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AFR 185's or 205's?

  • Thread starter Thread starter wickedmach1
  • Start date Start date Apr 19, 2004
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wickedmach1

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Apr 8, 2003
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Austin, TX
Apr 19, 2004
#1
  • Apr 19, 2004
  • #1
Should I go with the 185 or 205 AFR cylinder heads for a 393w stroker? The car will be mainly for the street. Thanks.
 

classic boost

Founding Member
Feb 3, 1999
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canton, oh
Apr 20, 2004
#2
  • Apr 20, 2004
  • #2
if you're running a mild cam and keeping the revs below 6k, i would run the 185's. big stick and 6500+ rpms, run the 205's.
 

jasonn

Founding Member
Sep 26, 2002
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By Rochester MN
Apr 20, 2004
#3
  • Apr 20, 2004
  • #3
Good question. I pondered this for my new 408. Wanted to go with the 205's but they are real expensive. Ended up going with the vic jrs. Same price as the 185's and outflow them and more room to grow. I just took the valves out and cleaned everything up real good. Should flow close to the 205's. Well hopefully.
 

dolfan87

Founding Member
Dec 28, 2000
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Lake Havasu, AZ
Apr 20, 2004
#4
  • Apr 20, 2004
  • #4
wickedmach1 said:
Should I go with the 185 or 205 AFR cylinder heads for a 393w stroker? The car will be mainly for the street. Thanks.
Click to expand...

I bought the 185's, and did some port work on them. You will have an easy 450-500 hp with the 393, and 185 heads. Do you want/need more than that?

87
 

87gn2

New Member
Apr 17, 2004
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Apr 20, 2004
#5
  • Apr 20, 2004
  • #5
I'll be devil's advocate and say the 205s. Why are you building a 393 if you only want 500hp?
 
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10secgoal

Active Member
Dec 1, 2003
2,801
3
49
San Diego
Apr 20, 2004
#6
  • Apr 20, 2004
  • #6
I think the AFR is the better head to go with in either case. The Victor does outflow the 185's, barely. And if you take out the valves, the CNC marks are very easy to remove for more flow. Also another thing to think about is a victor jr is a 210 cc head, and has a 2.05 intake valve. So it barely outflows afr's smaller 185 head, with a smaller intake valve. Which means it has better air velocity which is generally over looked in flow charts. That is very important for low end torque. Not cracking on edelbrock or anyone that has them. Just my observation. I just went through this with another guy in my town.
 

BOSSMAN98

Founding Member
Dec 20, 2001
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Kings Mountian, NC
Apr 20, 2004
#7
  • Apr 20, 2004
  • #7
I would go with the 185's. Your header choices are limited and the 205's need at least a 3/4 primarys. My 393 with 185's runs to 7500 rpms and wants to go higher. The toploader gets a little tough to shift if I go higher.
 
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wickedmach1

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Apr 8, 2003
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Apr 20, 2004
#8
  • Apr 20, 2004
  • #8
I am building the 393 for possible room in the future for HP growth. I also like the tremendous amount of torque these guys put out. I just see myself being limited if I go standard stroke. My cam of choice is from Comp Cams. It is a special (roller conversion) grind for my '69 351w block. The specs are 224/232 555/565 using 1.6 roller rockers. If I go with the 185's, should I use the Eldebrock RPM or Vic Jr intake manifold. The carb of choice is a Speed Demon 650 with mechanical secondaries. I am trying to keep the compression at 10:0.1. Any HP estimates with the listed parts? Where can I grow or get better? What do ya'll think?
 
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fastcoupe68

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Mar 10, 2004
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nj
Apr 20, 2004
#9
  • Apr 20, 2004
  • #9
If you are looking for room to grow go with the 205. Use the victor jr. intakethe bigger 351s love this intake. Go with a 1 3/4 primary header, and definatley go with a 750 demon carb. with the cam you have listed and the parts I listed you should make 500hp+ very easy. I would even expect you to make 525 to 540hp.
 

87gn2

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Apr 20, 2004
#10
  • Apr 20, 2004
  • #10
It's not a very big cam for a 393, but I'd say you'd get around 500hp with 185s and 530hp with 205s. I am better with the 302 based engines for predicting HP though. And the tune will vary this greatly. Mustangs and Fords built a 331 with ported AFR 185s and dyno tuned it to over 500hp. You have 60 extra cubic inches, so just imagine what you can do. My 331 is *close* to theirs in parts but I didn't spend 6 hours with an engine dyno, 2 sets of heads, 3 different intakes, 2 valvetrains, and 3 professional engine builders, and I doubt you will either.

You have more room to grow with the 205s but you can always just go forced induction. I would go with a 750 Speed Demon to get the numbers I listed. You might also be better off with a weiand intake, either a stealth (dual plane) or an x-celerator (mild single plane). I'm not too happy with the Performer RPM I have in terms of power or quality, and the Victor Jr wouldn't match up with that cam very well, or your torque needs. Even with a 393. How are you building the bottom end?

About the head choice, you'll be fine with 185s and that cam. 205s flow well past .650" but the 185s are fine to .6".
 
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fastcoupe68

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Mar 10, 2004
368
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nj
Apr 20, 2004
#11
  • Apr 20, 2004
  • #11
Just to give you an example on how good the victor jr intake is how does this sound 408 with world products windsor sr. heads, roller cam with 540 lift 9.5 to 1 comp, 750 holley dbl pump every thing out of the box, and 1 3/4 super comp headers. 479 hp at 6100 rpms and 489ft lbs of torque at 4400rpms. Just put this motor together 3 wks ago, made a couple of pulls on the engine dyno and made one jet change and thos were the numbers we got. It went into a 66 fastback and it runs awesome, the car is a rocket.
 

SandSprite

Member
Feb 8, 2003
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L.A., CA
Apr 21, 2004
#12
  • Apr 21, 2004
  • #12
I'm not sure the Vic Jr. intake would be too good for the street. Best bet would be a good dual-plane intake, such as the RPM or Stealth. Again, for the street, 185's will prolly be better.
 
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tweet66

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May 19, 2001
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Pennsauken, NJ
Apr 21, 2004
#13
  • Apr 21, 2004
  • #13
fastcoupe68 ?

Where did you buy your stroker from and what block? I was looking at the a similar combo for my 66 coupe?

Where are you in Jersey? Maybe I could bum a ride in that rocket

Ken
 
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wickedmach1

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Apr 21, 2004
#14
  • Apr 21, 2004
  • #14
87gn2, what size cam would you use? Remember that I need to maintain a safe vacuum for front power disc brakes.
 
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fastcoupe68

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Mar 10, 2004
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nj
Apr 21, 2004
#15
  • Apr 21, 2004
  • #15
Guys I dont know where you are getting your info but if you read my post that motor I described is in a car that if you put regular mufflers on it you would think it was your moms suv. The thing has the street manners of a Saint. In my opinion it is a very mild combo and you could drive this thing everyday with complete reliability, tons of vacum for your power brake also. and as far as anything other then the vic jr on this size motor is a complete waste. The torque curve is so flat and long that it will make your face peel back. You have to remember that at almost 400 cubes and that long stroke these motors are very deep breathers and dont need a dual plan intake. If I can find the dyno sheets for this motor I will post them it was a customers car and I am sure they went with him but if I get them I will postand I am sure it will make believers out of all.
 

SadbutTrue

Founding Member
May 1, 2002
2,390
4
49
Granada Hills, California
Apr 21, 2004
#16
  • Apr 21, 2004
  • #16
the vic jr and 205s are race parts. if you want it on the street, 185s and a Stealth would make you very happy. You could even port them and remove the CNC from the 185s if you need a bit more.
 
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fastcoupe68

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Mar 10, 2004
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Apr 21, 2004
#17
  • Apr 21, 2004
  • #17
Its only a race part if you race it!
 

SadbutTrue

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May 1, 2002
2,390
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Granada Hills, California
Apr 21, 2004
#18
  • Apr 21, 2004
  • #18
im not saying it wouldn't work, i'm just saying he might not see much of a benefit on the street
 
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fastcoupe68

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Mar 10, 2004
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Apr 21, 2004
#19
  • Apr 21, 2004
  • #19
Look at my previous post. Look at the dyno numbers this engine made 400 ft lbs of torque average everywhere with pretty much a lame set of heads.
 
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fastcoupe68

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Apr 21, 2004
#20
  • Apr 21, 2004
  • #20
tweet66 the 408 came from Kuntz and Co. It was a early 70s Block with nothing more than ARP main studs, and this is not the first I have used its just an awesome combo.
 
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