Procomp 230 cc cnc cylinder heads ? Would you buy 'em?

I'm thinking about buying a set of these in bare form.
I contacted a seller on Ebay today about Procomp 230cc cnc cylinder heads. These sure seem to flow well, if the flow chart is authentic. I decided to pick the guys brain a little, just to se what kind of information I could get out of him. He contacted me back the first time, but not the second. The second time I contacted him the auction had 50 minutes left, the first time only about 1.5 hours, so I feel he could have gotten back up with me. I believe we are all on the same page when it comes to their origin, (CHINA) but I did'nt get that question answered.
Anyway, here is the conversation. If you have'nt seen the ad for them, click the link at the bottom of the page.

Edit: The guy did message me back. I might have to try a set of those bare cnc'd 230cc heads on my stroker, and put my own hardware in them. I've got a good connection to get good hardware at a good price.
I'll post his reply in the proper place.
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Dear strokermaverick,

$700 shipped for bare. Pro Comp's heads are cast in China,
so are Edelbrock, Dart, ect

Heather & Shaun

- abad71camaro



Dear abad71camaro,

Thank you for your reply. Are the 230cc cnc versions availableas a bare casting, if so, cost? What country are these heads cast? Thank you very much for your time and response, Charles

- strokermaverick




From: abad71camaro
To: strokermaverick
Subject: Re: Other: strokermaverick sent a message about 289 302 347 351w 5.0 Ford Procomp Aluminum CNC Heads #190482661584
Sent Date: Jan-01-11 08:58:59 PST






Dear strokermaverick,

Pro Comp Heads, Pro Comp Valave Train, Non-Magnetic
Stainless Valves

Quality concerns? We sell 20+sets of Pro Comp heads a
week and have for over 2yrs. In all we have returned a total
of 6 heads in that time frame.

Pro Comp had some quality issues with their heads in the
past which was over 2yrs ago, since then they have
revamped their head program entirely

- abad71camaro





From: strokermaverick
To: abad71camaro
Subject: Other: strokermaverick sent a message about 289 302 347 351w 5.0 Ford Procomp Aluminum CNC Heads #190482661584
Sent Date: Jan-01-11 08:04:28 PST








Dear abad71camaro,

Yes sir, I'm interested in these 230 cc cnc heads.I would like a little more information on them if possible.
What name brand is the hardware that is used in the heads? Where was the hardware manufactured? Are the stainless valves made of stainless high enough in nickel, that they won't pull a magnet? What material are the valve springs made of?
Who's cnc program is used on thes heads.
Sorry for the 20 questions approach, and I hope I have'nt offended you in any way by my questions.
It's just that no-one can really give any concrete information on the Procomp namebrand to the quality and longevity of these heads.
The general concencus of the Procomp heads, is to stay away from them.
I would like very much to run a set of these heads with great results, to sort of rub it in everybodies face, so to speak. That seems to be the only way to get the rest of the guys I know and run with to respect these heads.
The engine in question is my 420ci stroker. Thank you,Charles


- strokermaverick

























289 302 347 351w 5.0 Ford Procomp Aluminum CNC Heads Item Id:190482661584End time:Jan-01-11 11:12:38 PSTBuyer:strokermaverick (36)100.0% Positive FeedbackMember since Apr-04-07 in United StatesLocation: NC, United StatesListing Status:This message was sent while the listing was active.
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Ephesians 2: 8,9

 

Sure!

At that price, if they suck, I could yank them off in a couple years and put my GT40s back on.

Even if they are Chinese, they sound like they flow well, and that is where the power comes from.

As long as the flat parts are flat, and they seal up, run the snot out of them!!!

 

I'd stick with domestic heads. I'm not a fan of anything made in China, unless it involves electronics. How many pop cans does it take to cast a head?

 

From my research on the pro comp stuff you hear good and bad. I think if I was to buy a set, bare would be the only way I would get them and then off to the machine shop to check out the seats and good springs and valves.
By the time you spend the money to get them up to standards you could have bought a set of AFR's, Trick flows, Edelbrocks,Canfields (if you can find them),Brodixs or many other nicer heads out of the box. But with the engine in your specs you would probably have to upgrade anything you get anyhow

I must say that I have bought several items from the seller and am very happy with his service

 

Thought I would throw this link in there for you to ponder. Some of you have probably seen it before. Keep the responses coming, yays or nays

http://www.musclemustangfastfords.com/tech/mmfp_0902_pro_comp_head_test/index.html

 

id think with a 230cc intake runner head it would work good on something with boost, or a bg inch motor. i wouldnt be scared of them bare

 

Procomp heads use a bottom of the line low grade aluminum. I dont remember off hand the grade of it but I do remember that they were the only heads on the market made with that grade of aluminum. Keep in mind that aluminum is expensive, so as you can guess there is only one way to lower its price.

Personally I wouldnt buy them. I know people have bought them and havent had problems and they love them, but for the same price you should be able to find a nice set of heads off craigslist made with real aluminum. I found a set edlebrock rpm heads for 500$ complete.

 

Thanks for the response. I also find that you can find some of the smaller style heads at a decent price used. I am looking for some big heads, high intake runner cc rating, to try to take advantage of the 420 cubes of the stroker motor that's in my '75. It seems that whenever you find some big heads used, they still are'nt very reasonably priced. I don't know, maybe I'm in the wrong hobby, cause speed ain't cheep.

 

Wow, sounds like a nice motor. Have you looked into Victor junior heads? I just had a set, but I sold them because the ports were way to big for even my 330 stroker. They are listed at only 210cc runners but the port work done with victor heads expecially around the valves stems, is night and day against pro-comp. Just my 2 cents but I personally feel that even though Pro-comp may have a larger CC runner it lacks in a good port design. Procomps may work for you but they are going to need some porting done to them. Be carefull about the numbers head makers show. Pro-topline (not to be confused with procomp) which is now RHS used to list their heads at 302 cfm. I tested mine out of the box at 252 with porting I was able to get 263. Head makers use so many tricks to get the numbers they want with different bores, and by using intake and exhaust tubes on the heads while taking the readings that its pretty worthless for comparing heads.

 

I agree with you on the Victor jr's being far superior heads by design, over the Procomps. It is just that these procomps have had a cnc port job done to them, which by the Flow chart, the flow #s are up there with the #s of the Victor jr's, at about a third of the cost. I know, I know, it took a cnc port job to get them up to victor jr's as cast flow #s but, what are ya gonna do? I'm just rolling around the idea of buying these heads. I'm pretty tempted to buy a bare set, and assemble them with my own hardware.

 

Why waste money on Chinese parts? Shop around across the 'net a little and you can find some great buys on heads that will support that many cubic inches.

Here's a set: http://forums.corral.net/forums/showthread.php?t=1273061

 

Last I knew Edelbrock has their own foundry here in the states which is why their products carry the "Made In The U.S.A." badge.

 

those are pretty rough for the money they been fixed a few times and the repairs are porus and they look cracked between the valves and plug holes id be leary of dropping 1400 in them jmho



another good head is the old school high ports

http://streetcarforums.com/showthread.php?t=177661

 

.

ok ya'll run me off for this but ive used two sets of the pro comps.
out of the box with my stuff in them manly valves and very good springs etc. i ran a full sec better than i did with mildly ported windsor sr. heads. yes some could be attributed to being lighter but you usualy get a tenth for every 100 pounds and they only about 40 pounds liter. and car ran a full sec and picked up mph also. i would rather buy american any time. and yes elderbrock has own foundry but look at most products they sell and its china . heads and intakes still here . im not saying they are the best by any means , depends on ur app. but they do good for the money and ive never had a prob with them . the second set i hand ported myself the biggest prob i see with them is the bowls but if cnc'd that should be a non issue.
mine were not. these heads im putting on the 306 i showed pics of a while back. the first set was on a 357 w in a fox body mustang.
its up to you.i also have a brodix headed windsor, 1800 bucks for them , 357 c.i. in a fox. it is about 2 tenths faster was the two tenths worth the extra money? both motors are similar built cept heads. thats my 2 cents. would i buy em again maybe, i wouldnt buy em complete. but for a race motor u want em bare or a true builder set them up for you before u buy.but you will most likely have to change springs etc to match cam no matter which head ya buy. im thru now lol
good luck with choice whateve u choose.
p.s
i have less then $850 in one set and around $925 in other

 

.

i have also did bizz with a bad71camaro and he did exactly as he agreed to. bought a number of things from him , but not the heads have hjad them several years . before we dealt with him.