I wonder what happened to doctor J or whatever his name was that always pushed these heads.
I bought a set of the Air Wolf heads from Dr J., and from what I heard from everyone else, they were basically the Pro Comp casting with his CNC port put on them. No idea if the guides or seats were upgraded. The selling point for me was a 220CC intake port without offset rockers. With a 4.125 stroke 428 Bloomer short block I knew I needed port volume.
My cooling system is lacking in the Valiant, and on the street this engine is almost always 210 or hotter, yet I've completed 5 drag weeks without a single issue. Two times NA 10.39-128 best, three times with nitrous, 9.43-139 best. So, if these castings are indeed Pro Comps I'd say they are good pieces. If anyone was likely to drop a seat it would be me, the way I've treated these things!
I really wanted CNC ported Indy 360-1s, but when I heard guys talking about buying three heads to get two that would hold water it scared me off! These were testimonials from guys who loved their 360-1s, and they would smile and say, "Once you get them lined out and not leaking water they are awesome"! No Thanks!
Billy do you know who has the CNC program for these heads? I would assume that they are the same as a procomp head which my local machine shop has sold piles of and has had no issues.
Marty,
This is the part that is so aggravating. Dr. J, Bryce Mulvey, was the guy who made the 220 CNC program. After he went through a divorce, lost his business, and screwed over a bunch of people, (I think he now works at CP pistons) no one attempted to buy the program. The Procomp heads are 171cc as cast, and there is a 191cc CNC port available, but nothing close to what Bryce was doing.
If you don't mind my asking...why did using an offset rocker bother you?
Madscientist,
The Drag Week thing is much like an endurance type situation. So a dependable valve train is a must. When I look at guys with big roller cams and Aluminum Rockers such as Indy, T&D, or Harlan Sharp, the rockers they always break are the offset intake rockers.
The Crane Golds I re-used on my engine have been in service since the late nineties. As are the 1 7/8 headers. I chose a mild 300/600 flat tappet cam, and beehive springs.
I don't think it's an exaggeration to say that this simple, lightweight valvetrain saved me twenty-five hundred bucks over a big roller cam, big spring pressure, offset rocker, custom header top-end. I'm certainly giving up power, but I feel the savings and the reliability are worth the trade-off.
