AT Racing World heads? (Or other "cheap" brands...)

LILCBRA

I wish I didn't have all of these balls in the air
15 Year Member
Dec 6, 2005
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Marietta, Ga
So I'm bored and basically window shopping for heads for my 87 vert project and come across these. I'm no where near ready to tear into my engine yet so I have absolutely no need to buy heads at the moment, but for $550 for the pair? I could bite the bullet and make the purchase and squirrel them away like I have other parts that I've stumbled upon. My question is this - does anyone have any real world experience with heads from this seller? Are the components junk? Would it be a good deal in your opinion? I'm only looking to make my vert a fun car, I'm not looking to break HP records with it or anything when I actually do get to start working on it - which is NOT in the near future. But I also don't want to buy them and have to sink the same amount into them to make them a reliable part when I could spend that money on something else. I'd prefer someone with experience with these, not for everyone to come in and say to not buy them and point me in another direction. As I said, I don't have to buy them for any reason other than they are a damned good price right now. And I won't be doing anything with them any time soon if I were to get a set of heads now.....

 
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I can pretty much guarantee that unknown brand, ebay heads, you are going to get what you pay for.

Kurt

This is why I'm asking if anyone has experience with them. If I have to sink a couple hundred into them that's one thing. but much more than that then it's most likely worth it to buy a known brand and work from there. And in my case it would be sinking that money into them at a later date, so it would be me paying for them in installments really. Buy the main component (the heads) now, then like a year from now buy the studs, new springs (if they aren't adequate) etc. So I really just want to know if the anyone knows if the seats are good, if the valves are good, the castings, machine work, etc. I can speculate all day and twice on Sunday about them being crap because no one's heard of them but I'd like to hear about real world experience with them if anyone has it.

I ran into the same problem with the intake manifold that I bought for my Cobra II. I bit the bullet because all I could find was "Don't buy the Chinese knock-off junk." I did anyway and put a little bit of my own work into it. I'm happy with the result and I saved a bit of money in the process. These could have that same potential, but I don't want to shell out the money if they're basically junk to begin with. An intake manifold for <$200 is an easier pill to swallow vs >$500 for a set of heads.
 
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It's a set of heads. Australia is like the US with regard to build quality. I've purchased a bunch of stuff from that continent.
TurboSmart is an AU company, as are several speed part companies...id be looking at those heads real close if I was building a Windsor.
 
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It's a set of heads. Australia is like the US with regard to build quality. I've purchased a bunch of stuff from that continent.
TurboSmart is an AU company, as are several speed part companies...id be looking at those heads real close if I was building a Windsor.

$550 for a pair of AL cylinder heads? How is that even possible?

This is why I'm asking about them now. That price is pretty awesome! Like I said in my original post, I'm nowhere near ready for a set of heads as far as working on the car right now, I have bigger fish to fry. But at that price it may be worth it to squirrel them away for when I do get started on it. I can't see how they'd be a horrible purchase unless they are complete garbage and only useful as a paperweight. I am strongly considering buying them, but I'm going to wait through the weekend to both hear if anyone has real world experience with them and to give myself time to wrap my head around whether or not I should given all of the other stuff I have going on in my life right now.

I did some quick searching last night and found a couple posts in other forums about how they're rebranded Pro Comps. In the little searching I did last night about them, I couldn't find anyone who actually confirmed the claim. But in another forum there was a post made by someone who is a Pro Comp distributor through their shop and they listed off a bunch of cylinder heads - small and big Chevy, small Ford, etc. They were saying how they have the least amount of trouble with the Ford heads compared to the rest. You can put money on it that if I do bite the bullet and make the purchase that I'll be going through them before bolting them on my engine. And if I do get them and go through them, I'll post up what I find like I did for the intake I bought for my II. But I'm still open to anyone who has real world experience with them to hear their thoughts and critiques.
 
Did you look at the rest of the store:


He's got a lot of 'stuff'.

I did a quick browse through the first page but didn't look closely at anything. There was quite a number of pages! I imagine if you looked hard enough they probably sell RV kitchen sinks too! lol
 
All I remember about ProComp heads is that they had a reputation for not making power. Not sure if that has changed. I don't remember them having quality issues though.

Kurt
 
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All I remember about ProComp heads is that they had a reputation for not making power. Not sure if that has changed. I don't remember them having quality issues though.

Kurt

I seem to remember reading somewhere that someone had a valve seat come out and destroy a cylinder, but I don't remember if they were Pro Comps or what they were - it's been quite a while since I've seen it. Honestly, that's my biggest concern. Everything else can be reworked if needed.
 
Working an extra shift overnight tonight and have more downtime, so I've searched for a bit more information about these heads. It appears that they are indeed the Pro Comp 3037 heads. Googling the FF part number gives a few sites that cross reference them both. I also ran into a thread on Corral from 2007 that the poster wasn't able to center the rockers on the valve tips. Who knows if this is still an issue. (That's a rhetorical statement....)


Among other websites, I also found this one. It looks like maybe it is from a middle man to connect you with the manufacturer? In any event, from what I gather from the site is you're able to get the bare castings for $1 if you order 5 or more. Who knows what shipping costs and all of that would add to it, but damn! That gets the wheels turning!!


But then I remembered about the dropped valve seat and searched to see if I could find that. Lo and behold it was right here on Stangnet!! So those turning wheels ended up coming to an abrupt halt. It's most likely better to stay the course with the projects I have going on right now vs spending money on these then turning around and spending more money on them to make them work reliably. I have a feeling that by time it was all said and done I'd have just as much money in them as I would if I'd invested in some Trick Flows or Edelbrocks.

 
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China’s shipping is heavily subsidized by the govt. I be it wouldn’t cost much at all to ship those $1 castings?


Then I turn around and scrap them for $1.47/lb.



I think your conclusion is right. Pass. The cheapest head I would consider running are a pair of SVE heads.
 
ProMaxx heads have good reviews and i have a set on the 393w. they look really good, are hand blended in the port and my machinist went over them with and did not change anything they passed all of his QC tests.. i will let you know how they run in a month or two
 
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I'd rather have a set of used heads from a reputable brand than a set of "too good to be true" heads. Just my .02.

Kurt

This is why I was asking about and researching them. I already had a set of heads in mind that I was more than likely going to get when the time comes, but the price here had me take a step back for a moment. So, as it sits now, I'm reverting back to plan A. :cheers:
 
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