***Buick 350 Alum Heads Update***

Discussion in 'Small Block Tech' started by sean Buick 76, Apr 6, 2016.

  1. Fox's Den

    Fox's Den 355Xrs

    Here we are in the 10th year and we do not know what the scoop is.

    everyone is worried if they will produce.

    If they are changed some that is more of a benefit than what anyone else has done in other makes with their aluminum heads they are built to take all stock parts. they flow better and thats about it.

    Are the Ford and Chevy made any different than stock probably not too much. old school not the new motors

    Summer is now it is time to go.
     
    Harlockssx likes this.
  2. LARRY70GS

    LARRY70GS a.k.a. "THE WIZARD" Staff Member

    I think Mike T has enough experience producing heads that are considerably better than stock, the 455 Stage 1 and 2, SE and TE. You guys may have to wait, but I am pretty sure what you get will Mike’s best effort, and that should revolutionize SBB performance, especially with more RPM and forced induction.
     
  3. sriley531

    sriley531 Excommunicado

    Agreed. Mike's been arguably more successful than anyone at bringing well performing aluminum Buick heads to market. Ease up on on the wild-eyed theories and speculation, and let the man work. Those of you that know him know the effort he puts into all his products. He'll do it justice.
     
    MrSony and Gallagher like this.
  4. Extended Power

    Extended Power Well-Known Member

    I personally think that the only reason people buy aftermarket stuff, is for more performance.
    Aluminum intakes would not sell at all if they didn't improve the performance somewhat.
    Headers, same thing...but they are a complete PITA to put in....but we do it because of the performance gains.
    Cams....duh.

    There is no way that TA is manufacturing an aluminum set of heads that are equal in performance as the stock heads.
    I'm sure they are going to give a decent amount of performance gain, right outta the box.

    I just hope they don't go so far that we have to buy different roller rockers, or headers, to use them.
     
    MrSony likes this.
  5. 300sbb_overkill

    300sbb_overkill WWG1WGA. MAGA

    Larger ports aren't going to help if the valve size isn't increased and increasing the valve size where they're at they will be WAY too shrouded to take advantage of any flow gains of the larger "ports" and valves.
     
  6. Gallagher

    Gallagher Founders Club Member

    How far from centerline are the valves on stock heads?
     
  7. 300sbb_overkill

    300sbb_overkill WWG1WGA. MAGA

    Not sure, never measured it. I would guess by my CRS memory around .125" to .250" offset from the center?

    And IIRC the factory center to center for the valves is 1.725"(not sure though, its been a while since I measured), that would only leave a .005" gap with a 1.940" intake and a 1.50" exhaust valve.
     
    Last edited: Jun 22, 2018
  8. Mark Demko

    Mark Demko Well-Known Member

    Personally Im in no rush for the aluminums, Im paying cash, so its a chunk outta my pocket:eek:
    Im sure whatever TA decides is best is fine with me.
    I look at it this way, I'll run my irons with my stupid too high compression for iron heads, see what kind of "best" time I can muster..…… That is IF Im even running this season, LOL, THEN pull the engine again, swap the aluminums on and see the difference, not just top end, but in everyday driving.
    Porting them and adding turbos is cool and all, but I think that will cloud the results as far as the performance improvement of the heads alone as bought.
     
    sriley531, Dano and 300sbb_overkill like this.
  9. Fox's Den

    Fox's Den 355Xrs

    That would be my intention put them on and see what happens.

    I think like Larry said Mike T. is going to do the best he can to make these heads perform way above the stock heads.

    I think we are too worried about valve angles and sizes and flow rates and all of that.

    We don't know crap about the heads only Mike does, he is the one working on them not us so we don't know anything on what the motor needs.

    We know for sure the heads will flow a lot higher than the stock ones so that is a given there.

    I hope Mike does take his time and don't say anything until he has a product as perfect as he can get it.

    Does anyone know how much power is added when putting a set of aluminum heads on a 350 Chevy? Use Edelbrock as your example.

    I bet these Buick heads beat that.

    and that's my 2c
     
    MrSony, sriley531 and Dano like this.
  10. UNDERDOG350

    UNDERDOG350 350 Buick purestock racer

    Derek is on point.
    Stock intake locations. stock exhaust location, stock valve location/size, stock stock stock. Ports are already large enough, maybe too large. chamber design might add a measurable amount of power.
     
    sriley531 likes this.
  11. Dano

    Dano Platinum Level Contributor

    It'll be very informative to have a few guys(@Mark Demko @Fox's Den) swap them onto strong existing builds with only changes in jets, ignition, etc. to accommodate for the heads.
     
    TimR, MrSony, Gallagher and 2 others like this.
  12. 300sbb_overkill

    300sbb_overkill WWG1WGA. MAGA


    Not to many guys go with sbc Edelbrock heads if they're building a performance engine. They would more than like go with Dart, AFR, Profiler and others that will out flow and out perform the Edelbrock heads out of the box AND ported!

    The Profiler heads are really interesting with their "as cast" technology that flow really well without any porting and are made in USA that are priced reasonable the last time I looked into them a few years ago. IIRC there were the 'as cast" heads that claimed 270 CFM intake flow right out of the box before any kind of porting which is close to the Dart 200cc runner heads that are just over 260 CFM out of the box. And these are just the factory style 23* valve angle heads, when they reduce the angle to 14* for those heads they sell have the ability to flow well over 300 intake CFM with ported versions as much as, close to 400 intake CFM!

    A friend of mine has the Dart unported heads mentioned(2.05" in. and 160" ex. valves) above on a solid roller sbc 383 that is making right around 550 pump gas HP N/A(rev limiter set @ 7,500 RPM) just under 11:1, no out of the box unported Edelbrock heads will do that.

    Would be great if TA can get 280 intake CFM and 75% of that for the exhaust out of the box! TA is already starting with 10* heads, the slight tilt I was talking about would get them to 12* to 16* to get the valves closer to the centerline, an extra 2 - 6 degrees more. If they hit a home run with these heads they should be capable of well over 300 CFM with some porting like the sbc 14* heads are capable of?
     
  13. Fox's Den

    Fox's Den 355Xrs

    A person with just a stock motor and would like to add alum heads would just go buy the Edel's since they are so cheap. That was where I wanted to go since this is easy to do and how much power do they really make out of the box.

    The same is going to happen with the Buick heads guys will want to bolt them on a almost stock engine and they want to have good power when this happens. With the higher price they will expect them to perform better than most bolt on alum heads.

    I am sure we will not have to worry about that one at all they will just kick butt.

    Dano, Yes I would like to see what would happen on a built up motor like mine or Demko's. It will definitely open the door to all the wild stuff Derek talks about. lol

    So if these Buick heads are just as good or made to be like those heads you (Derek) mentioned then we should have nothing to worry about then. The difference is we won't need a 383 to make that 550 hp :p

    TA is going to beat you on that and hit 285 on the intake.

    I say 285-190 with 9000mph of velocity.:eek:

    What say you.:D
     
    Dano and 300sbb_overkill like this.
  14. 300sbb_overkill

    300sbb_overkill WWG1WGA. MAGA

    Yeah, with the weight savings over the sbc engine, a sbb 370 should be right in the same ball park as the mentioned engine with similar parts like solid roller cam, forged rods & pistons S/P intake and so on able to spin passed 7,000.
     
    Dano likes this.
  15. cjeboyle

    cjeboyle Gold Level Contributor

    I see a lot of talk about how expensive Buick parts are to buy but everyone is quoting new prices. Yes I bought my headers and exhaust new from TA but almost everything else I picked up used from this site, Facebook, craigslist, and Ebay.
    SP1 intake $220-Facebook
    rebuilt with receipts 1970 455 and TH400 in a running driving car $1500 Ebay (it was 20 miles from home)
    1.6 TA roller rockers and a TA front cover w/oil pump $900-Craigslist
    TA aluminum valve covers $90-Ebay
    TA Se Stage1 aluminum heads (lightly ported) $2300-V8Buick
    I am just saying that good used parts are out there if you have the time and patience to look for them.
    I have 2-350 cores in my garage that would be gone by now but I hang onto them waiting to see how the new heads turn out. If they are as good as I think they will be I will start a 350 build accumulating good used parts and add the heads when they are needed.
    Cliff
     
  16. alec296

    alec296 i need another buick

    I hear that Buick’s are expensive all the time. But mostly from the people that cut every corner and cheap out on everything , then complain when they don’t get the performance they expect. You don’t have to buy a bunch of parts , just put together the right parts. And good tune.
    Too many people overcam, then going by “super Chevy” calculation use a tiny carb, stock converter and rear gears. Then want to run an overdrive because they trying to get the rpm down even further on that stock 2 series gear thinking they will get better mpg, with that overly rich low end carb. Some people need to stop watching YouTube “how to build a hot rod” crap.
     
    Mart likes this.
  17. cjeboyle

    cjeboyle Gold Level Contributor

    I agree 100%. You have to have a plan on what you want to get out of your combo. You can't just throw parts at it and expect it to perform. But you can do it in stages. IE I started with a single plane and 2.54 gears and was happy with it for a while then went with an Eaton 3.08 posi unit, next a 3000 stall and then and only then did I get a single plane intake. It can be a lot of money at once to immediately be where you want to be but if you do not have unreal expectations for each individual upgrade and keep in mind that when it all comes together your combo will be right you can save some $ and build it right.
    Cliff
     
  18. Mart

    Mart Gold level member

    I say I hope there is no eye of a typhoon involved.:eek::D:rolleyes:
     
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  19. Mart

    Mart Gold level member

    Those 308 gears will leave you wanting a lot more........Fast and mileage don't go hand in hand, get an overdrive trans and you'll thank yourself later....:)
     
  20. cjeboyle

    cjeboyle Gold Level Contributor

    Can you read minds? The next thing on the list is some 3.73s and a gear vendors overdrive. To stay on topic I am still very interested in the 350 heads. I like the thought of a light car with a light healthy Buick 350 under the hood.
    Cliff
     
    300sbb_overkill likes this.

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