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Speedmaster heads worth the risk?
There has been a lot of talk about the speedmaster heads of late. I ordered a set on the black friday sale to slap on an engine that will hopefully be running next spring. It's a pretty low buck build and in the mean time I'm also acquiring all the parts to build the engine I really want which is a 433 stroker. The plans for that engine is to run ported e heads from butler.
I guess I'm looking for advice, should I cancel my speedmaster heads and put that towards a edelbrock set? Or are the speedmasters worth running in the meantime or are they a time bomb? I don't mind having a spare set of heads but if they're junk I'll just cancel them. |
Im going to run mine.Tom
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If you have any doubts by all means cancel the order.
If you’re okay with rolling the dice then don’t cancel. There’s no guarantee that any aftermarket heads won’t have defects, but you usually do get what you pay for. |
For the 433 stroker motor I would definitely go with ported E-heads. The mild build motor, flip a coin either you get a good set or you don’t. The jury is still out on Speedmaster heads quality wise. I know I know few guys are running them but there’s still allot of unanswered questions. My number one concern would be quality of aluminum those heads are made of. Let me explain when they first cam out with Kauffman heads. D-ports high ports they had issues with heads being soft, the studs holes went right into the aluminum were as all the E-heads have helicoils, they even had issues with Tiger head leaking because of pour casting.
So yeah initially they might be great, thing runs good, but quality of the aluminum is what questions the longevity. I would definitely have the pressure tested, have guides checked, also the seats. From what I hear they have a disclaimer on any port work being done around seat area, in other words any clean up in that area. May effect chances of seat falling out or water leaking. I mean what do you really save if all that has to be checked. As far as I know they don’t come with studs or guide plats. |
I mean if you just had say 389 or 400 short block rebuilt, and you want to throw a set on, and don’t really care about what the flow, then just to be safe I’d have them pressure tested.
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Going to be 69 400 4 speed block,forged 3 in main 4.21 crank,pretty much a OF cam 9.5 CR.The heads went to my machine shop for examination,pressure test and a good valve job.I will replace the springs when it gets built.Pretty sure 2-4 Bathtub intake,gen one long branch.Willgo in my 69 bird with a TKO 500 and 3.31s in the back.Total street car.Have not decided on rods yet.Will be CC new hyd rollers,Autotec pistons and H&S rockets.Tom
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Tom, that’s exactly what I’d with those heads. Good set of valves springs too. What hydraulic roller lifters you plan on running.
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I’d be curious to see what you spent on having them pressure tested, valve job and new valve springs. Compared to say buying set of E-heads, although you might want to do all that with new set of E-Heads. Just wondering what cost difference would be, for say like buying a set from Butler all done. By that I mean set from Butler that’s been check out but no port work done.
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Buying e-heads really isn't an option right now since they aren't being produced at the moment. You'll be waiting quite awhile for a set.
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I think enough people have used them that they can be considered "safe". If you are buying complete heads it may not be a bad idea to have them looked over before you put them on.
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Lou,I spent right at $300 to be confident and would have done the same with a set of Eheads!Tom
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Lou,I have not replaced valve springs.Have no idea what we want yet.The springs on it are setup for hyd roller now,150 on the seats.If he wants to run them I might.Going to run the new CC lifters.Tom
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I went through mine to correct some things i felt needed attention, but overall i'm happy.
https://youtu.be/0yZj5-n_Qpg |
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