I have them. They needed some minor work (according to my engine builder....but he was real particular about things). I have no issues, but then again my car is a trailer/garage queen.
I ported my Roush 200s trying to get them better than stock,all the articles I`ve read say that doing the same thing to the RHS 215s makes them a little bit better than the Roush heads by about 20 HP.
Not running yet.. and mine are heavily ported.. but they are excellent castings with the right parts. Comp cams budget parts are ok.. but you can do much better if you buy bare castings and spec your own valvetrain. Exhaust port is slightly raised from factory though.. so that may add some "minor massaging" into the header fitment. IIRC, Craig runs his with shorty thorley's but there is another member here(can't recall right off) who runs his with Hedman shorty's too. Mine will have to get custom headers because I welded and raised my ports even higher yet so no solid advice from me on header fitment.
So there's some header issues with them? Any clue if 6901s will fit? Is there a better head for the money? I've got enough in the engine now that I'm having to look at budget again, lol.
There are already known issues with the narrow shock towers in these cars. So, I would have to say.. yes, using raised port heads with long tube headers may add to potential fitment issues a bit more than is usual. The thing to keep in mind is that these unibody cars are not highly engineered masterpieces of design with extremely tight dimensional tolerances when they were new.. much less after 40 years of being banged on, bumping and jumping around the roadways and getting squashed by good old gravity. So there is no definitive answer since some have no issues with fitting "x brand header" on a bone stock motor.. while others have to do some clearance work to get everything squeezed in place. Would I shy away from these castings because of the added potential for what these 1/4 - 3/8" raised ports(that number depends on who you talk to and what OEM head you compare them to) have to offer from a performance standpoint? Nope. But.. I modify almost everything I own and build as it is.. so I figure it's already a given and par for the course anyways. The Trick flow and AFR heads are very nice designs with lots of guys running them in these particular cars. Just depends on what you want to spend to reduce your chances of header fitment issues. Even then though.. keep the ball peen hammer close by because there is no guarantee any header will fit these cars.. even with a stock exhaust port location on any head.
Country Mav,how far along on the body upgrades are you,because without at least a 6 point cage & subframe connectors you will struggle mightily to put the power to the ground.
Well, I built some homemade subframe connectors but I don't like the fitment so I'm going to order some from (I believe) competition engineering. 99 bucks plus shipping. I also bought a set of caltracs and a mini spool and slicks. I want to build or buy a cage for peace of mind, if nothing else. All I'm lacking for my 331 is heads and a cam. Just trying to stretch my money now. I know swapping to a 5 speed will slow me down some through the quarter, but it'll allow me to get away with a bigger cam on the street. And I truly enjoy running through the gears.
Thank you groberts for the information. I got lucky with my current headers. I never had any issue with them fitting. I'd like to use something now that the general population has used with the 6901s with no issues...
Swapping to a 5 speed wont slow you down just a lot harder to be consistent and missing shifts and better make sure your third member is stout enough to handle launch rpms, dont fear the gear you will need to have at the minimum 4.10s. Be careful on the street running the mini spool especially if it is wet. Hopefully you have a 9" rearend because the 8" wont hold up to the launches for long. You want to play you got to pay The competition engineering subframe connectors are a nice unit with little to no grinding for fitment Depending on what wheels you are going to put the slicks on you may also have to get longer wheel studs, if you go tubeless with the slicks you will also need steel valve stems. Might as well spend a few dollars and install a line loc for added fun and good warm up of tires. Your desire reminds me a lot of myself when I first got the bug but I have resisted putting in the rollbar and have been held back from capabilities of car because of it
Thanks for the advice! I have 4.11 gears in it now, with a trac loc, but it doesn't always hold, so I'm going to install the mini spool in an extra 4.11 chunk that I have. I had thought about the line loc and wondered if it would make life easier on the launch. I'm still running an 8 inch, but I have a couple of spares, lol. I'm hoping to launch easily enough as to not destroy the rear end and allow me to hook up and then really come on in 2nd gear. I'm really wanting to go ahead and put a roll cage in... It'll help the car and help my feelings, lol.
I never used the line loc for launching just for burn outs just one more thing to remember at the line. Spares are a good thing perhaps once you install the mini spool you can rebuild the trac loc if you drive on the street much I think you will see what I mean about dangerous at some point. Once you get the 331 installed it will take you a while to get the smile off of your face, I dont know what you have for ignition but might want to think about MSD as well. Dont get cheap with the heads as they are the best bang for the buck and dont expect them to be good to go right out of the box as there is lots to gain by having correct springs,gasket matching,blending work.
If you can afford them get the AFR 185s,they will be perfect for your combo.If you go with RHS or Roush,get the smaller runner size heads as anything over 190 will kill your low end which is where you spend most of your time on the street.I would think real hard about a c-4 because that 8in won`t last long behind a well built 331.A 331 can easily spin upwards of over 8000rpm with the right parts,I have seen quite a few of them,& are capable of easily making over 400hp.If you don`t spend the money in the right places & go as heavy duty as you can,there will be a lot of breakage especially with caltracs.
331 SCAT crank/rods Main girdle Kieth black forged Pistons MSD 6AL ignition box MSD remote timing retard box MSD pro billet vac advance 8mm wires Edelbrock RPM intake Holley 4160 carb Double roller timing chain Hooker 6901 coated headers X pipe with cutouts T-5 with short throw shifter Caltracs Subframe connectors Mini spool with 4.11 Trac Loc with 4.11 What I'm lacking is a roller cam and heads/valve train. The guys at comp want me to do a custom grind with an LS style lobe. I've got a pretty decent build going on so far, so I don't want to kill it with the wrong cam and heads. I plan on adding a 100 shot at some point down the road, but never spraying off the line, only once I've started rolling good. (I've never used nitrous, my intention is to use it as a last resort). I welcome ANY AND ALL advice that y'all could offer me. I'm running a fairly mild 306 at the moment, so I know I'm dealing with a different animal with this setup. Side note-what size exhaust do y'all recommend? I'm thinking 2.5" but I don't want to build a decent engine and then choke it... Or go too big and lose power that way... Thanks!!
