Pictures of Stealth Aluminum Heads
 

I didn't want to hijack ITSBACK's cast iron vs. aluminum thread, so thought I'd start another thread.

It would be interesting to see pictures of aluminum heads that have been painted and altered to look similar to iron heads. I did a quick search and the threads involving painting the heads were from early 2012 and older, and I didn't see any pictures. While the round ports can be painted and would probably confuse the Chevy and Ford guys, I was thinking more along the line of stealth D-ports.

Anyone create numbers on the center exhaust port after removing the Kaufman or Edelbrock names? If you did, what did you use and how is it holding up? I've seen JB weld used on cast iron heads to alter the head number on the center exhaust ports, and it has held up much better than I thought it would. Tips and techniques would also be appreciated.

Come on Mick, you know it doesn't take an outside stimulus to confuse those guys; it's their natural state! :)

I'm interested to see the responses. When I do my build, I'm planning on painting the aluminum heads to match the motor. I haven't thought about how far I would take the "stealth" look (putting on dummy casting numbers, etc.).

The angled sparkplugs..... hmmmm.....

Angled plugs are the giveaway for a knowledgeable Pontiac guy. There was a guy at the Dallas PSNs with a GP that had round port E heads with a 6X TIG'd on the exhaust ports.

A friend here in Houston has soem he ground off the Edelbrock and put Marine Tex epoxy on the ends to hide the stamping of the Edelbrock name and used early valve covers for the stroker 455 in his 63 Lemans. Painted the intake early model blue also.

Not exactly stealth. Here's my set of painted Edelbrocks (round) in my 70 GTO.

Intake is an RPM with water X-over separated. I ground off the Edelbrock logo and used a rubber mallet and some coarse sandpaper to put the as-cast finish back where I was grinding. I was going to do the heads too but I kind of said forget it after looking at how much work the front face would require. Maybe if the car had AC it wouldn't be so obvious but stealthing the front of the E-head would take some efort..

Pictures of Stealth Aluminum Heads
 

I only have one question: Why bother? Spending 2K on heads and then hiding or disguising them confuses my Vulcan logic! I want to show those suckers off!!

I did the stealth trick on my RPM manifold. Ground off the Edelbrock identification and painted it early blue for my 63. Even went with the early painted valve covers. Sometimes less is more.

Stealth heads
 

The heads with casting 7F8 were originally done about 18 years ago using a CNC program to machine the front of the head to look like a cast iron head. The casting number 16 heads were machined with an updated program and I was going for the Super Duty look.

I originally wanted to disguise aluminum heads to look cast iron because I was heavily involved in "gamble" racing and I continued the practice because I really don't like the look of aluminum heads (just my personal preference).

The goal with my engine was to have it appear as stock as possible but still use whatever upgrades I wanted. I know alot of guys like the look of natural aluminum heads, but I did not want to deal with oxidation/polishing/etc.

I ground off the "Kauffman" logo on the centre exhaust ports until it was flush with the rest of the area, then used a small punch clamped in some vice grips (to simulate a sharp prick hammer) and spent some time picking at the smooth aluminum to simulate the rough cast appearance. I followed that up with placing a sheet of rough emery cloth on the area and hitting it with a deadblow hammer to make the area uniform.

For the ends, I applied several coats of regular JB weld and sanded it smooth with a sanding board, followed by epoxy primer and then engine paint.

I also tried making some casting numbers with JB putty that I thought I could stick on the exhaust port area, but I am no artist and they looked like crap so I didn't use them. :confused:

I realize most of you guys would figure this out right away, but my goal was just to fool the locals, and up here Pontiac engines are fairly uncommon and usually referred to as "American block" or "Pontiac big block", so I think I can pull it off..... LOL!! There are a few hardcore Pontiac racers nearby in Timmins that would spot this immediately, but other than them I am pretty safe. :)

Some pretty cool stuff, makes my decision which way to go even easier. How does the paint hold up on the aluminum heads especially on the exhaust ports?

semi-stealth!
 

I left all of the brand logos on...just some paint and detail to make it look stock......ish!

I'll have a redone quadrajet for the street....this one was a known good one for initial start up of the new build.

I also have gone to a quick disconnect system to easily swap from the Dom to the quad as you can see in the Victor Dom pix.

I just have to fine tune the air bleeds for a better idle on the 1050. Also going to change the valve cover gaskets.

Kind of stealth........?:rolleyes:

I've only had my engine running 6-7 times on a test stand and now it sits waiting for the car to be finished :(

I used Eastwood's engine paint, and even though the heads are aluminum the centre exhaust port area is just starting to get darker. I attribute this to the Eastwood product, as many has complained that it is affected by heat at lower temperatures than they advertise.

In my case, the slightly darker exhaust area actually helps the "sleeper" factor as that is what usually happens with cast iron heads.

I painted mine with rattle cans. First Cupli-Color engine enamel in silver. Then I rattled canned on the pontiac blue. The blue is a local body/paint shop (NAPA) custom mix for the 1970 pontiac blue. I think this colour is easy to get in the US dupli paint line but it's hard to get here in Nova Scotia so I had it mixed. PPG Ditzler 13255

I have about 24,000 miles on the motor since and the paint is still OK.

My friend's the paint looks better than on many iron heads.

Paul awesome work!

I have a 96 welded on my E heads and have the front and rear Edelbrock milled off of mine. Chevy and ford guys don't notice/understand the angle plugs.

But the Pontiac guys at the track can tell.

I usually get " you are running that fast with Cast Iron heads?
LOL!

Do a search for Mike Noun and his '69 Firebird. Mike did a LOT of cool stealthy things to his car/motor. Fake casting numbers, fake engine decals, M&H Racemasters with a "redline" on them,.... Mike had a lot of fun, and MuscleCar Review did a nice write up on it about a decade ago.

On one set of Edelbrocks, I filed the ends to smooth out the edges from the embossed "Edelbrock" insignia, then filled in the grooves with either JB Weld or Bondo (too long ago, I don't remember which). Then, I "dressed" the area with an 8" sanding disc chucked into my drill, which made circular swirls and made the other work even less obvious.

I also carefully welded studs to the head of the ARP head bolts, so that I could install the factory heat shields, which hid the headers rather well.

Made me laugh.