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Aluminum heads: Edelbrock vs ATK

18K views 45 replies 8 participants last post by  jokerZ71 
#1 ·
In the process of picking heads for a new 355 sbc with 10.5:1 compression, Comp cams High Energy 268h. I'm currently trying to decide between Edelbrock Performer RPM PN: 60735 or ATK PN: sbc70185. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
 
#2 ·
Take a look at the Profiler 185.Very good American head.Similar flow rates as an AFR, but, $300 to $400 lighter on your wallet.They run $1050 a set bare, or, $1125 assembled. You'll be just over $1200 with taxes & shipping.
Don't know much about the ATK heads.
 
#3 · (Edited)
The ATK head is using the Pro-Filer head casting as its core. Only difference is a stock location exhaust port, ProFiler has a raised exhaust port. Made special just for ATK.

Far better than the Edelbrock Performer RPM, you'd have to get an Edelbrock Victor head to even get anywhere close to the ATK.

Edelbrock heads are under-achieving for their price IMO. You're paying more for their name and getting less for it.
 
#5 · (Edited)
Dart S/R heads are not much more than stock smog heads.Is it not you who claims 40 to 50 HP increase just from bolting on a set of aluminum heads.It's also using a standard Performer intake.Those dyno charts are based on what the average smog headed,low compression street motor will accomplish setup with that cam.That info comes from Comp.It is provided to show what the average low compression factory motor will accomplish with this cam & setup as demonstrated in the dyno.That's why they supply all of the supporting parts & compression.
With a set of Profiler,or,even a set of Vortecs for that matter & appropriate compression ratio for either head,he has an easy 375 HP & more than 400 ft/lb.
That dyno chart in no way represents the actuality of what the OP's motor will be capable of.
 
#7 ·
My dad had originally built the 355 short block back in the 90's and bought the cam specifically for use in his Corvette. He never ended up using it and instead dropped in a built 383. I bought the short block and cam off him and plan on dropping it into a 1966 caprice mated to a th400 w/gear vendors unit. Power goals are 350 hp 380tq. Car will be driven daily throughout spring summer and fall. I'm not familiar with a raised exhaust port location on the pro-filers, does that mean only certain special parts can mate up with the raised port???
 
#8 ·
A vortec type intake will match up & be easier to seal up with the raised ports.
You should have no problems hitting that goal with just about any modern aluminum head & your cam combo.You have to try not to,in order to fail.
that combo is prolly 1 of the most widely used combos among street 350"s.It's a very common setup.
 
#9 ·
So Any vortec intake will work? Or are there only certain ones I should look for. Also I'm not sure what the internal specs are on the motor, my father said the pistons in it are built to mate up with a 70cc chamber, that's about all I know. I believe he was planning to use the Eddy Performer RPM heads on it originally, that's why I was looking at those specific part numbers on both the ATK and Eddy heads listed in the first post.
 
#10 ·
It will really depend on the actual head itself.you won't be able to use an actual Vortec intake,unless your heads have the 8 bolt pattern specific to Vortec heads.Some heads do have both bolt patterns.With something like the Profiler 185,a normal Performer RPM intake should be fine.If you went to a larger port like over 200cc,you may have some issues.For your build,if this is a strictly street car with no serious track time,i would stay with a 185 cc head.
You really need to figure out for sure what the compression will be before you order heads.Try to ID the pistons & their type(flat top?dish?)volume in cc's,along with measuring how far down the bore they set at TDC.This is very important I can't stress that enough.
If your actual compression is truly 10.5:1,the timing of that cam will have you rite where you need to be for a street driven aluminum headed engine.You will be in a safe range & be able to tune for the best performance without worrying about detonation.
 
#14 ·
Thanks Eric for clearing that up.I admit that I was preoccupied at work earlier before realizing that the OP & me were talking about 2 different things.I was thinking intake ports & he was referring to your comments about exhaust ports on the ATK head.
A bad case of not paying attention.
 
#15 ·
So has any one here ever used ATK sbc heads on one of there builds with success? You tend to hear alot about Edelbrock stuff, but it seem to be a differant story when searching for ATK. Just curious because Summit has ATK's with the 70cc chambers that I need, and 195cc intake runners for little over $100 less then the equivalent Edelbrock heads...
 
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#20 ·
Not sure what the overbore is.You may said, but, about the only way to get 10.5:1 on 350 with 70 cc heads would be either with a slight dome, or, a true flat top with no valve relief at 0 deck.If it is a dome, you will have to be careful with head selection & chamber shape.The modern heart shaped chambers used in most performance heads now will not work with old school type dome pistons.
As for heads, like I said earlier, I don't know alot about the ATK, but, if it is indeed the same casting as the Profiler, it should be a great head & even if the costs are more, it is still a far superior head to any of the budget import heads.The Profiler is available in 64, or,72 cc.If you do indeed need a 70 cc head, the extra 2 cc is not gonna make a big difference whatsoever. You need to for sure determine the piston type & volume tho on your shortblock.
 
#22 ·
Correct, it has never run, on account of my dad taking most of the parts including the heads and intake and using them on his 383 stroker. The only thing left over that didn't get used is the cam still in it's box never been opened.

Thats the reason I was considering the Eddy rpm heads, they are identical to the ones that were robbed from this build and used on the 383.
 
#24 ·
In my opinion, using Edelbrock Performer RPM heads just because that is what was planned years ago is a foolish idea.

Engine parts, especially cylinder heads, are constantly being changed, upgraded, discontinued, and superseded by better designs as the aftermarket manufacturers position themselves to have the best product to attract your spending $$$$.....and Edelbrock has lagged behind quite a few others. Rather than upgrade their designs to keep pace with the better flowing heads on the market, they are sitting back, dragging a** and relying on the "Edelbrock" name to sell lesser performing parts. The Performer RPM is nothing great in the airflow department, probably 80-85% of the heads of comparable size on the market will out-run them in the power department.

The Jegs house brand aluminum head is also made by ProFiler, and just engraved with the "Jeg's" logo

Summit Racing does the same thing, except TrickFlow is the one making Summit aluminum heads(or at least they were a year ago.)
 
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#25 · (Edited)
Since I live in Canada unfortunately I have to deal with our dollar being at around .77 cents right now, so cheap isn't exactly easy to come by lol. As an example a set of AFR or similar high end aluminum heads up here start at $4500 and up, I understand the Eddy's are for sure a dated design but for about $1600-$1700 for a set they are def much easier on the wallet IMO. I was considering the ATK's from Summit, because they worked out to around the same price as buying a new set of Eddy's from my local parts place even with shipping and converting to CDN $$$.

EDIT: Also not to mention the fact that if my fiancée saw a $4500 charge on our bank statement I'd be a dead man, amiright fellas?
 
#28 ·
Profilers are cast, machined, &, assembled in the United States of America.
They flow rite up there with the AFR in as cast version.
The decks & castings have plenty of meat for milling & porting. (Which is a moot point here & won't be needed)
The Jeg's, ATK, or, actual Profiler would be a very good choice here as long your pistons don't present a problem.
 
#38 ·
Most any vehicle except for a trailer queen show car, or, a strictly track car is gonna see in excess of 1000 miles a yr.
Splain how it cost so much more to hone a cylinder to 320 grit vs a 240 grit, outside the cost of a set of stones, or, brushes.if the shop you are using is too cheap to have an assortment, then they're not much of a shop.Maybe your shop.That's a plumb stupid statement, even coming from you,that most shops will refuse to properly hone & install thin rings.
How do you come up with this total crap & bald faced lies.
How do claim that all the name brand head companies lie about the origin of their heads & lie about their flow ratings & then in the same breath claim that Skip White is the only seller that can be trusted in his #'s.
And by the way, there have been many times, not just 1 Vortec build that you made your claims about the rings, not to mention all the other stuff that flip flop on from 1 thread to the next.Whatever it takes to make you "appear" to know WTH you are talking about.
I'm not the 1 lagging behind here.I may not be no expert, but, I dang sure ain't no liar either.I don't reach out into thin & make an answer up just so I can post something that I know absolutely nothing about.
If I get suspended, then so be it, but, you Hcompton are a joke.A big funny joke.
 
#40 ·
Wow this discussion sure got heated while I was gone. Anyway I'm seriously considering a pair of those ATK's but will have to verify the short block first, if I end up going with them I'll be sure to do a review on here, as there doesn't seem to be much on them anywhere else.
 
#46 ·
Now Eric, it doesn't matter if a post is rite, or, wrong, or, even relevant. Unless it is in the off topic section, it still gets counted & that's what matters the most.I mean really, when there are so many threads to respond to, who has time to google each & every subject just for the sake of getting it correct? Not near as many questions would get answers if that's the case.
 
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