W2 Parts Questions

I am just thinking ahead (wish list) for some upgrades on my 340. I am thinking of finding parts "a little at a time" and the first two pieces would be a set of W2 Econo's and a W2 intake.
I would like to use a dual plane (street car) and I am curious of opinions as to what dual plane W2 intake would be good on a street car that would keep the rpms under 6500 or so.
Or, what about having my existing RPM intake ported and then new mounting holes added? The specs on it say good up to 6500rpms. How would the RPM intake react with the W2's?

Later on down the road, it would be the rockers.
I see that T&D make rockers for the W2's (could not verify ratio), and I found some Crane Race Gold 1.6 rockers too. I also found HS for $1000+. Hughes said that they do not make any and do not see making any in the near future. Are there any more selections for the W2 shaft mounted rockers?

Thanks

the intake rockers are the ones that are different..the W2 head exhaust rocker is a standard rocker. So a standard crane gold will work on the exhaust..you need 4 lefts and 4 rights for the intakes.

Summit still list the Crane w2 rockers..so they are available.

the dual plane intake was made by Weiand and has oval ports, they show up on Ebay every not and then.

http://www.jegs.com/i/Mopar+Performance/...SVvMaAnbL8P8HAQ

Thank you 70!!

Who makes a good rocker arm shaft? It appears that most of the W2 rocker arm packages do not come with shafts. This is good for me so that I can buy parts separately as I have the budget. I found on the Mancini websight MP @ $160 and HS @ $180. Are these two comparable?

There is a Weiand W2 dual plane intake for sale on page 1 of the small block parts for sale section here. It's not mine and I'm in no way affiliated with the seller.

That is a Weiand dual plane modified into a W2 intake with porting and holes relocated. That might be a good option but I am not ready to pull the trigger just yet.

I have been emailing T&D for their rocker quotes. They supply rocker shafts with their kit. Crane would be a little less expensive per rocker but they don't sell shafts. Once shaft pricing is put in with Crane, they are about $125 less than the T&D's full kit.

Thanks

No matter what shaft/rocker you use, make sure the oil holes are lined up with each other when the valve is closed. Years ago, I did up a set of W2's for my Duster and cooked half a set of the bushed DC rockers, custom pushrods, lash caps and both shafts. I can't remember if I got the shafts from DC or Ed Hamburger[ before he turned to the dark side]. I ran this by a guy I met who ran Mopars west coast skunkworks up by Laguna Seca. He said Mopar never got their feces together on the shafts and that the rocker would have to rotate past full valve opening, till it was almost 90*, for them to oil. This is exactly what I found on mine. I replaced the damaged pieces, ground in some oiling grooves on the new shafts, drained the metallic infused oil, cleaned the filter and off I went.

if you have econo heads...check to see what the bolt thread on the pedestal is ...and check out mancini for shafts..

""I would like to use a dual plane (street car) and I am curious of opinions as to what dual plane W2 intake would be good on a street car that would keep the rpms under 6500 or so.""

How about intakes?
I am assuming that I would want to look for the Dual Plane W2 since I don't plan on high rpms. BuT I have read where the Dual Plane W2 may not be a good intake versus the Single Plane W2 intake.
Anyone running the Dual Plane W2 intake on a stock stroke 340/360 on the street?

Thanks

Something else regarding the shafts to consider is whether the heads you end up with require the off-set hole locations on the shafts.

I'm in a bit of a similar situation as you...my next build plan calls for a stroker motor but W2 top-end, so far amongst nearly all the parts I have the long-valve Econo heads, but these take the standard on-center retaining bolt hole shafts...

You need to figure out if you have the basic or econo heads. One has the pedestals to take the shaft directly and the other has them machined off which usually meant offset rockers and shafts. Makes a difference on all the pieces.

This is an Race W2 head..notice the pedestal are machined flat..they require the stands and offset shaft.

This is an Econo W2 the head has pedestals for the stock style rocker shaft.

this head is a standard length valve econo W2 head...there are also long valve Econo heads also.

Thanks for the pictures on the heads. I have been collecting info on the w2 heads and I will add those to my notes.

Intakes: for a street driven W2 combo: dual plane or go with the single plane for a street setup?
If you run a W2 intake on the street, please let me know how it runs.
Thanks again to all!

The only dual plane intake in now is the MP copy of the stock intake.
As far as single plane intakes go, I would look for the Holley Street Dominator. That would work with mild cams and gear ratios in the mid to low 3's. Use of a small carb would help. A 650 rather than a 750 improves throttle response.

While I don't have W2s I am running ported edelbrock heads on a street driven 360 with a solid roller cam. I am running an Edelbrock Victor manifold and I have been real happy with it, no drivability complaints at all and it has made about 500HP on a good day going off of ET, MPH, and weight(11.18@120.5@3500lbs). The next motor is 90% complete and is a Ported W2 416 and I will be running an Edelbrock victor on it with some mild porting.

I have run single plane intake manifolds on several combos on both 340 and 360 and I have never had a complaint. The new stroker motor will be my first time with W2 stuff but I don't have any concern. The lack of a readily available W2 dual plane backs that up.

http://www.edelbrock.com/automotive/mc/manifolds/chrysler/victor-sb.shtml

""While I don't have W2s I am running ported edelbrock heads on a street driven 360 with a solid roller cam. I am running an Edelbrock Victor manifold and I have been real happy with it, no drivability complaints at all and it has made about 500HP""

""I have run single plane intake manifolds on several combos on both 340 and 360 and I have never had a complaint.""
""The lack of a readily available W2 dual plane backs that up.""
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Thank you Bad!
I have read good reviews on the Victor intake. But since the power band starts at 3500rpms, this is why I have been looking into the W2 dual plane information. These are the part numbers that I have found so far:
P5249572: Aluminum, 9.600" deck height, dual plane
P5249572AB: Aluminum, 9.200" deck height, dual plane

I was thinking that since I will need to find a set of old W2's, I might as well search for a W2 dual plane intake too. If I can't find one in good shape, then the newer single planes may have to work. Or, I could have someone modify my existing RPM intake as an option and it specs out up to 6500rpms or so.

Thanks again for your reply.

Ref:
Aluminum Dual Plane Intake - 4 bbl Carb, W2 Heads

List Price: $300.00

Your Price: $255.00

You save: $45.00

Part Number :P5249572


Aluminum Dual Plane Intake

Sorry, having problems posting a picture of the Holley

Ive only one W2 motor but im sitting on alot of W2 parts, none for sale but the intake vary a good bit. Ive tried all in the pics except the new mopar dual plane as I just am concerned about the higher rpm aspect.

I probably should read more but whats your max rpm range and your converter and gearing?

More....I will go back and read from the top....

After reading the op, if your looking to stay under 6500 id consider a smaller plenum/runner single plane and a non ported set of castings since the whole concept of the W2 was to support higher rpm use imo.

There are still a few sets of nib shaft mount rockers floating around I know of in the $600 area, not mine but other racers.

Even unported 550-575hp is easy.

As well as I dont see why the mopar like w2 dual plane wouldnt support 6500 well, look at how we used to spin the 340-s with Xs and the 71 style intake.

"" if your looking to stay under 6500 id consider a smaller plenum/runner single plane and a non ported set of castings""

Porter,
You have a nice selection of W2 items! Thank you for sharing the pictures.
This Fall I plan on my search for parts and I was hoping to find a set of the Econo W2's.

What would you suggest as a "smaller plenum/runner single plane"?

If experienced people like you say stick with a certain single plane, then that will be the direction that I go.

Thank you again,

Opinions vary and I would get as much input as possible like your doing.

Although I have a good selection of parts, there are so so many more experienced then I but when you get that far and want to try the single plane let me know and id probably loan it out for a month or two for testing since the cost of W2 manifolds has went crazy the last 10 years.

Really, older mags that didnt sugar coat things are a good source of W2 builds as well as the older mopar direct connection publications.

Look at this Victor W2, a high rpm intake but awsome.

Hey Mr. Porter! Thanks for posting the Holley Street Dominator.
(Top pic for those that do not know)
I was trying to do just that.

YO, on a milder cammed, street bound mill, the smaller plenum has an advantage over a larger plenum in throttle response. It is easier to tune the carb. Instead of the runners drawing from a huge plenum first, it can also pull on the carb as well. Since there's less plenum area to draw on. Low rpm operation is easier.

Holley designed the intake this way vs. there strip dominator that has a larger plenum and longer runners. Porters mention of the W2 initial design use is correct. Higher lift, higher rpm. The use of the W2 as cast can still be a very good head. They flow best at high lifts. The low lift suffers a little bit.

I will use my future W2 bowl ported and with a high lift cam. With that street dom intake it will have a snappy response and good upper power. Not a high rpm screamer. Easy, simple, non complicated build.

Im not one to try to sway on a personal individualistic idea because god knows ive got plenty of my own, but with a 6500 rpm limit a X or J head would make just as much power in and save alot of money and possible grief.

If your 340 is 4.050 or a hair bigger Im sitting on something old school killer that would only appeal to a certain group ( A trick rotating assembly, a 318-3 steel crank at a 3.45 stroke, ect ).

Porter,
How much cfm can be made out of a set of ported 2.02" j-heads?
The bowls were blended on mine but never flowed.

Can my existing RPM intake be ported to a set of W2 heads?

Thanks

I know you asked Porter specifically, and I hope he provides more info while I've barely got enough DIY experience to recognize some of the port terminology, but here are some specs on a totally DIY job based on the swirl-port ('308 castings) MP templates.

So my heads are the 596 castings, new Manley severe duty valves, 2.02/1.60, 11/32 stem, new bronze guides, and a standard 3 angle valve job. I ported them using the MP porting templates, here are the flow numbers (flowed on SF-600 @ 28" water):

LIFT I E

0.100 67 57
0.150 99 79
0.200 130 104
0.250 162 125
0.300 189 140
0.350 215 152
0.400 235 160
0.450 253 167
0.500 262 172
0.550 261 175
0.600 248 177

Nice job Diplomat! I need to see what my 2.02" J-heads can be ported too after seeing your numbers. I think that I need to be in the 250ish range at .550" to get to my goals.

Thank you for posting that information!

Dip360, them are some good numbers and the temps you used are proven to work. The 11/32 stem helps as well. You could get a hair more but the effort involved imo wouldnt produce the expected returns for the time involved.

Unless set to certain class rules many times its easier just to jump to a better head/casting.

As far as getting a la intake to a W2, alot of work. Best route is to get the intake made for the head.

I'll have to find my flow sheet for my econo W2's, but with only some mild porting I'm flowing 288cfm on the intake side at .550 lift. I'll check all the specs and post them when I get home tonight.

KMFDM,
Please post the flow numbers when you get a chance. Thank you!

I have contacted a "well known" shop to see what they can do with my existing 2.02" J's. They can port them to 275cfm which puts them in the range of the stock W2's and the Indy/IMM heads (which I have looked into previously).

For an appx 425hp build: (new custom cam and rocker gear would be required for each)?:
A) Port existing J's to 275cfm (+ port existing RPM intake)
B) Purchase non-ported Econo W2's 250-260cfm (+ port match W2 intake)
C) Purchase new Indy/IMM heads @ 271cfm (+ port existing RPM intake)

Thanks everyone!

I have a simple combo/cam for a dyno proven 425 plus build that uses 2.02 J heads with a simple afternoon of cleanup work and a small lift solid.

No need for any kind of heavy porting, and I will look at the head pics as I dont think they needed modified much.

I cant take credit for it, I copied it from mag build and have used the same cam for many builds, its got a very flat tq curve and hits hard from about 1700-6300.


Let me find the pics here as I beat this build to death for three years, street and track.

Heads had very very little cleanup work to them.

I used Hughes BB Victors on this 440" W2 with the MRL .185" offset rollers, it's pretty "sporty"

I just had another discussion about my three options listed above. It appears that the Indy/IMM heads and the ported J-Heads will be about the same on power but the Indy/IMM will have a slight torque advantage for about the same price. The W2 setup on my combo would suffer do to low torque.

This thread is a huge learning curve for me!

Thanks again to all and Porter, thanks for sharing!!

Thank you...and yeah, I was pretty happy with the results, I think these heads work with my combo very well.

Here is a pic of what the ports ended up looking like:



Now, if there is anything I'd like to add to this is that it's very much about the combo. I have a 4K stall 9.5" converter in my ride, with 727 auto, 3.91 gear and 275/60-15 tires that car flat out "hauls butt"...now what about the combo you might ask? Well, I experimented with Perfomer RPM intake vs Holley Strip Dominator, there was a noticeable difference between the two...Performer RPM won hands-down for street manners and real butt-meter torque. I have yet to take the car to the track to see what ET difference that might translate to though.

Dip, you got alot of time in them puppies. I hate iron heads but I do alot of straight six tractor heads.

Here is a old X set thats still in the rough before final cleanup so they look pretty but I also tubed the pushrod tubes and will have to run 5/16 pushrods but that dont bother me as the whole "you got to run 3/8" are more of a mopar cult deal then reality. I had to open the chambers up alot to take a domed piston at a 4.100 bore.

I dont think I can get much more out of these.

But since this is about W2 heads the bottom pic is of a W2 econo chamber and it shows it was thought out a bit better then the older oem x,j heads.