Big Block Ford Speedmaster Cylinder Head Review Part 1

[@robertclymer6948]

Hello Jeff! Nice comparrison and info on each brand. I like that there is no heat crossover ports on the heads. Are the Speedmaster heads raised exhaust (0.250) which requires different exhaus headers? I think the Edlebrocks are raised. I do not want to try a header change. There is NO room for that. My 460 takes up every inch side to side in a 67 Mustang, So do not want to battle and beat a new set of headers in there. If the engine was out, i'd cut back the shock towers to make more room. Thanks for sharing, headed to the pt. 2 video now.

[@2HacksGarage]

Well the headers were a dilemma. No one ever made headers for a 68 t bird. I had them made by a guy named stan Johnson from ford powertrain applications

[@ronsre-creations5289]

Looks like you saved a bunch and found the weak link. With some clean up and matching and the spring upgrade. It was and will be money well spent and saved. Look forward to the build 👍

[@2HacksGarage]

My same thoughts! I am sure they will do everything I need them to do!

[@drcolster]

Good looking Castings..Accurate,smooth.They need bowlwork to get throat size correct for valve size...short turn work on both ports...

[@stephenhans189]

Make sure to check (EVERY VALVE SEAT MARGIN!) GOOD TRUCK HEAD. Could use slight bump in exhaust numbers. Thanks

[@johnelliott7375]

A man that does his research and does his own work on them will be in the game and how can you knock them if you don't try them. Best part is the honesty of the review and the best advice that is straight forward and directly to the point. You even tried to show the sand cast flash that's needing some attention work. Yeah try and clean it up and see what the Machine shop says. Good luck and I will hope that you have a great setup with the extra massaging of the ports and chambers, with a couple of pieces again here and there. I'm going to have to say that you are able to get what you want and the best part is you know what it is and who did the work and it's right. God bless and great job getting extra parts that you wanted like the tunnel ram, etc. Good night to you all and I will have to be more diligent in keeping up with your videos. TTYL hopefully.

[@2HacksGarage]

Thank you!!! I could have probably done more work to them, but this was definitely a learning curve for me and I stuck to something of a budget. Fingers crossed, they will perform well!

[@WesP73]

My bare speedmaster heads say to use felpro 1231 intake gaskets. Which are for the cobra jet. I'll have to see how they fit tonight if stock size gaskets left some metal exposed

[@2HacksGarage]

I had to gasket match mine. Just be careful with it

[@BareRoseGarage]

Great Review man! Like I was saying, I actually have a set of these exact same ones saved on my "watch list" for the other '58 Build I'm doing for next years NNN's. The way I see these, they are a Huge improvement from the Cast Stock Heads (esp smoggers). They take a little "more" work to make them right, but even the Eddies aren't perfect. So IDK, I think I'll do it. The money I save on them over the Eddies buys the Tunnel Ram. If I wanted the all out true hard hitters, I'd go with AFR or DART and still upgrade the springs & valves for Howards (I really really like Howards valve train stuff). So yeah you have pretty much nailed it hard core for me Jeff. For the Guy that gets ahold of a running 295hp, 1987 460 (smog choked POS BBF) and wants to just make it better, I think these will build mountains for "that guy". Not the Grand Tetons in WY, but the Smokey's in eastern TN.

[@2HacksGarage]

Thanks BareRose, I’ll keep you posted on these heads as we dig deeper. Love Howard’s cams, they are good quality company and the price is right! Speaking of mountains, I have a mountain of parts in front of me, we are putting the short block together brother 🤘🏻

[@Turningwrenches85]

Very good input and review of the cylinder head saved a bunch but like you said plenty of room for improvements especially the valve springs.

[@2HacksGarage]

Thank you!! Yep, lots of room for improvement 🤘🏻

[@TallGarage]

Great video man, thanks for the shout out, keep up the good work.

[@2HacksGarage]

Thanks Ken!! You bringing this up in Dust Devils live gave me the idea, kudos to you!

[@TallGarage]

@@2HacksGarage They look great, a little clean up and port matching who wouldnt want to run them.

[@2HacksGarage]

My exact same thoughts

[@desertmopars3336]

I appreciate your input Jeff. I'm working on a budget as well, and it seems from the initial inspection these can be worked with. I will probably go this route on my SBM. Interested to get a litte more insight from your machine shop as to their workability. Thanks!!

[@2HacksGarage]

I’m interested in that too, can’t wait for him to really take a deep dive into them. That being said, for a street strip vehicle that isn’t crazy radical, my initial thoughts on them are pretty good.

[@robertredmond77]

Efi heads. They look ok, what is see a lot of people do is. They buy them and bolt them on and with in 500 miles they fail. This is all aluminum heads. They always have to be gone through by a machine shop to make sure they are accurate! All n all they look good

[@jesseduke694]

This is good info. I like what ur doing here. I have one ???? Question or maybey it would have been a request if I could have talked to u when u did your comparison. You talk about how they compare to Eldelbrock heads but if you had a new or freshly rebuilt factory oem cast iron head, how would it compare to that? I get it will have better flow, but in other aspects. Would the cost of these heads be justified vs the cost of rebuilding a set of oem heads??

[@2HacksGarage]

the edelbrock are a better head , but after modifying these I'd say they are about the same. The castings are very similar.

[@richardkamowski4656]

So what head bolts or head studs should I buy? And can I reuse my stock rocker arms ? Doing a heads cam and intake for a stock bottom end 460 for my 79 f250

[@2HacksGarage]

I would recommend ARP head bolts and scorpion rockers

[@bobhilly546312156332]

A year later how do you like them I’m thinking about a set on my big block

[@2HacksGarage]

Not too bad, they just need work to make them work right

[@johnfrazer1266]

Hey guys great review video’s👍 I’m looking at buying a set myself (bare) was looking to install ferrea valve set ect but what size/ part number do I order to suit these heads? What brand part number valves did you guys end up installing? Is it worth going bigger on the valves any? Thanks in advance

[@2HacksGarage]

These heads had 2.080 Intake and 1.71 exhaust. I also measured the overall valve height. I called competition products after that with the measurements, and they were able to find me a match for Ferrara valves. I do not remember the part number, sorry. But I had great customer service with Competition Products.

[@johnfrazer1266]

Thanks for the quick reply

[@CCR414]

I will be running some slightly modified ProComps on my sb Mopar. I picked them up dirt cheap used. The castings were as good as my son's Edelbrocks. Both benefitted from a better valve job. Smart move getting the right springs no matter what head you buy. Following your build.

[@2HacksGarage]

Thanks man!! Sounds like you have seen the same thing with these heads!! I’m following yours too, and I have to say… your channel has probably the coolest name ever!

[@CCR414]

@@2HacksGarage Thanks! The old stereo in my shop only holds 1 cd, and it has been CCR for years. I never get tired of it.

[@2HacksGarage]

Now that is awesome!!! My favorite CCR song is Fortune Son. That being said, the guitar solo in I heard it through the grapevine is amazing!

[@DustDevilGarage]

Good video got me thinking more about these heads for my build

[@2HacksGarage]

A little bit of work and these should perform quite well ✌️

[@jackhopkins4679]

I've got a lot of friends that use them with no problems

[@kyletambolleo9366]

Any idea on flow numbers? I don’t see any info anywhere online with a flow chart

[@2HacksGarage]

Lift Intake Exhaust .100 65.5 50.0 .200 107.0 85.0 .300 162.0 122.0 .400 208.0 145.0 .500 245.0 160.0 .600 267.0 167.0 .700 295.0 175.0

[@Clydes.Shop78]

I’ll concede on the springs, but I really use my grains of salt when it comes to the opinions of machine shops, mechanics, racers, and internet experts. I have found that they are not all created equal and their opinions can be based on what others have said vice data or experience. Having said that, if you have a shop that you trust…by all means check them out. I’m sure you’ll be happy with these heads. Also, I’m shifting from Comp towards Howards. I’ve had a few quality issues with Comp lately that I did not expect.

[@2HacksGarage]

Agreed 100%, that’s why I said I’m not an expert. My machinist is an old family friend, racer, builder, etc. I’ve picked his brain over and over about this project and one good thing, his advice comes from experience. I was leaning towards COMP, but went the Howard’s way, just seemed like a safer bet. Thank you for watching.

[@Clydes.Shop78]

@@2HacksGarage Good to go! I’m excited to hear it run. BTW, I really like canted valves… to me it looks like they are saying “ I like to party”. So really it’s hard for me to argue with any BBF head!

[@2HacksGarage]

@@Clydes.Shop78 ha! That’s a good way to put it for sure!!! Quite the geometry!

[@BareRoseGarage]

Of all of them, I've always liked Howards. When all these QC stuff flooded the internet, that is one Company you never heard about for a good reason. Just checked out your place as well. Cool stuff man.

[@Clydes.Shop78]

@@BareRoseGarage Thanks! I’ve got a Howards Roller I’m going to load in an SBC today!

[@MikesMischief]

Would you remove material from the gaskets or from the ports to get it to match the gaskets? Would leaving them as is cause big problems?

[@2HacksGarage]

Leaving them just leaves some slow on the table. We are going to port match them and open them up a bit

[@MikesMischief]

@@2HacksGarage aluminum is pretty easy to work with so I wouldn’t think it’d take too much. They look really nice.

[@bccoatheshop1716]

Hey brother. 👋 porting to gaskets are good but the inside porting is what matters. And usually your cam will com with specific spring recommendations. Good video 👍

[@2HacksGarage]

We are going go to do that too 🤘🏻🤘🏻

[@OlysGarage]

Awesome initial review! Definitely a great contender for a Truck or mild street performance application where the smaller runners and exh valve isn't really a damning factor. My machinist has uses Speedmaster before and with a few tweaks says they are just fine for the budget minded builder. Looking forward to part Deux!

[@2HacksGarage]

Thanks man!! Yep, A little bit of work on these and they should be just fine 🤘🏻🤘🏻

[@OlysGarage]

@@2HacksGarage been waiting on a review of these as the tired 460 in my 76 F100 is in need of a rebuild.

[@2HacksGarage]

@@OlysGarage a little bit of modifications and they will be great!

[@approachingtarget.4503]

Dont forget how they will work with the entire package. After checking valve seal and a touch up. Approximately another $250. You should be good. You will have a stump puller. Your absolutely correct. They are not just a eddy knockoff. They are actually the same raw casting with finish work done in California. If they have a 1000 head run in the factory, the first 200 go to eddy while the rest pick up flaws from additional casting process and go to speedmaster and other finishers. Check your threads! Machined, or heli coil! In comparison....460 ci factory ports manage good flow for the size until 5500 rpm. With larger valve they will pull out to 6500. Remember that for the additional c.i.. for optimal volume to flow you would need the 310 cc cobra jets. The kasse p51 flow slightly better but not much different until 5500 rpm. So any factory port casting will support good power to 5500. Ive used them and in comparison to eddy,trick flow, and ford performance....they are right in there price/performance. You dont need anything more unless your spinning over 5500. Hopefully your cam choice is for a wider rpm range to take advantage of the heads. A higher rpm cam will only shorten your useful power range. My advice since ive been a fan of the bird since the beginning. Increase the valve sizes and have the bowls opened to 90%. Gasket match obviously. You will be much more happier with the enitre combo with an additional 1000 rpm and 50 more hp.

[@2HacksGarage]

I’m taking notes of what you just wrote, it all makes sense. The overall package would definitely benefit from the modifications you list mentioned, and really it’s just time and elbow grease to make it happen!! Thanks for the feedback of advice Tom!

[@approachingtarget.4503]

@@2HacksGarage i cant believe iam rooting for a ford..lol.

[@2HacksGarage]

I’ll make it worth your while!

[@UnfinishedProjectDartSport]

🦈

[@2HacksGarage]

👻

[@VinoRatRodbuilds]

I've got a set of heads that I'm going to run that are knock offs going to see how they work too.🤔

[@2HacksGarage]

Brother, hopefully they work out well for the both of us

[@The_Other_Hack]

Good review on the speedmasters! Looking forward to the machine shop. Personally, I’d grade them a “c” CHINA! 🤣

[@2HacksGarage]

🤣🤣🤣🤣. I should have known that was coming 🤣🤣🤣

[@The_Other_Hack]

Bahaha had too! I have a set of D ports we could try!

[@2HacksGarage]

Lets do it!!! That would be awesome

[@joshua12345j]

Are these heads made for roller rockers or can you use standard

[@2HacksGarage]

You can use both. Just make sure you get the correct rocker studs. I went with roller rockers, scorpion 1.73 ratio

[@joshua12345j]

@@2HacksGarage thanks for the quick replay. One more question was these the 2077 heads. Was wanting to know if it had raised exhaust ports. The description on the heads doesn't really say. Just wondering if factory gaskets and a regular I take would work.

[@2HacksGarage]

@@joshua12345j they are, but not as bad as the factory ones. FYI, the valves or so so and they springs are junk. But the castings are good

[@2HacksGarage]

I do have other videos covering these heads and I do go over the ports. My honest opinion, great castings, but buy them bare.

[@joshua12345j]

@@2HacksGarage So I'm assuming if I buy the bare heads I can use a non roller cam if I want.

[@mikeanderson3565]

Yes I wanted thease heads for a 351 Cleveland, I'm not a ford man I'm all big block chevy but a 460 be nice. My f 100 1964 ford they said it had a 390 fe big block the valve covers look almost all the same. The 351 cleveland you can get massive horse power. The Australian ford heads were the best they had only 2.04 intake valves the edelbrok high rpm got 2.05 intake valves and the speed master have 2.019. Now I'm not rebuilding the bottom of the block. I'm short on cash. So edelbrok 60cc a slight more compression and the speed master have 64 cc less compression. I need all the compression I can get. So 1325 dollars for two verses 2450 for edelbrok that is crazy. So there's not any way around this. Now I buy a cheap manifold save half my money that will cost me performance I'm thinking now. 4000 to put in the top of a motor, I wish I could of bought everything in the 80s and brought all the muscle cars back. 4000 doesn't buy me a high performance motor. 4000 buys me a low budget motor. So I believe get ripped and buy the edelbrok heads machine shops don't work cheap. The valves you got to go with brand names you will be over 500 into it with springs then the machine shop work. There's a whole thousand wasted. The stainless is to soft your valves will bend. There's a place in Florida makes cheap valves they will not hold up to big cam motors. The real deal I drive a toyota for every day use it will never see a Chinese part oem only. Aisin is now most of Japan's auto parts. I will do my home work and ac Delco and gates all American names are made in China. My 2004 toyota is showroom people say how did you get 300,000 miles and it's still running because this toyota in that year was made in Japan. All my parts are all Japanese oem parts. I will Google everything China is pure junk. The steel is pure junk ebay is garbage unless you get oem parts denso is the only good part with aisin and you pay the price. So best of luck they also said the valves are junk in them heads. Nick's garage on utube old school engine builder I tryed to see if he uses speed master nothing pops up. His videos on the dyno testing horse power is he uses edelbrock heads or trick flow and the super expensive heads.

[@2HacksGarage]

We used Howard’s springs, ferrara valves, comp guides, and scorpion rockers. We ported these hesds, fresh valve job, and are using Manley pushrods. So far so good

[@Mynextproject_74]

I ended up with Speedmaster heads too! I hope it works out for you!

[@2HacksGarage]

Hell yes man!!!! Can’t wait to try them out!! I hope we both have success with them!

[@infamousnova]

Don't worry I did the same, should have mine soon

[@2HacksGarage]

Sweet! Let me know how it goes!

[@infamousnova]

@@2HacksGarage just ordered them, yours will prob be working before mine

[@2HacksGarage]

I hope mine is up and going soon, but some other parts I need are in back order… again

[@derekfetzer6294]

Give your wife her shirt back

[@2HacksGarage]

Looks better on yours

[@derekfetzer6294]

@@2HacksGarage well played🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@2HacksGarage]

@@derekfetzer6294 🤣🤣🤣

[@Shop209]

The big problem with most Chinese heads is the hardware used more than the castings. Good parts and you'll be fine. Should make plenty of power.

[@2HacksGarage]

Yep, 1000% agreed on that!