Racing Class only allows iron heads - best option for LA

All-

I have a 67 Barracuda that I road race with different sanctioning bodies in the midwest. They are coming down hard on certain 'non-period' car mods now. I have ported Edlebrocks on my 340 currently and have been given a grace period to replace them with iron heads before I will be failed at tech and not allowed to run. So, I am going to set the current engine aside for my 71 Scamp project and start fresh. I have a 340 block, Milodon 340 road race oil pan, and McLeod lightweight clutch and flywheel that will port over to the new engine otherwise I'm starting over. Strokers are out (yes, they can check displacement at the track). I hate to lose the Eddys (CNC ported and flowed around 300 @ .600 lift - current cam/rockers net about .610 lift) but it is what it is. Crank, rods, pistons, and cams are open (as long as the stroke is factory). Roller rockers are ok but not roller cams. My big question is the heads. The engine will spend most of its time between 4500 and 7500 rpm. I know people have gotten the same or better flow numbers porting W2s as I saw on my Eddys - is that the best / only choice? Yes, I know that means intake, headers, and valvetrain need to change and that's not the end of the world. Since the heads are where I'm shackled the most I figured I'd start at the top of the engine and work my way down as far as putting a package together. The goal would a comparable (albeit heavier) version of what I have now - a reliable long block putting out something in the 450hp range. I'd take more for sure but I'd rather build something with a little more safety factor (ie - not wound to the hairy edge). Our race weekend usually nets between an hour and two hours of track time and I typically get 6-8 events (2 seasons) between freshening. Thanks in advance for the input.

Speak to Todd @ http://www.mopartsracing.com/

Stock magnum heads can put out 400hp untouched.

Not OE stock (ends look machined/shiney!) but I'm thinking EQ magnums (they are iron) from New Zealand from AAmidwest in Las Vegas. Eric Haugland there is a very easy guy to deal with.

Obviously, from a power production standpoint the W2’s are going to be hard to beat.

IMM might still be doing something with a cnc ported LAX head, and then you could reuse all the other bits that go along with the E heads.

For road racing, the down side to the LAX’s is they’re pretty heavy.

There’s a post over on FABO right now where Jesse at RAMM built a 340 with a solid cam and some warmed over X heads that made over 450hp.

My old 340 with ported 587’s made 478hp....... so it’s doable with stock heads.

What mods to the heads are allowed? This may not apply but 2 of the quickest NHRA Stock eliminator 340's in the country run 051 heads. The Super Stockers run highly modified 308's.

I would buy a set of the W2 race heads, not the econo versions and have them ported and set up to flow as much air as they can get without comprising the casting to avoid cracks while road racing
I built a pump gas street and strip 340 with a forged steel 4.0 inch stroke many years ago for a friend of mine and member on here with a set of the race W2 heads mildly ported and polished, it made a little over 514 HP at 5900 RPM on CA pump swill on a stingy DTS engine dyno back in the early 2000s He drove that motor all over including several of the Hot Rod cruises from CA to back east as well as driving in the one lap around America once
Those heads did everything my friend wanted and then some, he ran NOS on it also

A couple magnum builds to look at

http://www.hughesengines.com/TechArticles/11360dynotestfeb2000.php

http://www.hughesengines.com/TechArticles/14360stage3dynotest.php

"They are coming down hard on certain 'non-period' car mods now."

Will the Magnums pass the period visual test?

Is this visual or after market. As in iron heads are ok aluminum not. Or is there more to what is acceptable.

I would think so. I think since the Magnums and the W2s have Chrysler casting numbers on them likely nobody would ever say anything. There are so few mopars road racing that nobody is really sure what they are looking at. Doesn't take a genius to spot aluminum vs. cast iron though so that's their big sticking point.

Porting, valves, springs, are unlimited.

I'll check that out. Thanks

W2s are probably your best bet. I had some new ones but sold them off a couple years ago.

If interested in the MP Magnum R/T heads, I have some that
I would sell. There used to be a lot of good info on them in the tech archives here.

Just another option to check out. Good luck with the decision 👍

If they are looking at the heads, the W2's look more like a standard head. The ends of the Magnums have a different appearance. Maybe all they do is check with a magnet to verify they are iron?

Do they test to find out if they are steel or aluminum or is it just a visual check? Some ancient and hard to find Batten W2's might fill the bill if you could get away with it. The battens at porosity issues so not all are the greatest quality and it took me a long time to find a good set but they exist and they can be ported to flow some really good numbers! Also a candidate are some of the early Diamond W2 heads (which look like the newer Indy heads)/ Both the Battens and the Diamonds have rough cast ends that look like iron heads once painted orange. I know where a really nice set of freshly professionally ported and rebuilt Diamonds can be had if interested. Pics are of Battens

The Diamonds are a little less convincing but at least they don't look like a big unfinished block of billet aluminum like all the others.

Original source for the Diamonds

I sure wouldn’t want to spend a bunch of money on heads and valve gear that you know aren’t legal(aluminum), especially when the tech guys have already told you they don’t want them on the motor.

I’d want some clarification on exactly what is and isn’t legal if I used anything other than period correct oe heads.

Agreed. I'm not a racer but I would assume there are few things worse than failing tech and turning into a spectator.

Cheating and not getting caught is how most racers win....Just say'n

Here you go, still new in the box:

The heads Andy posted the pic of...... those would be the hot ticket right there.

If you get those, the next challenge may be the rocker gear. That head takes specific shaft hold downs. Make sure too that the shafts you get for the W2's have oil passages that line up with the rockers. In the mid 80's I cooked 2 shafts, 8 bushed rockers, same on pushrods, because the oil passages did not line up unless the rocker was almost vertical. This was a problem that Mopar and others like Hamburger did not address. I got new pieces and laid in some grooves on the shafts after talking it over with Lee Muir who helped design the heads and ran Mopars west coast r&d up by Laguna Seca called Shadow Racing. He had stacks of heads, rockers,parts etc left over from Petty's operation when they worked together.

Brian,
Talk to the Bensons since I'm pretty sure they are in the same situation as they run vintage as well as SPO.
If you don't have contact for them, let me know.
- Matt

If you go that route only buy steel stands, the mopar aluminum will break. There are some problem rocker parts out there, most was the early stuff, by the 90s the stuff was sorted out pretty well, heads got thicker decks, thicker exhaust flanges, and stiffening ribs around the lower head bolt row. It is also very apparent the ports were a little better on late heads, and the ends took on the magnum head look. Around here in the late 90s some of the chevy stock car guys were running mopar because the w-2 was a legal head and made more power with a 4bbl than the bowties of the time, otherwise they had to run a 2bbl with aluminum. The late heads will easily get you the power you need and be dependable, I would run harlan sharp since rollers are legal.

As for the w2 rocker gear....... I’d just run t&d’s and use pushrod oiling.

If they're super picky and won't allow the W2 heads your next best bet would be to find a set of 1970 915 340 six pack heads. With the offset intake pushrod you can really port those intake ports for a LOT better flow. Make sure they're the 915's with the offset pushrods.

i always was taught you ain't cheatin' unless you get caught, and you ain't cheatin' ENOUGH unless you get caught at least ONCE.

If Andy is going to sell those heads I'd jump. Then I'd call Norris and see if you can get some stainless rockers for them.

Someone already said to correct the oiling on the shafts. This is 100% correct. The oil hole in the shaft absolutely MUST line up with the oil hole in the rocker with the valve on the seat. I personally have never seen a set of shafts that were drilled correctly. It's a PITA to do but it needs to be done.

You'll kill most anything if you can run W-2's.

, OP might best also do some research on best sandbagging tricks. If I remember correctly, decades back at Hialeah Speedway in Miami, a Challenger was similarity equipped, they even allowed mopar SB's to have greater lift cam specs, since they were so "disadvantaged" and rare, the Challenger always ran down the field, no matter where he started, for awhile.

I think Norris is out of business, but if they are still at it, they made a really bitchin set of cast stainless roller rockers.

IMM engines cast iron heads:
http://immengines.com/indyimmironheads.html

I'm trying to remember how Smokey Yunick put it, something like it isn't cheating if the rules don't say you can't do it. That's the right attitude in my book. But to deliberately break a hard and fast rule....maybe that's why I'd never been a success in motorsports competition!

Smokey was a master at it. One famous story was about fuel capacity. Rules dictated how big the tank could be and any way the inspector measured it, it was legal but the car was going more laps than that amount of fuel would allow. The legend goes that the discussion became heated and with the fuel cell still on the bench, Smokey fired up the engine and drove away.

There was a rule for the size of the tank but no rule dictating how big or how long the fuel line could be...

Kevin

Last time I checked, they were still making them and that was less than 2 years ago. If you google them you can find the phone number even though it comes up as a Volkswagen site.

Smokey was a true master of the gray area concerning anything on a race car. Many rules came to be because of Smokey's work in "gray areas".


Tim

So good info on Ryan's site, you might want to pick his brain.

http://www.shadydellspeedshop.com/prices.htm