Best Aftermarket Head And Valvetrain Replacement?

JMacMillin

JMacMillin

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Feb 20, 2022
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I have oil seepage from my headgasket on my 2004 4.0. I figure if I'm already going to be down to the heads for a gasket replacement I might as well replace it with an aftermarket performance head and valvetrain. And on top of that should I spend the extra and go with aluminum heads or go with the cast iron. Not planning on doing anything to the bottom end, so the block and everything below that should be stock, but I'm thinking of sticking with a cast iron head selection as to conform to the blocks heating/cooling expansion/contractions for long term usage. Any recommendations?
 
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You probably can't find an aluminum head anymore anyways, but I would just stick with your stock head. Have it magnifluxed, checked for flatness, and send it. If you want to add power, port and polish it or pay someone to do it. Unless you have lots of future power mods planned in the future, I wouldn't consider it a MAW kinda thing and would likely just leave it as is.
 
I ported a 7120 casting head, go with 5.7 hemi valves and stock spring, retainers and keepers. It gives you slightly bigger valves and a few modern parts. I am running it on a stroker motor.
 
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Russ was the one who had the Eddy head and he P&P'd that for me with all his normal goodies 😊 From what I've seen the Eddy head flows close to what a P&P'd 7120 head does, so hopefully this will be mo betta still. Being able to run higher compression was a plus for me, but to really answer your question, realizing they are unpossible to find while enjoying a couple beers makes me buy all kinds of things 😆
 
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SkylinesSuck said:
Russ was the one who had the Eddy head and he P&P'd that for me with all his normal goodies 😊 From what I've seen the Eddy head flows close to what a P&P'd 7120 head does, so hopefully this will be mo betta still. Being able to run higher compression was a plus for me, but to really answer your question, realizing they are unpossible to find while enjoying a couple beers makes me buy all kinds of things 😆
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Haha, I literally bought my stroker and Edelbrock head from Russ on the back patio of a Twin Peaks after a "long" lunch.
 
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SkylinesSuck said:
Russ was the one who had the Eddy head and he P&P'd that for me with all his normal goodies 😊 From what I've seen the Eddy head flows close to what a P&P'd 7120 head does, so hopefully this will be mo betta still. Being able to run higher compression was a plus for me, but to really answer your question, realizing they are unpossible to find while enjoying a couple beers makes me buy all kinds of things 😆
Click to expand...
Alcohol induced purchases are the best kind of purchases. :D
 
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SkylinesSuck said:
You probably can't find an aluminum head anymore anyways, but I would just stick with your stock head. Have it magnifluxed, checked for flatness, and send it. If you want to add power, port and polish it or pay someone to do it. Unless you have lots of future power mods planned in the future, I wouldn't consider it a MAW kinda thing and would likely just leave it as is.
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I was definitely able to find one on summit, it was an made to order kind of thing i think, but im gonna go with cast iron as is. Some extra power would be appreciated, but im not looking to go ham. Im likely going to go with this one
https://www.summitracing.com/parts/...ent/engines-components/section/cylinder-heads
 
Well, what is your budget first of all? Are you looking for all-out performance or just a little extra extra?

If you are on a budget, just have the head cleaned up and have it gasket matched so the intake and exhaust runners match up. Pick a cam like a Comp Cams 231 through 235 depending on where you want your power to be.

If you have coin to spend or don't want to do the porting and rebuilding yourself you can get a good ported head from Russ or Newcomer racing. Newcomer has some Youtube videos where they compare various heads on a stroker on the dyno, including the Edelbrock head. The ported Newcomer head ran great. I have no experience with either, so others can weight in on the finer details of working with those two.

I like the idea of aluminum for the weight reduction and the possibility for higher compression without detonation but it really would only be worth it if you had a max effort stroker.
 
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