I just wanted to let everyone know that my new AFR 325 (CNC'd chamber) heads arrived and their everything I could have hoped for. To select these heads I talked with Mike Lewis (Wolfplace) and Tony Mamo (lead head designer) at AFR over the last few months. We ended up going with a few upgrades such as the CNC'd chambers which give the best flow for your buck, titanium retainers, heavier Manley "Nextek" springs, and angle milled from 121 down to 104 cc to boost my compression to just a tad over 13:1. My 408 mini-rat likes to run over 7000 and with this new setup will like 7500+ and should increase me to 700+ HP and 625+ Ft. lbs....

These heads will be replacing my modified 1966 cast iron Sp. Hi Perf. closed chamber/rec. port heads that put out 635 HP. Mike also helped me work with UD Harold, the guys at Comp. Cams, and Ron Iskenderian at Isky to select a custom roller grind to replace my current Crower roller and work nicely with the new AFR heads.

I'd highly recommend giving Mike a shout if you need any advice or engine parts as Mike, his wife (who usually answerts the phone) and wolves are top notch people and never too busy to chat about engine parts, the topic of the day at Chevelles.com, or life in general.

The only parts I have yet to get to complete my combo are some Red Zone or Crower lifters with HIPPO option and a Jesel or Comp. Cams timing belt.

Thanks again Mike for all the help and introductions to quality people at AFR, Comp. Cams, and Isky.

I'd like to hear more about your current combination to make 635 hp. What weight car and what ET does it run?

My lil 414 bbc (based on a 427, not a 396/402) barely makes 570-580 hp at the flywheel...shift are made at 7000 rpm, and that's with a "little" 781 oval port head.

Your current combination has got to be pretty radical as it is. A 325 cc head is huge for a 396 based engine...heck, most engine builders put that head on a 509-540 engine!

Hey Todd,

You should be able to run a search and get my combo.... Nothing special, just a good combination/match of parts...

The HP and torque numbers on my 408 are higher then would typically be expected based on higher compression ratio (12.5:1), excellent flowing (Large heads), modest roller cam, Victor Jr., and twisting the snot out of it. If I didn't have a stick I don't think it would be too streetable. With it, its manageable and "fun"/lots of adrenaline on the steet. Have not made it to the track yet, but hope to this summer and hopin' my ladder-link/coil0over setup gets into the 10's with some tuning....Will be lookin' for some guidance from Ryan, Roger, and yourself!

I few years back I talked extensively to several Fellow TC'ers, including yourself I beleive to come up with a potent combo.... More recently, Mike, Tony, and a few others (Ryan "66283" and Roger "383Malibu") have providied stout advice....

I beleive its the combination of parts, rather then throwing a bunch of large, and often missmatched parts toghether that provide the most HP at a desired RPM range.... Since you and I have killer mini-rats we need to spin then up to perform like the larger cube BBC's. If you throw a set of bigger heads on and enough compression and flow, (and a good/programmable MSD Ignition) the HP numbers get up their with the big guys running 496's, 540, and even Ryan's 632 monster. If my motor stays together, and thats the kicker, it should put out 800+ with the fogger on.... I'll let everyone know the chassis dyno numbers later this summer when I'm tunning the fogger.

Rich,

What brand of cam did you end up with? What's the specs?

Thanks for the kind words Rich graemlins/beers.gif

More than happy to help you spend your money :D

Glad you like the heads,, nice pieces.
I'll have the cam & other stuff headed your way pretty soon.

Just for info, my first choice was the 305 head with the CNC chamber but after discussing it with Rich & Tony it was mutually decided that the 325 would make more power considering the RPM, intended use & goals with nitrous.
I agree completly that under most circumstances this head woud be bigger than necessary & was the last to "agree" with the selection :D

Tony has forgotten more about heads than most of us will ever know & considering he designed these heads, I would not consider second guessing him on a choice.
Question it,,, oh yeah but like a cam if Ron or Harold choose something different than what I did that's what would go in the engine.
I find I tend to learn a hell of a lot more by not "knowing everything" ;)

Darren,

Always glad to share the specifics. graemlins/thumbsup.gif

Here's the specs. on my custom Isky Grind I worked out with Ron, Mike, and Tony......

After EXTENSIVE discussions with both Harold @ Lunati, Comp. Cams, and Ron @ Isky all three companies cams were VERY similar in duration, lift, and most likely ramp..... Mike can explain further as I'm a engineer, and have no cam doctorate!

Isky Special Grind

Intake lobe: R624 "Accelerator" intake profile
Exhaust lobe: R577

Specs: (taken on Mike's Cam Pro-Plus machine"

Intake: 262.2 @ 0.050 lift, 292.9 @ 0.020/advertized lift, .717" lift at 0.024" lash

Exhaust: 270.4 @ 0.050" lift, 302.9 @ 0.020/advertized lift, .705" lift at 0.028" lash

Lobe Seperation: 110.7
Install at 106.7 (4 degrees)

With the AFR heads, a little piston and cylinder grinding to fit the 2.30/1.88 valves at that lift and 13:1 compression, I'm counting on a little over 700 HP at 7500 - 8000 rpm.....

Thanks Rich. I was just curious.

I run a pretty mild Isky street roller and I always like to see others run Isky also. :cool: Something a little different from the norm; Comp or Crane.

Oh,

Almost forgot....

The cam was also ground for the 4,7 firing order swap and has the press fit and pinned (cast iron) gear on the billet blank which allows you to run the stock (iron) gear on your distributor for longer life instead of having to run a bronze gear which wears faster....

Darren,

From talking to the cam gurus (Ron, Harold, and a few guys at Comp.) it sure appears to me that they all look at each other's cams and can offer pretty much the same thing in custom grinds....

Ramp up (getting it open quick for more area under the curve, but without breaking valetrain parts), lift velocity, ramp down (how gently they set the cam down on the base circle, without bounching), and duration/lift profile, with the right springs and geometry appear to be were these guys eat, drink, and live.....

I'm pretty sure that one of UD's cams, Ron's cams, and Comp's cams, would preform pretty similarily on the dyno and at the track.

And I don't expect this to open up a can of worms.... :D

Sweet combo. It will make 700 hp.....easy. Kick *ss street car. Nothing like the sound of a big block at 7500 rpms. When you are ready for the nitrous give Nitrous Supply in Huntington Beach a call. Less exspensive than Summit, and VERY knowledgable staff. Run by Mike Thermos (founder of NOS) 714 373-1986

Rich - I'm glad to hear that your plan is coming together. Just make sure that you do enough work on the intake manifold that it doesn't become the constraining factor in the air flow, particularly since you are going to have to crank it up to take advantage of those 325cc intake ports. And, you're going to need lots of air gap (.080" - .100") and a precisely aligned bellhousing to shift that Richmond at 7500 rpm. Keep me tuned.

Man, I can't wait to see/hear this thing boogie! My summer schedule is fried since we're moving Rich, but do let me know when you have this ride done and out there.

Quote from Wolfplace "I find I tend to learn a hell of a lot more by not "knowing everything"

Indeed, the mark of a true professional Mike.

Thanks for the input and support guys!

Transferring of my 69SS (sorta pro-street) was only possible through hours of interactions with numerous guys here at TC. I've had the car since I was 15 and now I'm 40.... The cars been through a lot of transformations, but this time is by far the biggest/best.... Its been about 3 years and I'm getting close to hitting the strip and hope to clock a low 11 first time out.... Hopefully my setup will get enough bite/weight transfer to make this happen.

Key people here at TC have included Ed "racer1320", Brian, "bottlerat" Todd "10secBu", Gene "427L88", Roger "383malibu", Ryan "66283" and most recently Mike "Wolfplace" to name a few.

69 Rat - I made a few calls yesterday to Nitrous Supply, Applied Nitrous Technologies, and Koehler Enginnering to discuss flow testing the fogger and hope to get going on this shortly as the wiring and safety items are all in place. I think I'll give Ryan a call and see what he recommends....

Roger - I'll be getting in touch to talk about flowing/matching my Victor Jr. when I do the head/cam swap later this summer.

Gene - We're are you moving to? I'll try to catch you this week so we can discuss my first trip to Lancaster.

Thanks again guys!

Rich, we're moving next door literally. Actually more work as we'll do it ourselves. Let me know when you'll have the beast out. Any chance you might make our show 7/23-25 on Grand Island? ( i know it isn't a "show" car, but we like 'em all!)

Gene,

Yeah..... I'll make the show (as long as the wife doesn't have any plans for D-Lake with the kiddos and its sunny) ... Sounds like a fun time. Where is it being held? I should be able to make it their and back to Lewiston with 10 gallons and racing fuel if I take it easy... LOL!

I have a some friends that go to Lancaster a few times every year and hope to tag along with them. One has had his 69 Z-28 since the late 70's and a few others I graduated with from Lew-Port in 82'.... Most of my school buddies had sold their cars long ago and wish they still had them. My buddies back in HS had 66, 68, 69, and 70 SS Chevelles, and 68 and 69 SS, RS/SS, and Z-28 Camaros. A 70 Mach I/II ??? Mustang, Oldsmobile 442, 68 goat, and a 69 Superbee.... Those were the days of talking big and small blocks that we used to think were killer, but were actually rather tame....

Be sure and let us know what it does at the track.

:cool:

Will do Mike,

I should have included you and Wes Colby on my "Lots of help from fellow TCer's" list.

The only problem is our local track "Lancaster" is only 1/8th mile so we'll have to look at my 60 ft. and 1/8th mile times and do some calculations..... Oh well....

Maybe I can run up to Cayuga in Canada or Leichester in the southern tier of NY.....

Congrats Rich on building up an awesome mill! Talk about moving some air!! graemlins/thumbsup.gif I'd love to hear that thing sing some higher RPM notes...in truth, the only thing I contributed to your rocket was to help ya' spend some dough on a killer set of wheels. :D