Trick Flow 240 on 383 with small cam worth it?

Any downside? What to look out for? '71 383, guess they are advertised at 8.7:1 compression. Lunati 220/226@.050" .475"/.494", Performer RPM, 1-3/4" headers. Before I break the stock heads off, are there any problems to look out for? Are the cylinders too small for these? What about head gasket bore size and thickness? Do I need different head bolts? Is this more trouble than it's worth?

I have NOT done this swap, I have used other brand stock 440 port size aluminum heads like the Eddy RPM and 440 Source heads on both street only and street and strip as well as race only. All of them made more power and drove better with more air and fuel going into the motors than they did with the stock 906 or 516 OEM iron Mopar stock heads, 383, 400, 413, 426W,440 and all the stroker motors I've built

Any alloy head is going to be a major upgrade over untouched factory irons. 240 Trick Flows though would be wasted on a 383 with that mild of a cam. You'll be into a set for $2500 when you're done. Unless you plan on turning the wick up on that motor later on then I would go 440 Source heads or Edelbrock e-street.

Just found where they say 4.32" minimum cylinder bore, so it looks like it's a no go.

Since you have headers and a Performer RPM I'd guess that you would pick up more than 50 hp with a head swap. The 4.250 bore size won't be a problem with a small cam.

It would make for an interesting test....... a real world type test.
A “seat of the pants” driving impression test........ to accompany a dyno test.

I can’t imagine the intake port discharge velocity would be great with a 240cc port feeding a 2.19” valve....... feeding only a mild 383ci.

If you compare that to the more popular “brand x” mild 383 builds........ they would usually use something like a 190-200cc intake port that fed 2.02” valves.

Mildly ported Source heads would be better, have more power everywhere...probably cost close to the same though...around 2K give or take. But would perform MUCH better!

I'm being budget minded with this advice.

I just checked prices and the Edelbrock E-Street heads are ridiculous now - forget those. The Trick Flow heads while being great for the money I just don't think are worth it on a stock stroke 383 with that mild of a cam. If you plan on major upgrades down the line, then sure. If leaving as is, then the 440 Source heads at $600 a piece vs $1000 a piece are the better buy. I wouldn't even bother porting the Source heads. They already flow a ton better than what you have. You're going to need new head bolts. Probably even reuse the stamped steel rockers if you're using them currently. Heads, gaskets and bolts would put you around $1500.

As to it being worth it? I think so. You'll feel the difference in power and weight savings off the nose.

Depends upon your budget. JustMoparJoe has a nice video on youtube with his machine shop guys going over the difference in an Eddy head v/s Trickflow.. Eric Weingartner(?) also has some decent BBM head comparisions.

As far as cylinder bore goes, if it got right down to it you could notch the top of the bores if needed to clear the intake.

Edelbrock 5090's are your friend here--IF you can find them. J.Rob

“At this moment in time”.......Summit shows 5090’s as available to ship today.

but is this a "drop ship" item ?
i ordered a set of plain 15x7 chrome wheels from them that had "at this moment in time" being available back in november.
they actually said there were : "more than 10 sets available now to ship".
i finally got them in march.............
i wouldn't count on receiving anything shortly with them showing that statement.

If I was planning on ordering...... I’d just make a call and verify they were on hand.

that's exactly what i did !
summitt's "computer" said they were "available".
at this point, when ordering anything, i expect the shipping to "get here whenever......"
just because something shows "being available to ship" doesn't always mean that's true. MOST of the time it IS true, but a lot of times, it is NOT.
rant off.
just my experience over the last couple of years.
your mileage will vary.

The real motor is at the machine shop, and I just had these heads waiting, so I was just curious to see what it would do with what it is now. Swapping heads is no big deal, but if it involved having to upgrade this and that, then I'll just keep the stock heads on. Thanks for everyone's input.

Ran a low deck 470 with TF240 heads on the dyno yesterday. Small street cam, made 550 hp and 570 torque. Have a small cam, low deck 512 coming up next with TF240 heads. It will probably be a 575/600 type of engine.

Andy,

What size cam in the 470? Small? or Relatively small?

220/226 @.050 Hydraulic Flat Tappet might be a broomstick compared to what you might typically consider small.

The Howards/TF 243/247 @.050 .600/600 Hydraulic Roller would be small-ish for a 470 with 240 heads.....but it sure would be nice comparison with the same cam in the 512/270TF but I'm thinking it would still make over 600 with the 470 and 650+ in the 512 with locomotive torque.

For that 383 and low compression the port velocity is (*theorretically) gonna be lazy even with a stock-ish CC port, I'm wondering with with the right manifold and carb (for the combo) that can be "band-aided" to a point to where you can still get decent overall performance and still take advantage of the great mid lift CFM available with those heads. It's not ideal but if those are the heads you have....you can always build into them (like a 484 stroker shortblock) later.

Kind of liken your situation to a factory 351C or 396/402 BBC, where the heads were lot better than the manifolds and cam that fed them.

If I had the 240's I'd find a way to use them but (*) I don't think a 2.19 will fit a 4.25 bore anyway.