Inliners International Forums General Discussion Hi Performance Head Question

I am in the planning stages for a future build of a 250 or 292 for a 37 chevy 2door sedan. I'm curious what choices I have for cylinder heads? I have seen that people install lumps in stock heads and I've seen that some people have the sissel head. And then there is the head on Leo Santucci's car. Are those the only choices?

You first need to decide on what HP range you will likely fall into. The stock siamese head is capable of supporting HP levels over 600 HP in naturally aspirated trim. The car shown in my avatar is one of such an example. The Kirby/Sissel aluminum head is a good upgrade, but very expensive and availability is limited, and maybe no longer able to obtain for much longer according to Kirby. By the time you get all the parts to make this conversion complete, you will spend between $5K-$6K. Speaking to Kirby several weeks ago, he is machining another batch of heads now, and only has a few extra that are not already pre-sold, after this batch he probably won't cast anymore, he says his patterns are in terrible shape and it just isn't cost effective to invest the thousands of dollars to repair or replace them. We upgraded his intake port for this head for him in 1992, and counting this batch of heads he is working on now, he has only sent (25) out the door in 17 years, so you can see that the expense to put back into the patterns will hardly be cost effective for him, since the return just isn't there from a business stand point. The Frankenstein style head that Leo did isn't really an option, because the work and labor required to both the block and head(s),just doesn't yeild the gains you can achieve with a siamese or Kirby/Sissel head. I was talking to Leo recently about this mod he did with the SBC heads, and asked him why he chose to use this method, since he had the ability to use a much better head for his project. He said he just felt it reflected the extreme limit of what could be done with these engines, but also said that it suited his needs fine. There is also another cylinder head option available. Although, it is often difficult to obtain, and that is the Brazilian 12 port head. As the name impiles, it has 12 ports(6 intakes and 6 exhaust), but is the same in everything else as a regular siamese head without being siamesed. Several guys on here have used them with great results with turbo set-ups, but again, they can be hard to acquire at times, since they have to be imported from Brazil. I think the best "bang for the buck" for you will be the stock siamese head, as it can support HP levels from mild to wild with doing very little to them.

Thank you, Are the stock heads best with lumps installed. I want to build a motor for fun on the street but want decent power. As money allows I plan on adding a turbo, I want it to be a street boosted 6 that can run sub 13s in the 1/4. I don't know what horsepower I want, I only know that the more the better. How exactly do you get a Brazilian head?

Yes, installing lumps is absolutely the best way to go with a siamese head. As for the Brazilian heads, there are several of our members here that live in Brazil that could possibly help you out with this. Also, I do a lot of head porting for some of those guys down there, and I could get pricing for you as well as shipping costs and duties that will have be paid.

If its not to much trouble I'd appreciate a rough idea of a price. I'm in the early planning stages and just weighing options.

I'll put out some feelers and see what it turns up for you.

CNC, do I remember seeing somewhere on here that you grind roller cams for these motors?

Yes, im offering brand new billet Hydraulic and Solid roller cams for the 194-250's and 292's as well. I even have them available for most any inline engine also, whether its a straight 8 Pontiac or Buick, most any early vintage inlines. Just rollers only, no flat tappets.