now.

I am learning not to second guess myself but rather just be happy with what I was able to do at the time.

"Woulda, shoulda, coulda" will stop you cold because parts change constantly!!

Just my 2 cents worth. pdq67

I think we were posting at the same time and i agree totally with what you say. I am not trying to build the ultimate top fuel, pro stock, just trying to get something decent to ride around on the street on warm dry weekends. I have grown to loath the rice burning family car i have been driving for the last 15 years and am ready for the rumble of a stout sounding v8. And i hope that this time i have enough maturity to stay far away from mr. john law and just enjoy the thrill of a high performance street machine. My wife says i am having a mid-life crisis...ha ha.

I took my dart sportman II out of the box and had the bowls blended and pockets ported and polished and have not had any problems with them. They made a big differance over the stock heads and I still have less in them then what the trickflows sell for.

hey i love my mid-life crisses, just wished it would have happened sooner, id be farther along on the project.

I'm having mine at 18 http://www.camaros.net/forum/biggrin.gif.

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79' Z28 4-spd- built 355, TRW 10:1 forged flat tops, WP SportsmanII heads, Crane Energizer 228* duration .480" lift, Edelbrock Victor Jr., Holley 750cfm, Dynomax headers, dual 3" flowmasters :) 3.73 Posi 10-bolt

well, if this is a mid lif crisis i'm done at 34 http://www.camaros.net/forum/eek.gif

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by speedy-Z:
I took my dart sportman II out of the box and had the bowls blended and pockets ported and polished and have not had any problems with them. They made a big differance over the stock heads and I still have less in them then what the trickflows sell for.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

I agree, I some on my '69 Chevelle with a 383. I ran 11.5 in the quarter and drove daily, never had one problem.


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Cable Bright
-'87 Camaro Z28
-'91 Caprice 9C1
-'70 El Camino 454 RAT

"....after all, people just want a normal life and a cool car....most people settle for the car."

I'd look at AFR street heads or Trick Flow 23degree heads if you want to spend a little less $$$

Hey rmcamaro, I see Competition Products carries those Australian Pro heads in iron or aluminum. In their catalog they are 549 for iron and 699 for aluminum. I assume that's bare but it doesn't say. I have emailed them for an assembled price. Has anybody used these?

I was interested in buying a new set of Sportsman 2 heads a few years ago. The speed shop recomended that I install replacement bronze guides in those brand new cast iron heads if I was going to use them on my street car. They are just cast iron as purchased. The GM factory cast iron guides were frequently worn at 50-60,000 miles so I would expect the sportsmans to do the same or worse considering the use of higher lift and more RPM. New guides = new valve job too = more $$. It was an easy choice for me to go straight to the lighter weight, "out of the box" aluminum heads at that point. Cast iron makes more power but compression can make up for a lot of that small loss. Just my own situation.

-Mark.

When my World SportsmanII's got reworked after about 2k miles the shop that supplied them contacted World and was told that the II's are entry level racing heads and set up as such. Someone putting mileage on their mill 1/4 mile at a time isn't going to be worried over a little oil loss.

If you opt for SportsmanII's get them bare and have them assembled. The cost will be about the same and you won't suffer oil loss. Over all for the price they are decent heads.

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...Dennis
"The '69 (http://chevelles.com/showroom/fine69_03.jpg), the '96 (http://chevelles.com/showroom/fine69_02.jpg) & the club (http://camaroslimited.com/)"

Maybe that explains why I have never had a like of problems with mine, as I ordered my heads bare and had them assembled after mods made at a local machine shop. I couldn't understand why people were having problems with them as I would order another set today.

I bought mine assembled and they are problem free.

They just don't flow as well as other heads in the same price range(particularly on the exhaust side).

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79' Z28 4-spd- built 355, TRW 10:1 forged flat tops, WP SportsmanII heads, Crane Energizer 228* duration .480" lift, Edelbrock Victor Jr., Holley 750cfm, Dynomax headers, dual 3" flowmasters :) 3.73 Posi 10-bolt

I also want to lend a hand here for WP Sportsman II's reputation

I can imagine that with the volume they do there will be one or two problems with the odd one

But it seems to me that alot of suppliers do their own assembly from their own shops with their own sourced parts and sell it as assembled - so quality control may not exactly be in the hands of World P!

I got my pair from PAW and told them what parts I wanted - like 7/16 studs - bigger valvesprings, different type valves etc. and the heads have been perfect for the past year

- although I have since removed my overcammed 355 and re-installed the 305 for peace of mind and of gas money!



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T.K.

85 Camaro Berlinetta - 305ci, stock heads, flattops, 214/224-443/465, Edel. 600 & Performer intake, 700-R4 & transgo kit, TCI competition 10in. conv, 4.10, Auburn posi

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Winch:
Hey rmcamaro, I see Competition Products carries those Australian Pro heads in iron or aluminum. In their catalog they are 549 for iron and 699 for aluminum. I assume that's bare but it doesn't say. I have emailed them for an assembled price. Has anybody used these?<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Yeah, I'd like to see what kind of results people are having with them too.

I am also very curious as to why AFR decided not to carry them anymore. I wonder whether it was a falling out, quality issues, or an amicable decision on both parties part.

Rod

From the published numbers I could find all the heads were about the same intake and exhaust until about .500 lift and then the exhaust seems to give out on the SPII's. I didn't see any listed for less for bare or complete sets and most were at least $100 more.

The bottom line is do the research for your combo and budget.

EDIT: I found some numbers on the Pro Actions for about the same price as the SPII's. I couldn't find .500 lift flow numbers for them though. Above that as the others they flow better.

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...Dennis
"The '69 (http://chevelles.com/showroom/fine69_03.jpg), the '96 (http://chevelles.com/showroom/fine69_02.jpg) & the club (http://camaroslimited.com/)"

[This message has been edited by DjD (edited 03-25-2002).]

Got a price from Competition Products for those Australian Pro Lightning Aluminum heads. First off the 699 in the catalog s/b 764? Assembled ready to bolt on with standard components brought them to 1013 plus about 30 shippng in my case. Makes TFS at 895 from Summit (shipped) seem like a deal.

One other note I was talking to my machinist about aftermarket heads and he says it really depends on who assembles them and what shape they are in when they get them. He's had new bare Iron Eagles and Sportsmans that he's had to mill because they weren't even flat. He did say he's never seen a bad set of TFS. Maybe it's because they only sell them assembled from the factory. I think they're what I'm going to get.