[Jackson76]

Hey there, recently I had the head on bank 1 of my Chevy 383 Stroker decide it no longer wanted to hold any oil in it. I've decided I don't wanna go through the laborous and cost-intensive process of casting or machining it to be where it used to be, and have instead decided I want to replace the heads entirely. If you have the same engine or a decent amount of knowledge regarding it, what are a good set of heads I should go with? Links to them would be greatly appreciated 👍

 

[2001Blazer4x4]

For the out of the box street on a 383 - AFR 195 Eliminators or Pro-filer 195 All-Americans. For race, it depends on a lot. They both have web sites so Google is your friend. I have the AFRs on mine. Never regretted or wished for anything different. They flow well enough that you dont need a huge cam to make power.


Sent from my moto g power using Tapatalk

 

[Stormin_Norman]

Depends on your power goals but for a street motor I will throw a vote for the Brodix IK 180 or 200. For around a $1k they are ready to run and flow really well. I'm running the IK 180 cc's in my 383 ( US cast and made) , some will argue they are too small, but they flow better than 200 cc's except at max lift. I'm running 11.5:1 and 230/236 roller cam with ~.550 lift. Shorter runners will give better velocity at lower RPM's and gives it nice lower end torque for the street. My motor flat takes off and runs hard to 5,800k. About the only other heads I would trust out of the box are AFR's or Dart. Profilers are decent castings, but I wouldn't run them out of the box without checking everything or building a set from castings with decent parts.

If you want to run a big cam and make power, AFR's but they are $1700 or so a set.

 

[BogiesAnnex1]

What do you mean by the head decided not to hold oil in it?

Bogie

 

[Moosecountry]

what bogie said? Hole in the side of casting? Valve guide came out?

Profiler 205 cc heads if build a 500 hp engine.
The ik180/200s if you want to build a 420 hp engine

 

[2old2fast]

Hold oil ?

 

[Jackson76]

what bogie said? Hole in the side of casting? Valve guide came out?

Profiler 205 cc heads if build a 500 hp engine.
The ik180/200s if you want to build a 420 hp engine

Bingo. Hole. I think I will go with the IK180

 

[Moosecountry]

IK180s are a solid casting. 420 hp all day

 

[bigmac73]

I would call Eric..

SBC Heads

wengines.com

and talk to him plus he is a Brodix seller and others.

 

[2001Blazer4x4]

Bingo. Hole. I think I will go with the IK180

You did say an ideal set of heads for a 383!! Seems you're willing to give up 75 ponies. Sorry, I don't get it.

 

[Jackson76]

You did say an ideal set of heads for a 383!! Seems you're willing to give up 75 ponies. Sorry, I don't get it.

Unfortunately on a really tight budget and need the car running sooner than later

 

[2old2fast]

Unfortunately on a really tight budget and need the car running sooner than later

Set of NKB's will save you some cash , look up Skip White ( white performance 1)

 

[BOOT77]

Lots of good modern design heads but as mentioned w/o details it's hard to recommend any size.

 

[ekimneirbo]

The cheapest heads aren't going to be the "idealist" heads. Also, the cam you are running will be an important factor in how the heads perform. If you get too large a port with a mild cam, you may lose velocity thru the port. Why not contact your cam manufacturer and ask their recommendation?

 

[arnoldsel]

With a 383 I would go with some larger CC heads for sure. Watch the chamber size. Flat tops or dished Pistons? Cam?

 

[BogiesAnnex1]

X2 on needing chamber ccs piston type and cam timing. Tight budgets don’t leave room for errors so you gotta do some paper builds before buying parts as it’s way to get yourself cornered. So let’s talk details.

Bogie

 

[55_327]

I had an early set of fully assembled IK-180 heads. It was a fresh build so I had nothing to compare them with, but I did have a couple problems with them.
1. Springs were installed at 1.80" and had around 60# on seat! An attached tag said they were installed at 1.85".
2. Rocker arm stud location on some cylinders required replacing the included CompCams pushrod guide plates with adjustable plates to center the roller tips on the valve stem tips.

Wish I could find specific info on the springs along with the tag. But I did find the attached photo. Notice how the rocker arm body almost touches the valve stem tip, and how the rocker arm leans to one side. This was the case with the same four valves on both heads. An accident waiting to happen.

 

[AutoGear]

Its going back a bit, but some versions of the Iron Killer heads....weren't what I'd call killer

Line out your top 5 requirements for the engine, along with your carb/intake, flat tappet or roller cam, rear gear, tire height, trans (ratios too if its a stick), Tq converter, vehicle/vehicle weight.

Then we can make a much better recommendation for the same money.

And how did the head get a hole in it / where exactly is said hole?

 

[Stormin_Norman]

I had an early set of fully assembled IK-180 heads. It was a fresh build so I had nothing to compare them with, but I did have a couple problems with them.
1. Springs were installed at 1.80" and had around 60# on seat! An attached tag said they were installed at 1.85".
2. Rocker arm stud location on some cylinders required replacing the included CompCams pushrod guide plates with adjustable plates to center the roller tips on the valve stem tips.

Wish I could find specific info on the springs along with the tag. But I did find the attached photo. Notice how the rocker arm body almost touches the valve stem tip, and how the rocker arm leans to one side. This was the case with the same four valves on both heads. An accident waiting to happen.

You obviously got a bad set that were not assembled correctly. Mine were fine and I know of a few other sets that were all good out of the box. Normally you have play with the alignment some on pretty much all aftermarket heads. AFR's two piece guides are a lot easier to deal with but a higher price point. There are not many heads in the $1k price range that flow as well as the IK's except maybe profiler but I would not use the ready to run version. Now add another $500 or $700 and there are better options.