Pontiac v8 Speedmaster Cylinder Heads Are They Any Good??? Specs and information

[@johnhickman106]

Your thumbnail had me all confused; the word “Chinese”, with a picture of Kim Jong Un (North Korea) and a Japanese flag.

[@andydufresne3635]

Exactly what I was thinking, he must lump all Asians into the "Chinese" category.

[@BigfootsnMopars]

Good decision to take them to get checked out. Even if you bought the more expensive heads, you absolutely want to have a machine shop go through the heads!

[@dakotastimeout2827]

Yes sir! Thanks for watching mark

[@jackfishcampbell6745]

So you have a photo of a North Korean dictator , with a Japanese flag , and call it Chinese . That's pretty American in it's ineptitude . Good job !

[@edsmachine93]

Dakota I think you made a good decision to purchase these heads. And get a good machine shop to check them out is the second best idea. I think these heads will work out. Have a great day.

[@dakotastimeout2827]

Thanks Ed!

[@pontiac411]

Good to see someone is making an adorable Pontiac head, all aftermarket heads need a little fine tooning before installation.

[@andydufresne3635]

*tuning

[@gogoat_2894]

I have bought some Speedmaster stuff for my GTO. But no hard core engine parts lunch my engine. Have heard about their rod bolts snapping heads off. By the time you but some ARPs might as well buy Scat or better yet. Molnar. Have some KRE High Ports on the new engine and they turned out great. Had my own guy install seats as I got them totally bare.

[@dakotastimeout2827]

Nice! Ya some speedmaster stuff I wouldn’t mess with either, thanks for watching!

[@BillyWillicker]

Those castings will shift a bunch after some heat cycles. It's likely best to get them together with good parts and setup, run them until they start leaking by the seats and then have the valve job done for real. After that they should run well for a long time.

[@dakotastimeout2827]

Interesting, I’ll look into that

[@highresolutiondatabase8504]

Maybe they should call it the Slavemaster instead

[@dakotastimeout2827]

They might as well

[@1967davethewave]

After watching Eric Weingartner and David Vizard videos about ports I now know I know very little about what is a good port and what is a bad port. Just because it's bigger, and even much bigger, doesn't mean it will make more power. I'm not trying to start any fights, just relay what I have learned in the last year or so. David Vizard sells a book that explains port design and I just got it and it throws most of what I thought was important on it's head. Jim Hand is a great man and was a really meticulous engine builder before his stroke. I raced with him at KCIR in the 80's, 90's and into the early 2000's. He used to hand out a free photocopied booklet of everything he had tested and the honest results good or bad. Of course he very little porting other than port match and clean up and later on some seat area work. But we all know increasing air flow increases power. The problem I have seen when the experts test these imported heads on flow benches is that they have very soft numbers under .450 lift. So if you have a cam with .516 lift it spends most if it's time under .450 and that actually kills power over even a stock set of #62's or 7K3's. While these heads may be very affordable the only way to tell if they will actually increase power besides bolting them on and making a few runs at the track after first running the engine with a set of stock heads is to send them to a competent head porter. There are many. Some of these imported heads are so bad that the experts have to put larger valves in them to get the bowls smaller than the seat area. Too complicated for me to explain but like I mentioned earlier, bigger isn't always better. It's only better when it's done right. Good luck, I hope these are good for your combo. I have Edelbrocks on my 455 and they seem to work well but I had a chance to have them flow tested and that 290cfm Edelbrock claim was actually only 272 @ .600. With my 041 cam and 1.65 rockers I never get that high. Still better than old iron heads and the Eddy's are pretty strong in the .200 to .500 range.

[@dakotastimeout2827]

Ya I watch Eric Weingartner and David Vizard as well, if there was anybody with a flow bench around me I’d have these heads flowed. If stock edelbrocks flowed 270 mine would probably do atleast 250 right? I’ve got jim Hands book and I think it’s great, I don’t really care for Rocky Rotellas book. Thanks for watching!

[@1967davethewave]

@@dakotastimeout2827 Yeah, I'm betting you're pretty close at that 250. And aluminum is always a plus. Jim Hand is a great guy, at least I think he's still alive. I saw him about 3 years ago at a car show with his 67 GTO. He was fired from Hot Rod magazine in the early 90's where he had a job doing reviews on different speed parts. On his Lemans wagon most of them slowed down his E.T. and he just showed the facts. Apparently advertisers don't like that.

[@dakotastimeout2827]

@@1967davethewave oh wow! That just shows he’s the real deal! My 6x-4 heads I have now I didn’t do a full port job I just cleaned them up, they still have 2 angle valve job. So I’m expecting some power increase with the intake/exhuast flow and chamber design. you’ll see what I think about them on my channel maybe in the next couple of months, I just bought a used set of round port headers so I should have everything I need other than to take the heads to the machine shop.

[@GnarshredProductions]

ive heard most of these chinese heads are pretty good castings but the machine work and parts in them like springs and valves are not so great if you buy them complete. Generally they are a clone of another name brand design like AFR or other brands because that is what china is good at doing is copying other peoples shit. Buy good parts to put in them and have a competent machinist set them up and you should have good results.

[@dakotastimeout2827]

I think so too, but we will see. Thank you for watching

[@NathansMoparGarage]

They look good. You will find out when you get them on the engine.

[@dakotastimeout2827]

Ya that’s right, you’ll see footage on it too! Thanks for watching Nathan

[@Nobody-ld7mk]

Some Speedmaster stuff is okay, BUT... I bought two pair of their Holley compatable 3 circuit metering plates and the accelator pump circuits were not complete, I had to get the drill out and open the circuit up to allow fuel flow. Also I had purchased two Dominator Carb Bodies and the booster pins were hammered into a misaligned booster body to main body, mutilation of the boosterfeed hole bore was the result.

[@justinshearer3016]

what a time to be alive...aluminum pontiac heads for 900 bucks. I remember my first pair of pontiac aluminum heads (i wont say the brand) but you could read the newspaper thru the pourus castings.

[@dakotastimeout2827]

Oh wow, I guess times are changing.

[@tomsettles6873]

Wenzler

[@nachomax1639]

That's one way to reduce weight. 😂

[@robertwest3093]

The AFR Enforcer heads are cast in China. As long as the casting quality is solid I don't mind a little hand work to smooth a few sharp edges.

[@dakotastimeout2827]

Exactly! 1600-1800 for 2 bare edelbrock heads that are probably casted at the same place as the 2 bare 976$ dollar heads. Cost of Burr bits and a couple-few hours of labor is nothing.

[@tomsettles6873]

The speedmasters are copies of Ram Air IV head so you need a ram air iv intake gasket to match, not a regular d-port. The edelbrock or kauffman d-ports are great replacements for iron heads, much better quality than this chinese crap. A friend of ours recently built a 550 hp @ 5700 rpm pump gas 455 with edelbrock d-ports ported to flow 300 cfm. Torque is close to 600. He loves them.

[@WhiteTrashMotorsports]

I have a few speedmaster products some are a few years old and they haven't let me down in any way. I know bla bla bla china, but cheap parts have allowed me to make decent power and do it affordability.

[@dakotastimeout2827]

That’s great! Thanks for watching Sam

[@WhiteTrashMotorsports]

@@dakotastimeout2827 Those bigger valves should help that old Poncho really breathe easy.

[@nickwells20]

Most certainly will work and be fun. They have there lane so as long as you stay in it you are good ish. Wouldn't try and win a racing event with cheap China parts though lol.

[@dakotastimeout2827]

@@nickwells20I will put them to the test lol

[@dakotastimeout2827]

@@WhiteTrashMotorsportsactually the aluminum heads in the Pontiac is made for 2.11/1.66. My iron heads on my 455 now are 2.11/1.66 the bowl area is just huge in the alluminum head. I could put a bigger 1.77 exhuast valve but I don’t know if it really help me out any.

[@erikalarson6803]

Where to start? The image in the tag is of Kim, The North Korean dictator, not Xi, the Chinese party president. As for slave labor? What kind of click bate makes me question everything in the video.

[@davidphillips3953]

The only reason I clicked on this was to straighten out the video maker on Kim, you beat me to it

[@dakotastimeout2827]

Thanks for watching

[@skylinefever]

I found it weird to see a Japanese flag when making fun of Chinese junk. Japan has speed parts that don't suck, like HKS.

[@daves8085]

Try to make a video of them installed on car and driving commentary ...good work!

[@jaymakormik6779]

These heads come in crude prep. They're more for someone who is going to do their own porting/port designing and the guides are just temp installs to hold structure while sitting in stock. You wanna put real guides in (bronze-wall etc). And lining up the port direction/contour is crutial if you're just starting out with custom porting. Porting is where SO MUCH POWER can be acheived. Just take those #13's you got ,if you port those out (right) ,you can make serious balls over stock. Hell ,just removing cast-flash makes a wicked difference and the coolest thing is that it costs the price of a dye-grinder,long deburr tips,a dial indicator,face mask,goggles and a fan in back of you(trust me you dont want metal chunks flyin' in your eyes or throat,it SUX!). And patience but be artistic about it ,man cuz port dynamics are the ultimate art of POWER.

[@theshed8802]

I bought a pair of their cast iron 4V Cleveland heads, bare, same thought processes as yours, put good stuff in it. I took a chance on them because I didn't want to run 50 year old heads. The quantity of the casting is very good. The quality of the machining is very good. The valve seat eccentricity is better than most machine shops can do, seat position on the valve is as good as you can expect for a job done without the actual valve to be used in your hand. I had them put on a flow bench against a standard head, and the difference didn't exceed 2cfm at any point up too 800 thou lift. There are a couple of changes that they made to the ports, none that I like, but until I finish building my 1000cfm, 120" h2o hydraulic flow bench, I won't be able to fully assess the differences. Regardless, I am still happy with the quality of the casting and machining, but I'll probably tweak the ports to suit my own weird ideas anyway. Same as I would have with the factory heads.

[@francfurian8215]

At worst they saved you some weight over the nose. Cheers😊

[@theshed8802]

@francfurian8215 haven't saved me any weight at all. Cast iron versus cast iron

[@francfurian8215]

@@theshed8802 sorry I read your post wrong, I thought you used aluminium heads. Cheers🫤

[@dakotastimeout2827]

Very nice! Thanks for watching

[@erikalarson6803]

So nothing to do with Pontiac heads. Ford 4v Cleveland heads. Setting that aside, what casting number (i.e. engineering number and casting date are the factory 4v heads you are comparing?

[@DanEBoyd]

At 6:28 I see helicoils where the header bolts go.

[@it8eazy]

Didn't knock the tab out.

[@dakotastimeout2827]

Do you think that is good or bad ?

[@it8eazy]

Use a punch and hammer to break the tab. Screw thread inserts on aluminum heads aren't bad. I prefer the STI over just aluminum threads.

[@jameshatton4211]

Swap the helicoils out for decent stainless ones and be done with it👍

[@danielreid80]

For the money I think it's a good quality

[@itseithergonnaworkoritaint7852]

As a precaution for seats falling out, get yourself some "self wicking green Loctite" to glue the seats in. Needs to be the self wicking green Loctite because any other type won't find it's way in between the seats and head. After you Loctite the seats in let them cure for at least 24 hours in a warm environment. Other words if its cold in your garage, bring them indoors for the Loctite to cure. After doing this I haven't had and Chinese seats fall out but I can't guarantee it will work for you? Also, if you have to take to much off of the intake seats to blend them into the port, you might want to fill that area with some sort of epoxy so that's not a reversion point. Have the machine shop flow them while they're there if they have that capability.😎👍

[@dakotastimeout2827]

I would have them flow them but I don’t think they have a flow bench, but they told me they build 50,000$ race engines. There’s not anybody around me that has a flow bench sadly, but I think this machine will do a good job. Thanks for watching and subscribing I’m about to start cleaning the ports up and going to try to enlarge the chambers a little to lower the compression a little on my 462” engine. Thanks for the advice!

[@skylinefever]

Made in China often makes me angry because laborers and the environment are treated as disposable. Some of this stuff is cheaper because nobody needs to buy environmental safety devices or laborer safety devices. It is one reason that parts from west Europe, South Korea, and Japan don't bother me.

[@Conradchristopherson]

You need ram air 4 gaskets for your heads

[@dakotastimeout2827]

I’ve got some

[@johnwilburn]

Lil' Kim approves.

[@dakotastimeout2827]

That’s all that matters! Thanks for watching John

[@johnwilburn]

@@dakotastimeout2827 Well, that and that he doesn’t kill any more Americans for taking down a poster of him.

[@dakotastimeout2827]

@@johnwilburnthem communists are worthless

[@2HacksGarage]

@@dakotastimeout2827they truly are… F the commies!!!!

[@doomman700]

Decent heads, a fellow I went to school with runs 5.70’s in a sunbird with these heads , cnc’d at butler with their 340 edelbrock program

[@dakotastimeout2827]

Wow!

[@doomman700]

@@dakotastimeout2827 guess I wasn’t clear because everyone is racing 1/8th mile. That is 1/8th mile time

[@dakotastimeout2827]

@@doomman700 it don’t hurt to be specific, there is one in every crowd lol!

[@buzzbomb67]

Still, 5.7s in the 1/8th is pretty impressive!

[@deannoun]

At 1:24 into the review, is that a crack in the exhaust valve seat?

[@mattspontiacta]

I have been looking at theses just can’t pull the trigger to buy because of the round ports. I read they flow 289 @600 lift. Which is better than the Edelbrock heads. Hard to believe a Chevy LS 5.3 stock head flows 230 cfm stock and that supports 327 cubic inches. My 6x8 heads flow 208 cfm and that chokes the hell out of my Pontiac 461. But that is late 60s and very early 70s Pontiac technology. My LS LQ4 6.0 litre engine in my truck with 317 heads flows 260 cfm bone stock. LS3 heads flow over 300 cfm. I will probably go LS like my brothers TA or just spray 100 shot. My brother 76 TA is 938 rwhp. It’s LS powered. There is a video of the dyno on my channel. Just so much more cost effective and way better power numbers. Pontiac aftermarket heads in my opinion don’t offer enough return in power for the total cost. Most Pontiac engines that I have seen with E heads don’t even hit 400 rwhp. Most are in the 365-380 range . I chassis dynoed 328 rwhp with stock 6x8 heads. Made 420 torque. My 461 engine was all done at 4500 rpm. Made no more power after that. I still like it though. Lol. Speedmaster prices are nice compared to Edelbrock and ported Butler E-heads. If Speedmaster would have gone with D port heads I believe they would sell a lot more. I would have probably already bought a set. But I am not going to buy a set of round port headers and am sure not putting Ram air 4 exhaust manifolds on either. Cost is way to much for the return in power. I look forward to seeing how your 455 runs with the Speedmaster heads. I think you will be one of the first to actually show it on video. Which is great for the Pontiac world. 👍

[@dakotastimeout2827]

Yes that’s the plan! I appreciate you watching

[@markweber7275]

Show a Chinese person instead of a North Korean🫣🫣🫣

[@denniselvy3528]

🤣🤣🤣

[@rockscrambler6700]

Seriously, is that really too much to ask? Would you be ok if someone posted a video of the U.S. with a picture of Trudeau?

[@markweber7275]

Your comment doesn’t make any sense.

[@skylinefever]

Have Winnie The Pooh, he is the president of China.

[@GasCarGarage]

Nice video. Buying them bear is definitely the right choice. Do the necessary work to them and put quality parts in them and you'll be fine. 💯👍

[@BareRoseGarage]

By golly you are one of the few people that did these "cheap" heads the right way brother. You Bought Them Bare! lololol They actually aren't bad. Your machinist will have to work these a little, but they are WAY better than stock Cast Iron that you will have to have machined anyway. And as you said, All of the aftermarket heads have to be worked, just some less than others. So for the money they aren't half bad.

[@dakotastimeout2827]

Right on! Thanks for watching barerose!

[@lollipop84858]

Why do you have a pic of the north korea guy and the japanese flag on a chinese heads video?

[@dakotastimeout2827]

I didn’t know there was a difference

[@TheMrmmkkpro]

My 1972 455HO is still running the 7f6 heads. It is 30 over and has -old school trw L2394 pistons, general kenetics camshaft, torker 1 and a holley 850 hp series carb. 2 1/8 inch hooker super comp headers. She sounds like a B-29 and pulls like a locomotive. I would like to try a set of aluminum heads someday. If nothing else, just for weight savings. I will sub so I can see how your new heads turn out. 👍👍🏁🏁 .

[@dakotastimeout2827]

Thank yo very much! You’ll see more them heads I promise. The cam bearing just went out in my 455 so I’m going to go through the entire engine. My 455 is going to be around 11:1 compression with the small chambered heads by the time I get done grinding the chambers for less compression. Undecided on camshaft choice, rpm intake and hooker 2” primary tube headers. You’re engine sounds awesome!

[@RealDougFields]

What cc combustion chambers? Are they as advertized?

[@dakotastimeout2827]

I did not measure them, Im enlarging them to hopefully 75-78cc to work with a 455 on pump gas

[@RealDougFields]

@@dakotastimeout2827 Piston selection matters a lot due to the number and location of the valve reliefs. A set of single valve relief CP pistons, a 76cc chamber, with a .030 head gasket will give you great results on pump gas Pontiac at 463 inches. -using a 041 style camshaft.

[@dakotastimeout2827]

@@RealDougFields ya I’ve thought about ram air IV cam with the IVC a about 48 degrees and I have even thought about one of Butler performances roller cams on a 114lsa

[@RealDougFields]

@@dakotastimeout2827 I had a 463 with #96 D-port 87cc heads and a 041 bullet blueprint cam running 1.65 rockers for .516 lift. It was 10-1 with a 780 vac sec Holley and factory intake. It made 560 ish on 93 octane in 1987. With the parts available today- everyone should make 750+.

[@dakotastimeout2827]

@@RealDougFields wow that’s good! For the square bore on the iron intake did you just drill and tap new holes?

[@skipsdarkhollowgarage8695]

Nice!

[@dakotastimeout2827]

Thanks for watching skip!

[@skipsdarkhollowgarage8695]

@@dakotastimeout2827 I gotta keep an eye on ya to see what I have to do to beat ya next year LOL🤣

[@dakotastimeout2827]

@@skipsdarkhollowgarage8695haha!!!

[@thomaskelley1718]

I think this is the same company that made a knockoff of parkers funnel web intake, that financially ruined Parker and they eventually closed. People that buy the cheap knockoff garbage do not understand how it hurts the field of engine performance. The small companies are the ones that come come up with the new innovations that move us forward. They deserve the higher price which in turn allows them to invest more into R&D that gives us more and better products in the future. Buying knockoff garbage from a company that copies and won't pay for any research and development just helps hold us back.

[@tedslife7086]

Edlebrock only

[@gogoat_2894]

KRE High Ports will beat that Edelbrock. Have both.

[@LilBethy]

yeah there are some casting boogies in there

[@arthurporrata8882]

Is that an aluminum head ?

[@dakotastimeout2827]

Yes

[@arthurporrata8882]

Thanks.

[@dakotastimeout2827]

@@arthurporrata8882 thanks for watching

[@hoost3056]

Hey, you put a North Korean on your thumbnail. Kim Jung Un should be Xi Jinping. And then put the Japanese flag on it too??? 😅😅😅😅😅

[@dakotastimeout2827]

Lol! I was wondering if anyone was gonna say anything about it. Thanks for watching

[@tfrspeedo]

@@dakotastimeout2827 farthead made in murica.

[@WilliamSquires-fc4kp]

Look if Butler engines is willing to put their program tech into a set of these.... how junky can they be ? Kif what's off with them can be corrected then they are worth the pocket change they cost.

[@scottosborne8735]

They look good! Helicoils are installed, unlike Kaufman. A fucking bargain!

[@dakotastimeout2827]

I thought so too, thanks for watching!

[@firstrespondergarage]

👍👍

[@dakotastimeout2827]

Thanks for watching man!

[@332ARA]

I find it hilarious that you have North Korean (rather famous one) on your thumbnail when referring to Chinese heads. Not to mention your Dixie logo.

[@dakotastimeout2827]

Glad you liked it! Thanks for watching

[@tedslife7086]

Cracked my intake with less then 50 miles on it

[@dakotastimeout2827]

Wow! What engine was it?

[@tedslife7086]

454 gen 4@@dakotastimeout2827

[@walkinshawkiwi]

North Korea,China all the same thing

[@Carburator_Ranger]

I noticed that too

[@dakotastimeout2827]

About like the state of Alabama and Georgia

[@skylinefever]

A bunch of communists.

[@lars277]

That dude on your thumb nail is the North Korean dictator.

[@dakotastimeout2827]

Yes I know

[@RickBaconsAdventures]

I would never buy chinese cylinder heads but I had to click because of the korea guy and the japanese flag. Stuff like that is hilarious. There's a guy on here that calls scammers and wastes their time, he makes fake advertisements that come up, one says "learn spanish" and it has the german flag on the map of iran. That's funny

[@dakotastimeout2827]

Lol!! I haven’t saw that one but I watch one guys channel called “kitboga” and it may be who your talking about. Anyhow I’m glad you thought it was funny, thanks for watching.

[@RickBaconsAdventures]

@@dakotastimeout2827 Yeah it's kitboga. Mostly get to see more of that stuff when you watch the live stream. This was back when his friends made him the original "fake bank" before they made one that looks like bank of america

[@skylinefever]

Why did you have a North Korean and Japanese flag to joke about Chinese car parts? I would not be so worried about some engine heads if thecame from Japan instead of China. I wonder if HKS or Greddy/Trust ever made cylinder heads.

[@w41duvernay]

I wouldn't be surprised these are some kind of copy of Edelbrock versions of Pontiac v8 heads. The Chinese have been stealing a lot of American speed tech and copying them and selling it back to us. I thought Speedmaster was based in Australia.

[@dakotastimeout2827]

I think do some in China and some in Australia. Really I don’t care because edlebrock makes other heads SO MUCH cheaper. It makes me mad they charge the most for Pontiac heads. You can Oldsmobile, Amc, Mopar, heads way cheaper. I know Pontiac stuff is selling just as good or better than any of those brands.

[@lorimcquinn3966]

Never.

[@tedslife7086]

junk

[@Whateva67]

How can you tell that those are GM heads? They all look the same to me 😂

[@deannoun]

Oops. You measured an exhaust valve and compared it to an intake valve.

[@dakotastimeout2827]

No sir

[@deannoun]

@@dakotastimeout2827 That "T" measuring tool was rattling around an intake port but a very good review of the quality, or lack of quality of these heads. Once cleaned up, they are probably good?

[@dakotastimeout2827]

@@deannoun I might of misspoke but I shows the difference of the throats of the intake ports. I think they will be good. I’ll let everyone know once I get them on a running engine.

[@alvinwilliamson2461]

Speedmaster is not a Chinese company they from Australia and warehouse in Rialto California so stop telling people about things you know nothing about.

[@dakotastimeout2827]

Dude most of these parts are from China

[@samrapheal1828]

@@dakotastimeout2827 "Correctamondo maximus"

[@andydufresne3635]

​@@dakotastimeout2827that doesn't make them a Chinese company.

[@dakotastimeout2827]

@@andydufresne3635 ok what I said was not correct I’m very sorry

[@AllenMichael-pl6ps]

Did they come with a free COVID test kit?

[@Thundarr995]

American parts on a Chinesium head. Sounds kinda like Democratic Communism. 😂

[@harryh5620]

you paid $1000 for Chinese heads? LOL

[@dakotastimeout2827]

Sure did, I think in the end I will come out cheaper than edelbrock heads and have better quality. I just wonder if this head was cast in the same place they do edelbrock heads

[@timothybayliss6680]

​@@dakotastimeout2827i think the edelbrock heads are cast in Cali. AFR does cast a bunch of heads in china though

[@brucesumner6993]

Speedmaster are junk.

[@dakotastimeout2827]

@brucesummer6993 Have you ever had them? What’s junk about them.

[@doomman700]

I have flow tested edelbrock, factory , speedmaster Pontiac heads. The best set is the speedmaster. A guy could them send them off to butler for a 340cfm cnc port. I am guessing you have never ran a set. I have and they are actually decent heads.

[@williamalley4976]

Normally You say You get what You paid for! In this case You didn't!

[@dakotastimeout2827]

I think they are pretty darn good

[@brianholcomb6499]

Don’t worry, adding American parts, won’t fix garbage! When you drop a seat, break a valve & tear up your engine, I’m sure it will be cheap to repair! Don’t forget the machine shop time you will put into your junk 🙄🙄🙄🙄!

[@dakotastimeout2827]

You don’t know that