Great friend = great deal on cylinder heads

Congrats. I wish I had a friend who gets me a set of heads.

sounds like a good guy to know.....you got his number?

How ironic....there's a guy who's toying with trading a while Systemax head/intake combo for this '95 Sonoma that i've got...i'm just waiting for him to say "yes" and i'm all over it.

HEY! i just got my systemax kit stolen out of my car!!







j/k good deal man, hope you like it

Be sure that you clay test the heads for piston to valve clearance. Trick Flow heads are supposedly the only heads that will do 2" valves without flycutting the pistons. That may vary from engine to engine, since in most cases, these cars have changed hands many times. At any rate the clay test will help to make sure you don't have any piston to valve clearance problems.

I don't have a link for anything but Trick flow piston to vavle clearance, but the principal is the same for other head manufacturers.

From the Trick flow site:http://www.trickflow.com/product/twisted_wedge/info_pages/twiswedge_inst_frame.htm

Checking Piston to Valve Clearance and Valvetrain Geometry


If you choose to use the stock cam in your engine, and it has not been moved from its factory position, you do not have to check piston to valve clearance. It is still a good idea to familiarize yourself with the procedure since you may want to go to a larger cam in the future.

If you have an aftermarket cam or are reinstalling ANY cam (especially with a multi-keyway timing set), you must follow this procedure to assure safe operating clearances between your pistons and valves:

A. Make sure you're still on the compression stroke of the #1 cylinder (both lifters will be in the down position). Place a solid mock-up lifter in the lifter bore of the valve that you'll be checking. (Make sure that the lifter is the same height as your original--you'll need it for checking valvetrain geometry later.)

B. Coat the top of the piston with a very thin layer of oil, then place a few 1/4 in. thick strips of modeling clay across the upper half of the piston. Place the head gasket you will be using on the block and bolt on the head with five or six head bolts, torqued only to 30 ft.-lbs.

C. Install the valvetrain for the position you are checking (intake or exhaust) with your adjustable pushrod set to one of the lengths shown in Step 1. Tighten the rocker to zero lash, rotate the crank at least twice, then remove the head and gently remove the clay. Carefully cut the clay in slices and look for the thinnest section of the valve impression. This impression is a 3D representation of the closest approach of the piston to the valve.

D. Carefully measure the clay with a machinist's scale or calipers. The intake side should have at least .080 in. (5/64 in.) of clearance, and the exhaust should have at least .100 in. (7/64 in.) of clearance. Repeat the procedure for the other valve.

Holley heads are often overlooked because of some geometry issues they had YEARS ago. I picked up a set brand new on ebay for $600.

old_blue said:

I am sure I will thanks for replying in the other thread as well. I think the cam in the systemax kit is made by lunati. I may start looking there.

Click to expand...

You can call up lunati and see what they say, i love my lunati cam. Worse comes to worse you throw in the systemax cam.

Hope there not the ones with the oil burning issues.

you better tell us how much you got them for lol.