heres my problem: i have a motown 400 block with 4 bolt mains, and im building a new combo for it. i currently have afr 195 street heads and edelbrock rpm airgap intake, thats basically all that i woudl want to use off my old engine.

the problem is, should i use my spare money to buy afr 210 heads (and if so should i shell the extra cash for the 'race' cnc ports?) or should i spend the cash to have my heads ported (along with machining for bigger springs), if i choose the latter than i will have enough for a roller cam, if i choose the 210 heads, i dont think id be able to afford a roller cam, or be able to get a cam with enough lift to maximize the heads, but utilize my desired power band (3000-6500/7000)

i want to build a pumpgas motor that can run a high 11 with the above engine.

this is in a car that has
3400lbs with me and a full tank (69 camaro)
3.90 rear gears/26" slicks
th350 with 3000 converter
and optimized suspension.


to sum it up: is it worth it for me to buy those bigger heads, and only be able to stab in a solid ft not a hyd. roller? or would i be better off sticking with my current heads and just having them machined for bigger springs if im only using a solid ft.


i race up at bandimere speedway with D.A. in the 7000 +-1500 feet almost every night, so it might not sound too hard, but for my goal of a pump gas "street car" to run a high 11 is kinda hard.

thanks for any advice

rick

heads are fine IMHO, port them and get a roller... :D

How much compression do you have now. I would keep the heads you have, the 210s will need more gear and a lot more stall. I dont think you even need to port what you have, get a GOOD roller you could still use more stall. What does it run now.

compression will be 11:1

right now its 10.5:1 with a comp cams solid 274xe ( iknow its kinda small)

its ran a best of 12.64 at about 8000 DA that day. then the engine took a dump on me because of machinist error.

i kinda want to keep the stall at 3000 and the gear no lower becuase i do drive it on the street and to and from the track 40miles round trip.

any recommendations are greatly appreciated

rick

Well, if you locked into keeping your current gear and converter, then that really locks you into keeping that head to keep things matched.

If you drive the car alot on the street, then I would suggest you use a solid flat tappet and avoid a solid roller. If this was a limited street use deal and you want the quickest ET possible, then a solid roller is for you...otherwise, the expense and possible lifter failure from too much street use doesn't make the solid roller a wise choice.

I'd also shy away from a hydraulic roller as they don't give the performance advantage vs cost difference compared to a good solid flat tappet...hard to beat for the $$$.

I do feel that even if you bought a good solid roller that you would still not pick up enough to run in the 11's. With max porting of the heads and the roller...maybe, but it might just run low 12's and still not reach the high 11's.

i have the AFR 195s that have been ported locally. i also have a LARGE hydroroller. heres what appears to be a problem if this was more of a strip car. peak power was at 6200rpm. valve float was 6450. ive heard it said that you want to shift 200 over peak power. that dosent give one much room to work with. the large cam also (along with the head work and large intake) moved peak tq to 5000 so it needs a lot of converter and gear. flat tapet cams are not really a problem (once you get past the break in). i think the 195s will support 500hp. pick a cam that suits the compression and i think you will do well with the 195s. Dave

good points you guys made. i guess a more realistic goal is lower 12s,