Aluminum heads - new vs used ?

I’m gathering parts for my 400 based street/strip pump gas build and have tossed around all ideas -getting a set of inexpensive off brand heads and building them, buying complete new brand name heads OR a set of used brand name heads.

Since I haven’t ever had aluminum heads before, my big questions are in what to look for and questions to ask in buying a set of used heads.

Thanks !

It really just comes down to if you trust the seller or not. I've sold a bunch of sets of used aluminum heads over the years without any issue. I've also built engines with used heads without any issues but I do always tear them down and check them over carefully before running them.

1st thing I do is to look around the seller's area to try to get an idea of whether he's got his act together...
As far as the heads, look for stripped threads, sunken valves, evidence of porosity and anything that looks cobbed up.
Valve & spring seating surfaces will be hard to judge if valves & springs are installed.
Mis-matched valves, springs, etc would worry me.
You'll need to know if they've been surfaced or cut and by what amount, whether intake face was milled if much was cut off the deck.
Like any other heads, what springs, retainers, guides, and whether that works for your setup.
Not sure if anyone's making Aluminum heads without accessory provisions, not a problem with Eddys or Stealths or Indy EZ1s.
Some grinding at one end of a BB head that interfered with a distributor does happen depending on what they guy's combo was, but like all things, should be nicely done.
And I would hope for documentation, but some guys just don't keep the paperwork.

Yes, and I’m sure I’ll have to add springs to match cam anyway. And Mopar fans are scarce in my neck of the woods so I’m resigned to inspection by pictures and trust.

Thank you !

Like I was saying to Andy it’s gonna be Left to questions and pictures bc Mopar is uncommon around here but you have made a lot of good points - especially with accessory holes ! I never would have thought about that

Thank you !

save your money & buy the Trick flow heads, you can get them with the correct springs for your cam, depending on what HP level they have them in standard port TF 240, Max Wedge port TF 270.

If a guy's asking about used heads he doesn't have $1860 for a new set of the Trick Flow 240s. I would recommend calling Todd Marsh and seeing about a new set of Sidewinders, although those may have increased price, too since Trump started playing games with China.
The least expensive that work reliably would be 440Source Stealth heads. $1000 a pair while the price lasts. They need to be gone over and depending on what cam you want they may need springs or some replace retainers and locks, although I suspect that's overkill for a midrange cam.
A used pair for around $650 could be a really good deal.
Procomp I haven't looked at lately.
R.

The accessory holes was a good comment. Not sure which heads don't have them any more? My old B1-B/S (from the 1990's) heads did not have the accessory holes drilled.
Need to figure which heads will work with your combination first, then look at price difference between new and used, and what comes with each.
If the used heads come with rocker arms, that would add another price point, and something else to check over.
As mention, if the heads have been milled, it could mess with the intake manifold alignment.
If you plan to use a power adder, you may want upgraded valves and valve seats that handle higher cylinder temps better.