[johnnyThunders]

I picked up a set of 434 casting SBC heads when i was younger that have 2.02 and 1.60 valves and ran them on my 327 for about 5 years with pretty good results. Though now that i've done more research i've heard that they dont flow that well. Has anyone ported these heads and had any luck with them? Thanks

[ericnova72]

They are just a basic large chamber smogger head from the 70's, nothing great about them. Can be ported into the 250cfm intake range, but the chamber shape is not the best for good power, the "fuelie" 64cc chamber or the modern fastburn and heart shaped chambered heads will return 20-30 ft.lbs more torque and 20+ hp more ported exactly the same, because of their better chamber shape.

434 is nothing worth spending any money on to rebuild.

[johnnyThunders]

haha, that was kind of the answer i imagined. I picked them up rebuilt from a machine shop back in 04 with the bigger valves and screw in studs, but didnt think they that they were that bad. They preformed pretty well, though from what i've heard maybe i'd see quite the power increase. I dont plan on rebuilding them due to the fact they probably only have 4000 miles on them. I just had time to mess around with porting and polishing and wanted to know if it was worth my time for a smaller displacement engine like the 327 or the 283. Always looking for a set of 461's or 462's but the price range is always up there, as opposed to these which i already had. Thanks for the feedback.

[eloc431962]

Welcome to the site.


Cole

[ericnova72]

Originally Posted by johnnyThunders

haha, that was kind of the answer i imagined. I picked them up rebuilt from a machine shop back in 04 with the bigger valves and screw in studs, but didnt think they that they were that bad. They preformed pretty well, though from what i've heard maybe i'd see quite the power increase. I dont plan on rebuilding them due to the fact they probably only have 4000 miles on them. I just had time to mess around with porting and polishing and wanted to know if it was worth my time for a smaller displacement engine like the 327 or the 283. Always looking for a set of 461's or 462's but the price range is always up there, as opposed to these which i already had. Thanks for the feedback.

Hey, if you already got them and they are in usable shape, doesn't hurt a thing to learn porting on them. First heads I ever did porting on were similar 993 and 487 smogger castings, if you mess up you aren't out a whole lot(you didn't ruin a good casting), strip the good valves, springs, et cetera out and buy a pair of RHS Pro Torker or World S/R Torquer castings and you are right back in business.

The 487x"s I did went 12.30's at 110 mph on a simple pump gas 383 in the early 90's(3600 lb car), so you can make something at least usable out of these type of castings. They just aren't worth replacing guides, cutting for bigger valves, etc rebuilding if they are worn out. Not cost effective then.

[johnnyThunders]

Appreciate the feedback, If i've got some free time i'll grind into them and see what i get, worst case is i'll be out some time and maybe a set of headgaskets right? They're not going on anything crazy, just my 74 c-10 that i take out for ice cream and maybe to the track every now and then. Good for tearing stuff up on the weekends