Yea know what ya mean been there with the money deal. But if ya are doing it for somebody that wants the bragging rights it's easier.
We did it for a guy that had the money and just wanted to be able to say he had 2 to the cube and win some circle track pavement races. I did it the first time with a 337 SBC with Crane heads,Crower cam and Hilborns on alcohol. It made 681FWHP@9000 don't remember the torque and in the early '70's that was a LOT. Nobody today wants to spend the money besides the big boys and they already have engine builders or build their own.They don't have a problem with it. Guys today just throw CID at it till it makes the HP they need.

Don't know about the guy that posted on the Corvette forum,but was told he posted up the dyno sheet.Didn't see it.

 

I've got a set of SB2.2's on my motor. It wasn't cheap but I'm happy with the results. We're at 730 fwhp on 396 ci with a nitrous cam and a far from optimized intake setup. That's about 1.8 per cube. I know I can make 825+ with the right setup in a mild state of tune.

 

what did you rev that thing to? i love the sound of high RPM.

 

8400

 

Unless he wants to buy your set?

Seriously, didn't we discuss this already? Custom headers, intake, valve covers, offset lifters and rockers. Just stick a blower back on the car already. If nothing else, I still say the Brodix heads are the better deal.

 

My heads are no longer for sale, Mr Wisenheimer! They are now in the hands of a very well known fictional engine builder, and he is going to build the engine! And I am going to have ONE MILLION HORSEPOWER! And that is ONE MILLION HORSEPOWER at THE VALVE COVERS!!!!!

 

You might have some problems with the frame twisting if the flux capacitor isn't up to the task. Don't forget the 1.21 Gigawatts.

 

What exactly makes the Aero 32v LT1 heads the dreaded/complicated swap everyone makes it out to be? I'd think that they'd be 10x easier to install than the SB2 heads. Custom headers, fly cutting the pistons for valve clearance if needed, notching the lifter valley for pushrod clearance, and doing a low mount setup with the altenator (if it's a f-body) - what am I missing? Other than header fab, what's stopping a set of aero heads from being a one or two weekend project?

 

Have ever seen those things? My guess is no. They would be easy if all the parts on them were up to snuff. Honestly they are closer to doing a Ardun conversion on a Flathead than just bolting on a set of heads.

Bret

 

Since when are YOU an expert on Arao heads, tuff guy?

 

First off, I mean no offense, but this isn't exactly the specifics I was looking for. We've got multiple threads/posts worth of "if hell was a cylinder head, it would be the aero!" Instead of making a vague reference to some rare head for a 70 year old engine, why not make a useful contribution that actually sheads some light on the aero heads? If the 'Ardun conversion on a flathead' is indeed relavant to specific install problems with the LT1 aero heads on a LTx, then tell us why.

When you say it would be easy if all the parts on them are up to snuff, are you saying that the components need work as they come new from aero (and if so, what are the problems here), or are you saying the heads are a relatively easy install if the components aren't worn out from use?

Oh, and to answer your question, yes, I've seen them (actually a few sets now), which is why I asked what *EXACTLY* makes them so difficult to install. In fact, I was going to buy the set that UB snapped up ... seemed like cake. Used a factory LT4 or LT1 intake, the headers were very similar to your garden variety hooker LT's, and the only mods to the block were the exhaust pushrod clearancing in the lifter valley - seemingly minor stuff for such a tough swap. Anyway, as luck would have it, my Electromotive SDI died, I picked one up from UB, and he picked up the heads. Guess it wasn't ment to be?

 

Umm, am I to infer from this that he doesn't have any experience with them yet?

 

Offense accepted, Ed, but I'll answer anyway.

There's doing it, and doing it correctly. There's the rub...

I was hired to evaluate the rocker system and fix any problems on UB's heads. (No not the shaved one, the 4V aluminum ones. ) In my opinion, as designed it's not a reliable 6000+ system, especially if you compare it to any modern highend rocker system like Jesel or DRE. I particularly don't like that it's not a roller rocker, and the stiffness leaves a LOT to be desired. You noticed the same thing I'm sure. The plan is to fix the potential problems and make it what it should be in today's performance environment. If it's going to make power, it has to live with modern camshaft profiles.

If these heads were going on a trailer queen which rarely ran above 3000 rpm, they might work. For them to make prodigous power and rev to well north of 6K (more than once), which the Unstable One has said he'd like, they need to flow air and stay together. I'm not the airflow guy, but some help is needed to get that current also.

ARDUN heads (named for the designer Zora ARkus DUNtov) were probably an easier install than these even though it involved changing from a valve in head engine to an OHV. My take is that ZRD was a better engineer. He later made a fair name for himself with Chevy. There were many, many times as many successful ARDUN conversions as there have been ARAO/Dominion. Looking at them I can see why. The ARAO concept was better than some of the execution.

The bottom line is that the wealthy owner wants them to run and run well. He has the tendency to drive it like he stole it. I think he might have heisted a few cars in his time.

During your engine builds, Ed, have you ever run into complications just installing catalog parts that don't exactly bolt on? If you haven't, you will.

As I said up front, there's doing it, and doing it correctly.

My highly-opinionated $.02, Ed. Take it for what it's worth. Sorry you missed out on this set.

 

Well, if they were that easy to install, there would be alot more people using them since the basic 4v Chevy head design has been around since the early 70's.

 

No, it is just me bustin' his horns 'cause he has been looking at those 32V door stops for me, and Bret and his Pop are hopefully gonna make these things a running reality. So, I guess you can actually say that Bret is becoming an expert, if he wants to or not!