The Chinese are know to have an exceptionally poor command of the science of metallurgy. They copy (crappy) Russian planes and their copies are fit only for political enemies to fly. Engines come unglued on takeoff, and landing gear collapse. Their castings and forgings often have horrendous inclusions.
Everything they make revolves around being as cheap as possible, especially with metallurgy. Alloys with minimal mode expensive metal%. Stainless that rusts and magnets stick etc. That combined with nearly zero quality control and production speeds ramped up to fastest possible and you end up with crap. Most of the time you end up wishing you got something priced a little higher, but don't have to replace near immediately
Yes you’re definitely right. I worked in a machine shop for years building cylinder heads and believe me I’ve dealt with all sorts of Chinese junk! Skip White cylinder heads are a Dart knockoff but they’re the better quality of the Chinese cylinder heads. I recommend Profilers, AFR, etc.
Have a set of Chinese heads. Bought bare. New valves, valves seated, guides and springs. Friend at his machine shop bench tested and they flow better than the eddies. Here’s the big difference. Just a little more tha half the price than complete heads. Even when you buy U.S. heads you should never bolt them on. Have them checked.
@@BBD40 There is a lot more to that than you'd think. People demand cheap alternatives. If your business is failing because customers are going down the street to the cheaper alternative, what do you do?
@@bluespig1 Save yourself form the slow lingering death ahead. Find another way to make a living. Trying to compete on price with people selling junk never ends well. Same with sell to customers more worried about price than quality. It always a no win situation for you. Best to leave on your terms with your dignity and reputation intact.
I run a set of 3038 Pro Comp heads on my 408 SBF and I have no complaints, I did change the valve springs a couple of weeks ago after they served 5 years of drag racing, I did find some broken springs, good thing they where the double wrap type again I have no complaints.
Some people it's not china vs america. Some people have a budget that is more like China products vs nothing. I'd rather have china heads on a running engine than no heads
I have a set of these on a 351W that I got as a bare casting. Had guides and seats installed and put in performance springs, locks, retainers, and FORD valves. So far no problems. Dyno'd at 380hp 415ft/lb. The casting itself didn't need too much prep work, but absolutely wouldn't put one on assembled unless a machine shop set it up
I have no shame in saying I am here and subbing after watcing you tume Mullet for Garret, and he takes your tuen to a World Cup victory. My wife thinks I've lost my marbles over the cheering and arms in the air from watching Cleetus' win.
Current advice from cam suppliers is : with flat tappet lifters, break in the cam with reduced pressure springs.....So , your going to toss them anyway for the ones specified by the cam mfg.......Other than your comment about the casting quality ( no specific examples), and the machining, (no specific examples), What's your beef ?????
I guess I must be one of the Lucky ones. I Purchased my big block Mopar “Chinese“ heads from a well-known supplier of Mopar parts on the Internet. When I got them home I did a cursory checking of EVERYTHING. After CC’ing them, port matching and a quick bowl blend these were ready to go pretty much out of the box. I am no novice to building engines but I was pleasantly surprised when I received these, and this is probably 15+ years ago when they first started to introduce them when US soil. No problems whatsoever, no valve recession, the bronze guides are still nice and tight and the valves have the thin margin I had hand seated them into years ago. I had these flow matched on a Dynaflo machine back in my hometown and they exceeded their advertised specifications needless to say I was a happy camper for a pair a big block aluminum heads for less than a grand. They are out there but as stated in this message do your homework first as with anything!
In the bicycling community we refer to Walmart bikes (walbikes) as bicycle shaped objects. They may need some work even when new, and they quickly become unusable and not worth fixing.
My sister used to work at Walmart they have the stock boy put the new bikes together that they sell and Walmart bikes are considered throw away bikes when they break you throw them away
My flotek heads had no vacum leaks past guides . machine shop said one of the best heads he has took apart. 3 sets later over 4 years not one single issue.
In my experience, Chinese auto parts often look beautifully crafted - like identical to OEM parts, but at a knockdown price. But they just don't seem to have any grasp at all of materials technology. Beneath the shiny outer skin the metal's usually junk. I've just had my engine out for the third time in three weeks. I fitted what I thought was a Borg & Beck clutch - which it actually was, but they had outsourced the thrust and release bearings to China. The first one lasted 10 miles, the second one did way better and lasted 30 miles. You take these out and they've just shattered like glass - even though they look like quality parts out of the box. Utter crap. Pay the extra for US or European-made parts every time, because we know how to make them properly.
I bought a set of promaxx 200's directly from promaxx in Alabama. They assembled the heads there. I took them in to be checked out and they didn't have to do a single thing to them. They recommended that I use a different keeper to reduce spring pressure to match my cam. I was pleasantly surprised by the quality. I may have gotten lucky though.
Buy once, Cry once! About some large oval Port Chinese heads and they ran really really good. Problem was after running them for a while the valve guides wore completely out and my valves could move from side to side. I think the only reason I didn't drop a valve was because I put comp springs on them when I got them.
Another thing check the intake gasket to see if it matches the runners. It surprised me when I was shown how bad they fit. l noticed that intake manifolds made in the sixties and seventies aligned up very good compared to todays aftermarket intakes.
I've seen a Bare speedpro Cleveland Iron 4V head and the casting and machine work is on par with a OEM factory head. It was used on a budget circle track car. Class required Iron heads OEM block, 600 cfm carb 360 ci max When everyone else has to grind a intake runner to make it larger, a Cleveland Owner has to fill it with epoxy to make it smaller.
A lot of self-proclaimed "hot rodders" are really just mechanics. Instead of fixing a part that doesn't work (or work well enough for performance), they just unbolt it and bolt on something new. Like tossing the HEI on a street engine for a racing ignition, or a Q jet for a Demon. If a shade tree mechanic wants more airflow for cheap, they might as well hit the junkyard and score some Ford GT40P's off an Explorer, or Vortecs, etc. At least they're seasoned. Bolting a set of heads out of the box onto an engine is like doing a lung transplant on a runner using lungs from a baby--under the theory, "hey, they're new, and lungs are lungs". That weak spring may make for a flat tappet lifter break in, and that's about it. Honestly, I'm glad at the responses here--this many internet folks saw right thru this. Buy heads for a basic chamber design, or valve angle, or relocated port design, and break out the dremel and airflow bench (boy did i age myself, the CNC machine) and work from there. Even "Chinese" is a misnomer dog whistle. As any society moves from agriculture to industrial, the workers make enough money to have some left over to sponsor a service economy. China is becoming too expensive to make basic stuff and they farm it out to Vietnam, Thailand, etc. And a lot of that old American brands you buy now? Guess where a lot of it gets made--you just paid for the label. I hit all the estate sales and flea markets for old tools, made with the good alloys, for pennies on the dollar since everyone buys on evil bay now.
I'm a retired auto mechanic. I've rebuilt more brake calipers and alternators than I can count. I retired in 2009 after obubba's cash for clunkers fiasco put me out of business. I've seen too many young know-it-all parts installers call themselves mechanics than I can remember that can't select the right setting on DVOM to even begin to actually diagnose a concern. I use to just call'em a JAFI ~ J.ust A.nother F.ooking I.nstaller I haven't the slightest idea where I was headed with this ... I guess I just wanted to share.
@@RANDOMNATION907 Thank you for that respectful response. I know some "repairers" get upset when I talk about hot rodders in an age of "1-800-catalog hot rodding" being "just a mechanic". But I've "been around" since gas stations had "mechanic on duty" instead of a convenience store. I mean no disrespect, but we've all watched mechanics hang out a shingle who do not truly diagnose and rebuild. I have also had a few female friends drag me along to a car repair to make sure they were not getting sold muffler bearings and a date offer. The customer comes in with a problem, this mechanic replaces the likely part (and now we have OBD that really makes the guessing easier). This mechanic knows they can buy the cheapest part (now even more so with schlock auto and evil bay), charge 100% markup, look in "the book" for the hours it will take, and figure out their boat payment schedule from there. If it solves the problem, great, otherwise the customer returns...and another part gets swapped. This keeps going until the customer stops returning--either the problem is gone or the customer went elsewhere to begin the parts swapping again with a mechanic who doesn't trust anyone else's work. As long as the mechanic has a clean waiting room and a nice personality, they'll make a good living for years before the customer wonders if this is really how a problem is solved. Last year a friend's convertible went in, the garage couldn't figure out whether to take the rear struts out thru the trunk or rear seat. I told them to go look it up on RU-vid, they laughed at my manhood, and then...did it and learned what was the best way....24 hours later. Right now a retired friend has been dealing with radiator flushing and electric fan replacement and a failure to bleed air out of the system to still have an overheating problem during the drive home from the dealership. I asked if the thermostat was ever replaced on the 200,000 mile car. at least this dealer mechanic is doing that now for free. I'm praying neither head lifted on the V6, my long distance friend has no income for a replacement car. I'm no expert, I learn something new everyday, and i mean no disrespect for professionals we rely on to know more about our problems than we know. But as I age I find the health industry "diagnoses" the same way. That's a whine for another time, as my late father would say (a mechanical engineer in aeronautics, who drove me nuts as a child with his "only one way to do things", but now i understand). sorry for the long response--long afternoon with a Q jet :)
The only reason they can say the are from the “USA” is that the patent is held here in the country and (crudely) assembled here . All else is BS. There isn’t anything I receive from anyone that I do not check and double check . If you are not sure what to look for or perform the simple tasks then take them to a reputable shop.
No, this is not an apples to apples comparison. The fact that you have to take USA made heads to a machine shop to have them gone over is testament to the lack of quality control of the USA head market. I bought a BARE set of chinese eBay heads and had my machine shop check them out and assemble them with quality components. The only difference between the Chinese head and the american head is the quality of the aluminum, which may or may not make any difference depending on application. My Chinese aluminum heads are for a general street motor that will never see above 350 hp or above 5k rpms. The quality of the aluminum does not have to be air craft grade for my application. If I was using it for a circle track car where I am competitive and trying to squeeze every bit of HP and taking my parts to their engineering limits then sure the extra quality will matter. The problem is when you buy a set of edelbrock or brodix etc heads that cost's thousands and then have to take them to someone to inspect and correct a product then it negates paying for that "USA" quality if the quality is already suspect. My machine shop says they see the same problems with brodix heads as they do with chinese heads. The more and more the Chinese quality gets, the more and more in trouble the USA manufacturer will be in trouble. It is NEVER a good idea to buy an assembled head. If you need to take a head to a machine shop and have them pull everything off the head to check , then You might as well have bought the head bare and give the shop the parts to assemble them.
That could be a valid comparison. However, as a Journeyman Toolmaker, I would also like to know what the metallurgy of the head is like. China likes to use lead in a lot of their products including materials you would never expect lead. Their metals typically do not meet ASME standards and thus do not have the same properties. In other words, if you buy 4130 Chrome Molly in the US, and then buy some from China, the composition of the 2 samples will not match. From experience, the Chinese Chrome Molly is inferior. It does not harden the same and has less toughness. Their aluminum composition is not the same either.
I bought a blueprint 347 that had China aluminum heads. The engine was trash. When we tuned it, it needed 37.4 deg timing at peek torque with only 87% VE(wide open, NA). Dyno guy said they were probably the worst heads you can get for Winsors. He said they are basically equal to the 70s smogger heads. I spent less than 500 at a local machine shop for some rebuilt gt40 heads. I haven't had it on the dyno yet, but VE is up 87 to 94. I gave the old heads to the machine shop, they threw them in a scrap bin...
second person this week to point out Blueprint has its issues. Guess that's why they give so many free engines away for magazines and youtube channels to use?
I HAVE BEEN USING PROCOMP AND OTHER BRANDS OF CHINIA HEADS FOR ABOUT 13 YAERS AND HAVE BUILT AND USED ABOUT 20 SETS OF THESE HEADS AND NOT ONCE HAVE I HAD A PROBLEM, SOME OF THESE MOTORS I HAVE RUN 8 YEARS AND STILL NO PROBLEM .
I just finished a set of Procomps on my SBF 351W that I purchased them bare. I put a lot of work into these heads fixing and cleaning up the castings, especially the short side of the runners. I used Milodon pro flow SBC valves, two piece guide plates, Comp 986 valve springs for mechanical flat tappet cam. Nothing special! 10.60’s on a 100 shot 1/4 mile!
I sharpen and alter cutting tools for a living. I had a 3"dia. drill with a #5 morse taper . The customer thought he would save money buying a China made drill as a drill that size is very expensive. The morse taper was way off . At the large end ( the gage line ) was on size but at small end it was way too small. It wouldn't fit my machine right . I managed to make the alteration to the drill but taper was still way off . I don't know how they could use it like that . I got paid. As you say you get what you pay for. Even made in China that drill cost a lot .
I understand your point but the majority of cylinder heads purchased will be used for budget street cars, and price point is a huge factor. The flood of Chinese engine parts should inspire American manufacturers to become as efficient as possible to narrow the price difference. Yes, at the end of the day you get what you pay for.
Ran a cheap set of heads. After completely reworking them they ran ok. Didn't have oil return holes in it either. But right about the 8th mile it felt like a boat anchor was holding me back. Ran 8.0s at only 159. Put a set of dart pro 1s and now goes 7.70 @ 174. Nuff said about that
A friend of mine told me he's seen improvements also. First set dropped 3 valves. The second set dropped only 1 valve. Maybe next pair will be a charm ?
I got some flotek heads for my foxbody, machine shop said they looked perfect. Family member of mine had afr heads that costs twice as much as mine that needed valve work out of the box. All aftermarket heads are a crap shoot nowadays since nobody takes pride in their work anymore it seems….
I had the same issues with my brand new out of the box AFR 210s ..the were warped and after i fix that the springs kept breaking and droping the valves
It's not just the Pro Comp/Speedmaster stuff. Pretty sure Edelbrock now sources all their raw aluminum from China. The E-brock Performer RPM intake on my big block Chevelle actually has rust spots all over the surface. That's apparently pretty common and entirely due to the bad alloy.
I bought Edelbrock RPM Heads, Paid more for one heads than a set of China heads, the engine never run to my expectations. When I did a freshen up 3 years later both my heads were full of Cracks. I replaced my heads with a set of NKB heads the Car run 4 tenths faster and gained 5 mph in a 1/4 mile. China heads may be junk, you can get screwed by American Companys as well!
More the fault of the importer / seller. Chinese companies manufacture to a price point. The company that wanted to sell these only wanted to pay X for them so they could sell them cheap. Had they wanted to pay Y and specified higher quality castings, springs, etc the heads would have come that way. Chinese manufacturing is capable of producing anything at any price or quality point, it's the customers pick.
I like American Products. But people should not bash Asian made or assembled components either. I have a 2000 Chevrolet Blazer four door with a stock 4.3l Vortec. Stock closed seat pressure is around 70lbs. So basically you just bashed stock GM springs on Vortec heads. Over revving any pushrod engine, no matter the seat pressure can cause one to drop a valve. Basically end user negligence. I will say those look like performance heads, but they should be run at stock RPM range. I think the packaging or installation material would have mentioned something about that.
Having owned and or been involved with aftermarket heads while the US brand ones are generally better some still have some real problems. I have seen the China heads that generally do not flow that well have inserts fall out or the alloy is simply soft. Or the inserts burrow into the heads and you lose all tappet clearance. Plus rocker studs not where they were supposed to be Though having bought 'premium' US as cast heads that have required a deal of work as well. Both iron and Alloy. And yes one had it seems a valve nip in the guide and the piston gave it a push closed.. Plus some valves closed up as well. Engine went very 'flat' first event. Checked leak down and some were leaking. And were 66-67 instead of the advertised 64cc. $700 later one new valve, recut the seats and ream a couple of guides. Plus gaskets etc and having to remove the engine. And ofcourse I had alread had the heads milled to spec. Or some others with 'roller' springs that collapsed very quickly. Supposed to support 750 lift and collapased at 680 And some others that had the valves burrow up the ports on LPG and were essentially throw away. So the US manufacturers need to get their finger out and finish heads correctly.
I break in my flat tappet cams with soft springs @2000rpm for 20 mins. anyway, and then always change them out. Would i be better off with a set of Vortecs all done up with beehive springs and screw in studs than the Chinese route?? Thanks Much!
@Conservative American OH My God ! ... I think I'm going to vote for you for president in 2024 ! Is most of the U.S. blind to this, or are the "young uns" just that stupid ?
I bought some screwdrivers off ebay because I needed them at work the next week. Didnt realise they were coming from China. 6 weeks later when I had forgotten about them and no longer need them, they arrived. They looked exactly as the photo. Only problem was, they were about the length of a match!! They were tiny tiny little screwdrivers - I could close them in my fist and you would not see them sticking out!! They were very competitively priced though...
I have a machine shop near me that buys bare heads and builds them with top parts and sells them, everything is checked during the build. Great heads at a great price, around $1400.
@Joe Hoe true, but that negates the purpose of buying heads that are already assembled if you still have to take them to a machine shop. There is no savings and without doing a lot of homework you have no idea what brand or quality parts are being put into the heads.
Don't know for sure on all of the USA guys but from what I do know -AFR - Brodix - Trick Flow - Edelbrock - Frankenstein - Mast - All Pro - they are all cast here
I am a Journeyman Toolmaker. In my experience with Chinese machined/fabricated components or tools, for the most part it seems their philosophy is "We made you one and now you have one. You didn't have one before. You are happy." The concept of making something that works very well and will last, or works at all sometimes, seems to elude them. That they made something that only looks like what you want is too often their "bar."
@@dreamsteelgarage8418 - Yes, it does. Cylinder heads are machined after being cast. First is the lack of quality metallurgy in the formulation of the aluminum. Then, the machining quality is only as good as how much the one doing the machining cares. Whether machining a tool (by tool I don't mean pliers, I mean tooling that is used in the manufacturing and assembling of automobiles, including automation) or machining cylinder heads, it is still "machining" and all principles are the same.
@@1001Hobbies All heads are cast overseas, whether they are GM or aftermarket except maybe one manufacturer. The quality of the aluminum is quite good and has progressively gotten better over the years. You can't blanket all Chinese heads as bad period. Also, most are machined on 5 axis CNC machines so there is no guy holding a drill working on them. I've used and worked on literally hundreds of these heads with great results.
@@dreamsteelgarage8418 - GM and other auto manufacturers have their own people present to oversee the production of their heads and blocks. This is the difference. A Chinese brand manufacturer of aftermarket cylinder heads does not have that kind of oversight, and the philosophy I mentioned comes into play. It's a cultural thing. I got tired of buying a new grill made in China every year and a half to 2 years (stays out in weather and gets a lot of use) so I bought an American made Weber grill which lasted me 16 years. I replaced it with another Weber grill about 6 or 7 years ago. Can't tell it's that old by looking at it. I can't afford to buy cheap.
its what happens in all industrialized economies. When a nation goes from agriculture to factories, as soon as the workers make money, they can afford services. Then the service sector blossoms. Heck, we label cheap crap "from China" when its now expensive to make in China and it comes from Vietnam, Thailand, etc.
Good topic.Reminds me of the car guys out there with 400 or 500+ hp cars that buy cheap Chinese tires to save a few hundred bucks but end up in the ditch because of poor traction.
or the young'uns who buy a junkyard LS, boost the life out of it to be a dyno queen, and replace it often as a result..while their father with a 4 bolt 350, steel crank, forged pistons, making 400 hp lasts forever.
or the young buck who buys junkyard LS, boosts the life out of it to be a dyno queen, replaces it regularly, while his father still has the 400 hp 4 bolt Chevy 350 with forged crank he put together in the 1980's.
i have to sets of procomp heads 3037 and 3038 both on 351w one low compression paxton sc other set is one 11.1 351w daily driver both sets of head where stripped down bear use name brand valve ect ect no problems only think i did see was some of the cast kinda rough in the port took little more time porting and cleaning up
I saw a pair of vortec aluminum Cathedral intake heads all clean looked like new in an old wrecked truck standing up on end at pick and pull,...I just stared at the sight
That's a trip man. I saw a video for aluminum 136s with a link to a site where they were only $500 each assembled and I wondered WTF? I clicked on this one as soon as I read the title cause I didn't even know it was going on. I guess I should have figured since they're already doing cowboy boots and just about everything else. Is nothing sacred? LOL
Right now AT Racing World USA on ebay sells top end kits for less than a Callies crankshaft. Buy a kit, throw it on a stockish shortblock, and run it on the dyno? Numbers won't lie.
I have a set for a 460 ford they run good now but when I got them all the guides were super tight and the seats were cut for valves about .100 too small cost a few bucks to get it straightened out . I should off bought p51s from kaase
looking in this comment section i assume you bought speedmaster i was /am thing of buying them is that what you brought .they got the CJ ports in their add
would like to see some testing - at what point are they considered poor quality? turbo or nitro at the drag strip, the mud bogs or on a mild build out on the interstate, all the heads i seen had brass guides and i dont like brass.
@@tracycurtright2671 whats a little Zink, but you are correct . is it a crock or gator? i see lots of comments but most probably have no clue. i myself have yet to install them. i decided to go with the factory heads and save these for the next project.
Guys that sell cylinder heads hate Chinese heads cuz they can't make money selling the cheap heads. I have a set on a 496 that make 600+ hp and don't have any issues with them. Been running them several years. You don't have to spend a lot of cash to build a powerful engine. I'm gonna keep using them.
@Dr. Rabbit I don't think so. These heads are sold as being intended for a mild hydraulic cam. That's false advertisement. How is your average hot rodder going to check that? The purpose of this video was to expose that the buyer should beware.
Call customer service of one of the sellers of the chinese crap and they can't even tell you what spring pressure is and can't even tell what valve they use.
I bought my Chinese heads when edelbrock decided they couldn’t supply them in 2 years. A well known and reputable builder told me to get them, they flow 3-4 numbers more, can have the same cnc as the edelbrock heads use. I have seen Ferrea valves snap if they touch a piston. I have seen these Chinese Valves bend. I will take a bent valve over a broken one any day. I do not like the locks and retainers. I will always run a good spring not a generic.
Short form. Your customer is an idiot who put a set of out the box assembled heads without bothering to check the spring pressures. Then you make a video glossing over the fact your customer is an idiot by placing the blame on the product. By your logic I can blame Ford for a very costly bent valve incident near enough 30 years ago because I used 20y/o OEM springs on a .550 lift 300 degree cam in an engine I was trying to wind to 7k.
@Flash Man Seriously though $400 for studs. Makes even less sense when the ARP head bolts are also half the price of studs and require more work in the manufacturing process. This is a market that needs some competition.
For street us I would buy a crate motor from the manufacturer. For a competition engine I would ask a race engine builder to build an appropriate engine. Cheaper in the long run.
@Paul Wilson Seeing loads of factory GM head bolts failing? I’m sure you are running 20 pounds of boost, you big stud ! Yes, ARP is a better product, but are you seriously trying to convince me that a bolt should ever cost $20? It’s not going into Space.
@Paul Wilson Ya if you don't have money to throw away and are on a budget don't complain about money. Get with the program, only us people with money should have toys that work. Now pick up your broken pieces and go home.
I just got a complete Chinese BBC top end kit for less than I could find a pair of bare heads on summit. I’m going to strip them and have them built by the machine shop. Are Chinese heads full of American parts still crap?... I guess I’m going to find out.
Purchased some small block mopar heads around 5 years ago and they were assembled by this Mopar guru. Heads and components were good quality but the workmanship was piss poor . Works both ways !
As far as I would go for "China" heads would be something like Promaxx and even then you gotta be careful. Most people who buy them seem happy with them.
Would these be better to start with and have work done on or a set of old 041 or double humps on have them worked. Im looking to build a budget 400hp sbc to go in my s10
NO! buy some older AFR's or Brodix heads that someone is upgrading to better heads....I have a set of Chevy Phase 6 Bowtie aluminum heads I might sell for $650 new in the box.....Paid $800 for them long time ago....The China heads can drop valve seats....lose the valve guides....They are a complete "crapshoot" on quality and reliability.
@@gordo66061 Unless your doing a nmbers matching restoration....They arent worth it. To do them correctly with hardened valve seats, screw in studs/guide plates and porting will cos you more in labor than a set of aluminum heads.....Fully ported....they are 220-230CFM flow @0.550 valve open (2.02) and even the worst aluminum heads are 250-260 so your giving up 40-60HP in using those heads....They might be of interest to a circle track guy limited to iron heads but, even the 031 "Vortec" heads are better flowing heads than a fully ported 041 head. If your on a budget look for some vortec heads but, they crack pretty easily when neglected so finding good cores isn't easy. The Vortec will flow 225CFM with a 1.94 intake valve .....GREAT "as cast" port....Valve job can help with flow numbers.
I didn't even know this was a thing. I knew soeedmaster and procomp was making stuff there and those are two brands that you don't want to get involved with. I was looking at the prices of these on ebay and they are cheap. However I have dealt with detroit diesel heads that come from third world countries and they can't build those things at all. All of them needed to be surfaced right away. We had one where the freeze plug kept leaking because it was manufactured wrong. They didn't install the valve guides straight. The seats were not machined or installed right. The keepers for the lifter arm retainers were horribly wrong(they popped out when we installed the head). Even the machining in the ports were terribly off. This was just five heads and they all sucked. Honestly just get the good brand heads with quality. You buy these knockoffs and you will be crying because they will either destroy your engine or cost the price of two sets of AFR's to get them machined with proper equipment. I would only buy these heads if I wanted to make some art projects.
I don't know why they can't cast em in the western world anymore.. I know the NASCAR guys get some really good stuff cast somewhere in England, but that's only the blocks as far as I know.
because no consumer wants to pay the retail cost needed to cover union wages, electricity, property taxes, and with the tariffs now, the cost of raw metal if you buy it here in america instead of from overseas (which ironically is the crap alloys we ship there for recycling). We buy at Mall Wart because wages have stagnated since the 1970's. We accept benefits (which our employer can tax deduct) in lieu of pay raises. Meanwhile the middle class lifestyle went from a one bathroom house with one TV, one phone, one bedroom for all the kids to share and the second car is a no option econobox for the wife. Today that's a family living from paycheck to paycheck. Everyone in our house has to have their own phone, car, and bathroom. and of course there's the cable and internet bill. So Wall Mart et al screw their own employees, to sell us crap that even China can't afford to build (its made in Vietnam, Thailand, etc) because they too went from industrial economy to service. And we decide we're middle class because we have a big screen TV but can't afford a $400 emergency.
I am extremely knowledgeable about sourcing machined components from China and other areas. Both die cast and extruded. I have some suppliers that send a good quality and their QC is reasonably reliable. I have other vendors who are nothing but trouble. I wouldn't trust their QC, counts or ship dates for 1 second. I have become quite proficient at colorful dialog in Chinese. As an individual buyer you really need to use the internet and do your homework.
Seems to be getting worse. It wouldn't hurt my feelings if the "Free Trade Agreement" came to an end. We are dependant on China & we don't have to be. Big American corporation's do that to us in the name of cheap labor.
I have run SWP NKB 274 heads for a very long time on street and strip and will tell you from experience that they are awesome heads. He builds the core head with all quality parts matched for you'er application.
@@ronniehenson4122 thanks for the response Ronnie. I'm building a mild 350. Maybe 375 hpand I figured by the time i built my vortec heads i could afford the nkb heads.
Well the NKB’s from SWP are meant to be very good. They fit them up with all the right parts & offer them on most of their performance engines. Talk to them & let them know your cam specs & they’ll guide you through it all. Just be careful there is Skip Whites Performance & White Performance in the the same town. SWP is the one you want. Cheers
@port nut they arent all the same heads. The skip white bravo 335 bbc heads are exact copies down to the casting marks on the heads and flow numbers as the afr 325 as cast bbc heads. Check them out. I have a pair of both and laughed when i compared them. Slightly different components as far as valves and springs but they are the same damn heads. Even though skips are all assembled with comp cams springs retainers and locks.
Only decent budget heads that I’ve had experience with are the Skip White cylinder heads. I reworked a set of Skip White 210cc SBF cylinder heads for my brother. The castings were light years ahead of Procomp as far as cleaner castings. I redid the valve job because the seat margins were too wide, but besides that, some casting clean up and intake to cylinder head gasket matching alignment with cylinder heads installed on motor was very close as far as short and long radius’s went. Engine is a 418-W , hydraulic roller cam, flat top pistons, and E85. NA it has gone high 10’s foot breaking with a C4 automatic with 4.10 gears.
john hoyt , I have to agree with you , I have a set on a 302 , runs great , no issues at all , would consider again for another build , nice job on running in the 10’s !!!
It costs a lot extra when the owner has a major intellectual disadvantage. If the original assembler did his job correctly. Those heads would be still be on that engine and running.
