Stage V or MP Hemi head?

I have posted here before on my oil consumption problem. To reiterate, It is a STREET driven 540 ci HEMI. 4.350 bore, 4.5 stroke. The short block was machined at Diamond back in the day, I doubt seriously that there is an issue with the bore/rings (Speed Pro file fit). There is ZERO blow by, yet the intake valves are carboned up, and you can see oil on the stems with a bore scope.
I feel certain that it is a valve guide/seal issue. Last weekend, 126 miles through the mountains, 1.5 qt. of oil!
So, I am pulling the MP heads. The question for those of you in the know, is, how much would I gain by buying a set of Stage V heads new? What valve guide material should I order? What seals should I order? and how much power would be gained with a Stage V street/pocket port, vs. just rebuilding the MP heads?
10.78 comp. 195-200 psi cranking compression. .248/.254 @ .050 with .585 lift solid roller. TTI headers (small tube) and 3" TTI exhaust with 19"x 3" Dno Max Ultra Flo mufflers.
Also, do the Stage V REQUIRE porting to even use them?
Thanks for your experience and validated responses.
Oh, here is the tailpipe after a local cruise on the interstate.

Very common to have the intake gaskets allow oil to be sucked into the intake.

I would check the bolt torques on the intake bolts/studs first.
If loose snug them up and see how things go.

If it doesn’t help carefully pull the intake and check the gaskets. If oil soaked and the intake ports are wet I think the gaskets are your problem.

Take the end gaskets and side gaskets off and lay the manifold back on and see if the head and manifold faces touch and are parallel.

Correct if not. Sometimes a slightly thicker gasket will help.

I have also seen a few rotted intake manifolds (above the oil shield) that allow oil to be sucked in to the plenum.

First - I'd check to make sure the intake port isn't sucking oil from the valley due to bad intake gasket seal at the bottom of the port. I'd take the intake manifold off carefully and look to see if there is oil on the port floor. I'd then do the intake manifold angle match check following the Hughes procedure: http://www.hughesengines.com/Upload/TechArticles/INTAKE_MANIFOLD_SEALINGJULY2015.pdf 1.5 quarts of oil in 126 miles seems to me like a lot to suck past the valve seals.

I don't think that I'd be starting over with a new head but if that's your preference, I'd be looking at the Eddy Head. I believe that you can run the Stage V SR head OTB but I'd send them to one of the head specialists that frequently post on this forum for checkout before I would bolt them on. I have CNC ported Stage V heads from MCH back when Jeff was running the show. They're great but I bought them before the Eddy Hemi Head came out. OTB, the Eddy head flows just about as much as my $CNC$ ported heads. And the Eddy's OTB are good in the street cam range (lift < .700). CNC Stage V #'s below are from the flowsheet I received with the heads. Eddy #'s are from https://www.hotrod.com/articles/port-edelbrocks-hemi-head-38-cfm/

_______-------- Intake ----------_________-------- Exhaust -------
_______MyCNC___Eddy___Eddy________MyCNC____Eddy____Eddy
Lift___StageV____OTB____Port+VJ______StageV____OTB____Port+VJ
______2.25"____2.32"____2.32"__________1.94"___1.94"____1.94"
.100____79_____No#_____No#___________67_____No#_____No#
.200___161_____166_____170*__________140_____134_____140
.300__*250_____238_____244___________184____*192_____211*
.400___323_____322_____327___________213____*232_____248*
.500___373____*386_____393*__________245____*257_____268*
.600___406____*410_____420*__________267_____269_____279*
.700___428_____419_____445*__________280_____272_____283
.800___440_____421_____459*__________281_____274_____288*

Sorry about all the "_"s but that's the only way I could force the column's to line up.

Asterisks near interesting numbers. StageV CFM were on a 4.320" bore. I didn't see a bore size mentioned for the Eddy flow testing. All testing was at 28". I'm at 604" with 4.500" bore and 4.75" stroke and you state that you are 540" with 4.350" and 4.5" stroke. 4.5" bore unshrouds the valve better. My motor has a 273/286 @050 .635" lift SR cam and made 888 HP at 6300 RPM with 824 Ft-Lb at 5000. I'm running dual FAST EZ-EFI throttle bodies on a Stage V Manifold. Not sure where the torque peak was since the dyno only recorded 5000-6700.

Picture is quick way to measure intake port size

Just my $0.02 ....

Had the same oil problem with my car. Same MP heads and original magnesium cross-ram intake. The oil was being sucked up from the long slotted bolt holes in the intake gasket. Match the gasket to your intake and see if the bolt slots in the gasket extend below the bottom of the intake face. I took my heads apart to check the valve guides and they were tight and id was to proper clearance diameter. I fixed the oil issue by putting rtv on the gasket and sticking it to the head, after it dried for awhile, I went back and filled the lower portion of the bolt slot in the gasket with rtv. I then put the intake on the motor and bolted it down. Oil problem fixed.

Pick the head with the best flow numbers and smallest port volume ratio! 450cfm won't do you much good if you need 7500 rpm to make it work.

Yes this was a problem initially, I now have the intake sealed up, verified with a bore scope.

Do your MP heads have pushrod tubes? They cause a lot of leaks too.

I love Stage V heads but Stage V's don't come ready to bolt on. They are bare castings. There is no valve job. I wouldn't call the ports complete. A valve won't go in the guides. You will need valves, springs, retainers, keepers, valve seals and spring cups. And for labor you will need porting, guides honed and a valve job. No matter where you go this will cost money. Stage Vs are beautiful. I have one in my lap to refresh my memory as I write this. These must be made from Chryslers old patterns.

PS. For those of you out there that have a KB block, Stage V will drill them to match the KB steam holes if you ask them to.

You should just pick up the phone and talk to Tim at FHO. He can make what you need. Add the o-rings around the ports to seal up the intake side, get the correct guide clearance, all that stuff. Won't be cheap but it will work.

Interesting comments - id try to find the source of the oil personally then make a call.

Not to hijack but I am in the middle of an intake swap and after a few hundred miles on a fresh 572, I have the same carbon crap on the back of the intake valves. 278/280 @.050, 112 LSA.

Car is running awesome, AFRs are great, the guides are fresh/seals are new and the gaskets are clean. I'm running an Indy valley tray which is sealed up nice. No oil usage and plugs are super nice, yet still have oil residue in the Barton single 4 intake and in the ports/back of the valve.

Reversion ?

Got me stumped.....

Now THAT is what I was needing to know, THANK you! I've been chasing this ever since I put it together. Of course I will carefully check the intake seal when it comes apart. But the unfinished head is a deal breaker for me.

I have talked to Tim, would love to have his heads, but $5000-6000 is not in the budjet. And Edelbrock clearly states that a 4.375 bore is minimum to use their head. Taking the great running engine apart to chamfer the bore is out of the question. So, it is MP head or nothing.

Hear is a quick photo of the exhaust after a 50 mile round trip, mostly Interstate. No blow by, and chalked up pipes?

Send your MP heads to a competent shop and have them thoroughly checked out.
MCH did my heads 12 years ago...CNC porting, pushrod tubes, sized the guides, etc.
Ran great, use no oil. Been refreshed a couple times since then and had liners installed in the original guides last time b/c they were sloppy as hell after beating on them for years. Been fine ever since.

No need to waste money on new heads when you just need to fix your current heads...if they truly are the problem.

Ok then. If it was me I know what I would do. When you tear the heads down you will most likely have guide wear. This is normal. (I've never had a street hemi that didn't guzzle oil.) I would shop around for some intake valves that have a larger stem diameter (shouldn't be hard to find) and have the guides honed to fit. (If they replace the guides they would have to do this anyway.) Doing it this way won't cost you more than replacing the guides. My reason for doing this is I don't like removing the guides in aluminum heads. They are already in there, they are aligned with the valve seat and are made of good material. It shouldn't be difficult to find a competent shop to hone the guides and do a valve job. This whole gig shouldn't cost you an arm and a leg. (In the old days we had cast iron heads and you would just ream out the guides and press in bronze sleeves.)

PS. I am incapable of putting an engine together without Stage V rockers. They are beautiful (I'm into pretty) and I feel the roller tips are easier on the guides.

Thanks, and that is exactly what I plan to do, as well as add extra sealant around the studs mounting the intake!

I agree, not having to buy new heads, allows money for good rocker arms! So who do you buy Stage V rocker arms from?

I buy them direct from her. Nearly impossible to get ahold of her. Just keep calling every day. Stage V Engineering 909-594-8383. And after you order them you will wait forever. I have honestly had stuff come in from her that I had totally forgotten I ordered it had been so long. That's why I have those heads and rockers on the shelf because if I need them I know they won't have them. By the way the price is the same as stock rockers. Nice.

If you get your heads done and want them quicker Mazzolini probably has some. Bob Mazzolini Racing 951-787-8783

I think Tim at FHO will treat you better than Mazz on the time and costs
Check with both

I think Tim gets a pallet of them at a time.

$US exchange on Canadian money adds up to a tidy discount too.

Kevin

FHO conducts all business transactions in US Dollars ...

I spoke with both gentlemen. Tim says his casting are "special order" unique just for him?

Ray Barton should have them. Ray Barton Racing Engines 610-693-5700

And he is not cheap.

check and recheck all possibilities before blaming the heads,7 out of 9 hemis that we see with oil issues are not related to the heads.