So what's the verdict, did I buy the wrong heads?

Which heads did you buy?

Trick flow 270's, Max wedge.

The 270’s were worth 45hp over the 240’s. Other than the intake being slightly different, the engine was the exact same. If you have hood clearance, the 270’s are a no brainer.

45 HP is alot. What did they use for an intake?

Mine is going in a truck with a 3" body lift, I could probably run a tunnel ram without a hood scoop. So no big torque drop and did the power peak at the same Rpm?

I was underwhelmed by their results.

Maybe because I'm used to seeing what these combos make with 60 more cubes and metric ring packs, bigger cam etc.

Didn’t lose torque at all.

45 extra HP, for a mild hydraulic roller cam, and heavy TRW pistons, was impressive I thought. Remember that short block was built by Dulcich in high school.

That's good to know. I was bugging Richard Holdener to do this test a while back, so glad someone finally did it, maybe Holdener could do a 500 incher. So the take away is that the cam and intake probably dictate power band more?
I should buy a motortrend subscription, but my internet connection isn't that great.

I did the first back to back test 5 years ago on my 470 short block. That was a pump gas engine that was making a 725 hp with the 240 heads. The 270 heads didn't really pick up power until I found the correct intake manifold and then they picked up about 50 hp. With an out of the box Indy intake the 270 heads were not any better than the 240 heads. The intake manifold can make or break the combo when you're trying to make a lot of power/inch.

https://www.motortrend.com/how-to/dyno-day-trick-flow-270-mopar-heads

I watched the episode. Torque and HP increased throughout the RPM range tested over the 240's.
Pretty good increase.

Now if they would stick a set of ported 440-1s on it to see if there is any difference.
B1 or Predators would not be a fair test because of piston change. 440-1 would be a lifter and rocker change but that is something that can happen with the engine still in the car.

Dave

Nice article Andy. Did you ever get to test after the intake was worked over?

Dave

Yes, the ported intake picked up 25 hp over the cast intake. I think the best we ever made with that 470 was 780 hp. That was a pump gas engine so we had to be super careful with the camshaft selection. Higher compression would've allowed us to make more power. I think we could've gone over 800 hp if we had put a little more compression in the engine. I've done quite a few 270 head engine since then but none have made that much power. Most engines we do are for street guy or bracket guys and neither of them want to break the bank to pick up the last 50 hp in a build.

https://www.motortrend.com/how-to/dyno-tested-vacuum-pump-help-engine-make-power/

When starting from scratch with a build, the big port option wasn't a lot more money than standard port . As I saw in my case, needed a new intake manifold, so all I was buying extra was the valley plate kit , some cnc work on the indy dual plane, and a little more for the heads. I was buying all new valvetrain anyway so that stuff was all a wash.

If you want more power look at the Indy 440-1 ported heads along with one of their matching intakes

The 470 that Compu-Flow is building for me will have the 270's. Not sure on the cam yet but we both kind of want to try the trick flow cam. I will be thrilled if this engine is a legit 600 hp.

A pump gas 470 with 270 heads and the TF hyd roller cam will make 600 hp on the dyno as long as you use a good intake manifold. Best intake if you want 600 hp would be a port matched TF intake.

Offset intake rocker though, correct? Did anyone ever make steel or cast iron offset intake rockers?

Thanks for the advice. I do have a new trick flow intake now but it has not been port matched yet. Nice to know I am headed in the right direction.