I have an edelbrock performer intake that im putting on some 318 heads. The head ports are smaller than the intake ports thus creating a step. I was told its much better to have the head ports larger than the intake ports so there is nothing blocking the flow. How do i mark the heads so they match to the intake ports? Im just using an electric dremel

 

the bad news is there is not enough material in the heads to match the ports best you can do is round the edges. If you grind off to much the wall is really thin and it causes big problems.

To port match a head you take a cheap gasket usually fiber and mark it to match the intake. I use grease to do this. Then I match the gasket to the head and grind away the outer 1/4 of the head to match with a ROUGH stone. You do not want smooth ports on the intake side.

 

So you think I shouldnt even try? Is it worth trying to round the edges?

How about the exhaust side of the head, any advice on what/what not to do on the exhaust ports?

 

Putting a 4 barrel intake onto a stock 318 with the heads is a waste of time you wont get any power out of it. Actually less truthfully. To go with a 4 barrel intake get heads from a 360 so you have the larger ports to begin with.

Exhaust side you can smooth out the rough casting if you wish still small exhaust valves in a stock head.

 

what year is the 318? depending on when it was made, you'll likely have to mod the 360 heads to get some compression back, if you go that route.

 

Don't port match them.
Just find a set of 360 heads 1.88,1.60 valves and mill them 0.30 to 0.50 check with the machine shop make sure he adjusts the mill on the intake side also to maintain a good alignment with the intake manifold.

 

I think this a great idea and the only thing holding the engine back will be the stock 318 cam which is small, but this is why we hotrod with limited funds. If you put 360 heads and bigger valves on this engine with the stock cam you will be going backwards. A small 4 barrel with opened up exhaust will help this 318, maybe a camshaft later.

If you port match think about removing the valves and bowl blending and smoothing the machine cut into the port, this will help more than the port match. If you do both you'll have a nice head with good velocity and ready for that cam change when your ready. We'll help you with the kickdown linkage when your ready.

 

Coronet 500 is correct on the exhaust before the induction system.
I am assuming you have Headers and duals if not thats the place to start..
i you move with the heads you are going to want a bigger cam a 268 is nice.
when you have the heads done keep the 160 188 valves and have the springs and retainers set up for your cam...
when working on a budget i will acquire the parts until i get what's needed and do the swap purchase your heads , cam/kit then do you rebuild.


P.S. if you port these heads you will need a high speed grinder type, your dremel had better be one Bad Azz dremel!
We have a milwaukee precision grinder its beat but its bad azz we keep a set of bearings on hand. the set of 360 heads i'm running now i ported using the vermont american 4 piece grinder stone set, its perfect for porting mopar heads..

 

Sorry I didnt clarify. I have 302 casting heads that I had milled a bit and got a 3 angle valve job. Im going to use these heads with a performer intake, headers to duals, 340 cam, 600 cfm carb.

 

http://www.oocities.org/motorcity/23...e/Pitcher.html
This is what I think im going to do

 

Just got my heads back from the machine shop. Better than Christmas!

 

Perfect combination, well done. Heads...ooooo.....aahhhh

 

Mmmm... tasty valves and carmel heads.

 

hey i can't see the pic's ??? i don't know why . but whats been done to the heads ??? & what's the latest news . i to think headers & twin 2 1/2" exhaust . 68 manual 340 pn 2899205 hyd .444/.453 valve lift & 276/284 dur cam & lifters . with bowl blending or pocket porting , & it doesn't hurt to run over the ports roof & side walls . don't dig in or hog it out . (i haven't had much to do with small block mopar heads but i'll be porting a set of 318 heads sometime this year for a mate ) .020"-.040" off all over is great BUT DON'T TOUCH THE FLOOR AT ALL . but keep in mind if you go all over the sides & roof it will turn into a major job taking 15 + hours . & you'll need more than a dremel . i got a electric makita die grinder 1/4" shank & a 3/8 oval cast iron burr is best . my makita is awesome & has done well over 100hours . best $120 hp investment i ever made . i don't really think much of the edlebrock performer manifold . but the rpm performer dual plane is much better . if you have the std performer manifold already you could try a bakerlite/heat spacer under the carb ( depending on how much room you have under the hood ) that will add a bit of plenum volume . & they come in 1/2 up to 2" & a 500-600 cfm carb would be great . also a air cleaner with a filter element in the top may also help get some more air . i also like the idea of fuel catalysts . something else to look at that not many people talk about . ps i think the indy aerohead reconditoned heads are good value if your prepared to go a bigger cam & stall convertor . btw how much did you spend on your heads & what was done ?

 

Let me know if these pictures work. I got them magnefluxed and hot tanked, then i had them put new guides in, new performance 5 angle valve job, milled a little to flatten the mating surface out and raise compression, he cleaned the springs and valves and gave me some copper shims for the springs. I then took them home and port matched the intake ports because they were about an eighth of an inch smaller then the intake manifold creating a step. So im hoping they will flow a little bit better. I must have a bad *** dremel because i bought some cheap carbide burs 3/8 inch, probably like 10 of them for $15 and could only put my dremel at half speed or it would cut through the head like it was butter. For pricing, I probably spent about $350-$400 for all of this.











Okay this is my clearance issue... what do i do to get these heads in??

This is a pic of the intake ports before i ported them out a little bit.

 

So as you can see from the pictures, I have a little clearance problem. The headers are about a 1/2"-1" away from the inner fender. Will i have to jack the engine up to get these heads on or maybe ill be able to slip the headers off, im not sure yet.

 

we still don't have pic's

 

yep no pic's .
ok are your heads still off ?? & can you put the springs & valves into your heads or will somebody do that for you ??? it's really a shame your seats have been cut already . cause i can't really recommend bowl blending your heads now unless you can use the flexi cable of you dremel & seat your burr in deep into the dremel chuck ( maybe you could shorten the burr shank ) the main point is the spinning dremel head CAN NOT TOUCH THE VALVE SEATS now . you could put blu-tac or heavy layers of thick tape on the seats to minimize chances of nicking the seats . but you will get the most gain from a bowl port , you can even use a tappered tape roll on your dremel tool , which may even be the easyest way for a novice . they burn up real fast but they work well . i'm sure there's how to port cyl heads on you tube you can look at also . machine shops charge a fair bit for porting because it takes a long time . but there's good power to be made by doing it . just little bits at a time , but the same to each port . you could get a quote from a machine shop just to see , if times are tuff you might get good value for money . if you can get bowl blending for $200 or less i think it's worth it . then you could run your dremel over the pushrod pinch in your inlet ports ( side walls ) & take .020 - .030th off each side that will do a little bit of something .

 

If the pipes are that far away from metal there should not be a problem seperating them from the heads and installing new heads. jacking up the engine is normal for headers but not for head install.

I strongly recommend replacement of the exhaust studs before the heads go on. They are prone to break, and doing it with head on the bench is so much easier.

 

Attachment 7353

My heads are still off but they are all painted up and have the springs and valves in them. Im not going to do any bowl blending. I know that area can benefit most from porting and polishing but I dont trust myself working that close to the seal. I should have ported them before i got the valve job, but im not too concerned because I am happy with the engines performance. It will be a close squeeze but i think i can get the heads in fine. My engine shop checked the exhaust studs and replaced the ones that needed to be replaced.


Does anyone know how to up load pics? Ive been doing the same method of putting pics on and for some reason the last didnt work, maybe they were too large?

 

Try using a picture host like photobucket and just link the pics, Attachments are not working properly, so when you upload to the site they don't appear in the post. The people with the golden keyboards are working on a fix.

 

use some wire & tie the headers into the best positions while you fit your heads .

 

Tie headers to what?

Ill try photobucket later

 

Do the links work now?

 

yep workin for me

 

depends what ever is the best option but k frame , thread of shocks , engine mounts . just push or shove the headers as far down & out of the way as you can & tie it off. can you loosen the exhaust farther back along the car . my headers are 2 piece but real tight on our aussie right hand drive cars as we have a streering box , streering column brake master cylinder all on the right hand side . & the engine is still off set 1" to the right , they never changed that on aussie cars . before my engine goes back in , it's going down to a mates fab shop to center mount the engine & add chassis conectors above the floor & under the carpet . ( because where not allowed to have them ) . my inner guard near the shock is all bashed up from the engine torquing my headers in the guard/fender wall.