SBC Afr Heads

General engine tech -- Drag Racing to Circle Track

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Carnut1
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Re: SBC Afr Heads

Post by Carnut1 »

I have three sets of AFR's in stock. I am not impressed with any brand aftermarket head I have measured. Maybe I am the only one. Urban legend or not I would have a pro go through them.
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Re: SBC Afr Heads

Post by ZEOHSIX »

The great thing about AFR's is THEY get to pick your valves/hardware......years ago, I bought some 195 Eliminators.....they had KAR made in India valves in them.....the quality of those valves were Really bad with chatter marks on the backsides of the valve heads and just poor attention to detail/quality.....with Tony's help I was able to recover about 50% of the expense those crap parts add to the price of their heads.....I basically only buy my heads bare now.....only exception I can think of was a set of GM Performance CNCd LS9 heads but, they have Del West USA hardware in them.....
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Re: SBC Afr Heads

Post by mark_follweiler »

Carnut1 wrote: Sun Oct 15, 2017 3:41 pm I have three sets of AFR's in stock. I am not impressed with any brand aftermarket head I have measured. Maybe I am the only one. Urban legend or not I would have a pro go through them.
its just you...
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Re: SBC Afr Heads

Post by Carnut1 »

1015171821.jpg
I guess it could be me but these two tools will tell who is doing the job right. If your head guy doesn't have them or similar get a different head guy.
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Re: SBC Afr Heads

Post by GARY C »

I get all of the above, I personally always started with a bare head if it was a race engine, mainly because what I wanted wasn't available but it is still basically a useless exercise unless your going to run in a virgin casting and then tear it down and do it again prior to actually racing it. Or maybe the pro level guys are wrong?

Then again all this should probably be done preheated with a tq plate and head gasket, if distortion affects an iron block, what do you think it does to an aluminum head?

Good luck finding that head guy.
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Re: SBC Afr Heads

Post by Carnut1 »

Yep, you can do the same with blocks. Heads preped right can run hard for years have no seat recession, tight guides and concentric seats when dIsassembled.
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Re: SBC Afr Heads

Post by greg »

i had 2.05 valves inna set of ported afr,220,s was told by afr to put in 2.08,,i gained nothing...
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Re: SBC Afr Heads

Post by levisnteeshirt »

The sportsman IIs were great in 1991, to compare them to anything new is just so wrong , i was at a friends shop about that time , he had a set with a 2.05 valve in em , 260ish cfm was it
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Re: SBC Afr Heads

Post by user-17438 »

levisnteeshirt wrote: Sun Oct 22, 2017 2:53 pm The sportsman IIs were great in 1991, to compare them to anything new is just so wrong , i was at a friends shop about that time , he had a set with a 2.05 valve in em , 260ish cfm was it
but that 260 is cfm would probably walk a set of ported vortecs that flow the same on a 383.

Sorry to burst anyones bubble. But if anyone thinks that just because a head is new, it is better than anything older. They must be high. I have seen multiple times, where a customer UPGRADES from their Pontiac 867 heads and throws a new set of AFR 245 and actually lose power. so much for 90s heads vs the new stuff. or their sportsman II for some dart pro1 and make the same power. On a Max effort sbc with 23 degree heads, its hard to get the proper csa most times to run the huge numbers. You could take a set of AFR 245NPP and start hogging at them and certainly gain from them out of the box. Whats nice about newer castings is they leave material for us porters to adequately shape a casting for multiple uses.

There is only so much you can do within the constraints of pushrod pinch, spring pocket, water jackets..etc at the end of the day you are comparing a 23 degree head to another 23 degree head. now the newer 18 degree and better race heads are light years better from the early stuff. but mostly its better valve locations and rocker geometry.

Most of what i see is people get hyped because of internet threads or magazine articles. But fail to realize their current combo might be very far away from being optomized, that if they were to have someone work their current heads and intake, select a different cam, that they would see in fact these older castings have the potential to make what they were after to begin with.
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Re: SBC Afr Heads

Post by user-9274568 »

Not all 23 degree heads (castings) are created equal....
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Re: SBC Afr Heads

Post by levisnteeshirt »

Its always easier to slow one down than speed it up , AFR trys to make raised runner sound like a bad thing in their ads , never quite understood that , Allpro sure doesn't, , hmm ,i'd say the sportsmans IIs like I mentioned with a 2.05 in em would smoke a vortec on a 383 , no need to go back and forth on it , the exhaust is weak on a sportsman II if my memory is correct , AFR usually raises the exhaust (but on the intake its bad ? ) , so there again , the sportsmans were great in 91, why there isnt a good raised runner iron head being made still baffles me
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Re: SBC Afr Heads

Post by Frankshaft »

I made 720hp with sportsman 2's in 1998. I wonder what I could make with them today?
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Re: SBC Afr Heads

Post by Carnut1 »

Frankshaft wrote: Sun Oct 22, 2017 6:14 pm I made 720hp with sportsman 2's in 1998. I wonder what I could make with them today?
I would like to read that story. Thanks, Charlie
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Re: SBC Afr Heads

Post by RTR-1 »

cspeier wrote: Sun Oct 22, 2017 4:05 pm Not all 23 degree heads (castings) are created equal....
Last edited by RTR-1 on Sun Oct 22, 2017 6:38 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: SBC Afr Heads

Post by RTR-1 »

cspeier wrote: Sun Oct 22, 2017 4:05 pm Not all 23 degree heads (castings) are created equal....

Isn't all AFR heads cast at Edebrock's foundry?
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