Thread: Good head for 500hp/tq

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I am looking for parts for a 454, and Im trying to make 500hp. Does anyone know of a good pair of GM production heads? Maybe porting??

500 HP is not really a problem. GM made lots of good flowing heads for BB's, but what are you going to do with the rest of the combo?? Depends on which piston you want to use. 049's or 781's (last 3 digits) are preferred open chamber oval port heads, but fairly large chambers so you need a domed piston to get a decent compression ratio. 215's are a good closed chamber head. They have small chambers, and you can get a good C/R with flat top pistons. There are others, but these come to mind right away. You pretty much need to figure out the rest of your combo at the same time, then you can pick the heads. Oval ports are the way to go if it's primarily a street engine and you want good low end torque.

The car is just going to be a weekend warrior with some strip use. The motor is not built yet, so I figured I would base everything around the heads, it looks like the edelbrock performer intake will be going on, and sometime in the future a mild supercharger.

Well, then you have some decisions to make. If you're planning on forced induction sometime down the road, you have to keep your C/R low, or you cant run much boost. Low c/r without a blower isnt going to give you big power. If you dont want to have to change pistons later, I would go with a flat top piston now, along with a large chamber head. Your C/R will end up low, maybe 8.0/1 or even lower, but that's what you'll want if you install a blower. It will still run good, but you will be limited on power output, and also the cam and other items you install are dependant on the compression ratiio. It's a compromise for sure. Why not save up for the supercharger and do it the first time?

The supercharger probably wont be going on this year, so I dont have a problem with swapping out the pistons and cam. They're fairly inexpensive. But, im not really sure what kind of supercharger I want yet. I like the fact that centrifugals dont spool up until you really get on it so they are better on gas, but who cares about gas in a just for fun car? It would also be concealed though. Nothing shouts power like a damn roots blower popping through the hood. Roots style blowers seem to be cheaper. I need to do more research. If I could pick up a used blower for a $1000 I would do it. I started off thinking about 500hp, now im changing my mind again. It all comes down to the hp-dollar ratio.