current cost of having good stocker head work?

[Mike Pearson]

Originally Posted by 340Cuda

Wow!

I am sure it depends on the head but how much does a pair of Super Stock heads run these days?

Probably not a whole lot more. You don’t have to disguise the work on a super stock head

[ProfessorRock]

So since i started this thread,here are my first ruminations on the subject.
And i am really shopping for some headwork fairly soon, so not just yaking.
A. only 2 responses actually offered numbers $$
B.NO ONE offered any names.
C.so it makes me wonder if most everyone is delusional?
i started racing stock/SS in the 1960s,quit actively racing in the 70s but have been active helping others ever since.Nat'l record holders/nat'l event winners/World champions ect. No i am not ****ting you! So here is the problem as racers we all face.But seem to not admit.
D. Everyone thinks that his/her builder is the best (okfine) and they know all the Secrets. "Reality -there are no more Secrets among engine builders,(not since the internet)
they all know the same things,but hope their competition does not know this one little thing, suprise, they do.The real problem for racers and car owners is this.All of the faster cars are bending the rules like a rubberband
Now the nasty thing is ,when an assoc.say NHRA decides to actually enforce the rules as written,ENGINE builders dont get disqualified, drivers and owners do.i am not knocking anyone,perhaps the customers demand their car goes just as fast as Joe's car, so what choice does the builder have but to compete. I do not have a solution,maybe you do.
E# finally doesn't it seem strange that hardly any top engine builders posts on this forum.And in 15 yrs. or so i have never seen one advertise.They must be doing ok, don't you think.LOL

[Alan Roehrich]

When you pay for good Stock heads, you're usually paying for 20-60 YEARS of hard earned experience gained from long hours. You're paying for what people KNOW, just not what they DO. You're paying for their ability to work within the rules, and what will pass tech.



Plain shop time at any good repair shop is $250 per flat rate hour. Expect premium quality machine shop time to be well above that.



Parts are now at ludicrous prices, IF you can get them. And if your cylinder head shop can get them, it often means they bought them in advance, and tied their money up.



If you have not priced shop tools and equipment, you should try that.


I know what work goes in to a set of record holding legal heads. My friend does extremely nice work, and it passes tech. It's as close to perfection as human hands can make, and it's done with production heads that are worn out usually, and the tolerances are very loose on.


A good set of heads will have every chamber within 0.5cc, every valve height in the chamber within 0.005", every installed height within 0.010", and every stem height within 0.005". Take a guess how long it takes to learn to do it, and what it takes to make it happen.


Most guys doing "speed work" like to eat, like a roof over their heads, and they like to race, too.


Ask MJ Quinn how I know all of this.


By the way, MJ, missed you at the combo on Sunday.

[Ed Carpenter]

Originally Posted by Bill Grubbs

Most engine builders I know will price that high because they don’t really want to do just the heads. They want to sell the whole package. Years ago we spent a crap load on money with an engine builder located in Houston, and did not qualify at a race🙄.

The moral of the story is to #1 choose your engine builder wisely, #2 treat it as a marriage (ie…don’t shop around after getting the product, stay with the builder till death do you part), #3 the chain is only as good as the weakest link, #4 money spent does not always equal et on the track.

For free I’ll also add…don’t eat in a hotel or sleep in a restaurant!

It’s ok Bill to say his name Allen “I’m a piece of ****” Sherman. The most useless person walking the planet. Ed

[David Lee]

Originally Posted by ProfessorRock

So since i started this thread,here are my first ruminations on the subject.
And i am really shopping for some headwork fairly soon, so not just yaking.
A. only 2 responses actually offered numbers $$
B.NO ONE offered any names.
C.so it makes me wonder if most everyone is delusional?
i started racing stock/SS in the 1960s,quit actively racing in the 70s but have been active helping others ever since.Nat'l record holders/nat'l event winners/World champions ect. No i am not ****ting you! So here is the problem as racers we all face.But seem to not admit.
D. Everyone thinks that his/her builder is the best (okfine) and they know all the Secrets. "Reality -there are no more Secrets among engine builders,(not since the internet)
they all know the same things,but hope their competition does not know this one little thing, suprise, they do.The real problem for racers and car owners is this.All of the faster cars are bending the rules like a rubberband
Now the nasty thing is ,when an assoc.say NHRA decides to actually enforce the rules as written,ENGINE builders dont get disqualified, drivers and owners do.i am not knocking anyone,perhaps the customers demand their car goes just as fast as Joe's car, so what choice does the builder have but to compete. I do not have a solution,maybe you do.
E# finally doesn't it seem strange that hardly any top engine builders posts on this forum.And in 15 yrs. or so i have never seen one advertise.They must be doing ok, don't you think.LOL

PM me please

[Bob Sherwood]

Originally Posted by 340Cuda

Wow!

I am sure it depends on the head but how much does a pair of Super Stock heads run these days?

--- less because you don't need to hide your work

[B/S 428]

Why not just build your own stuff, that's what I do and my Comet runs pretty good. Brian Seaberg 627

[Henrys Toy]

Originally Posted by B/S 428

Why not just build your own stuff, that's what I do and my Comet runs pretty good. Brian Seaberg 627

Good afternoon to all,
Not to take away anything from any of the talented Racers that are active in our sport, but if you look at the investment of tools and time , and factor in the failures - Cylinder Head work is often the most mis-understood work in a race engine. Any race engine, and understanding the relationships with the cylinder head , flow paths and the rest of the reciprocating parts in general, it is a very exhausting path.
Please take a moment and re-visit Darin Morgan talking at length on " Super Stock Hemi Head Tech " , and that only scratches the surface. Depending on the level of competition you are dealing with will depend on the amount of time spent testing and performing R&D. The folks that find the right path - worked pretty damn hard to get there.
Just look at you're investment in your car, trailer and towing equipment just to race your car, the cost of proper cylinder head preparation seemly large is still a small part of it. Look at what top shelf piston rings go for these days . The tooling just to cut seats is considerable. I'm not complaining - I do this because I love this stuff and want to learn what makes things "Tick"! You don't want to get into Camshafts, Lifters and Valve Springs do you ?
We all do this for various personal reasons, and that's what keeps many of us going, So the costs are what they are, we live in a Free Country and can still have the freedoms we still enjoy, so enjoy them!
Have a Good Day.

Respectfully,
Henry Kunz 1534 H/SA

[MR DERBY CITY]

Originally Posted by B/S 428

Why not just build your own stuff, that's what I do and my Comet runs pretty good. Brian Seaberg 627

Hahahaha, I don’t know Brian, maybe because MOST of us didn’t receive a GENEROUS gift from NHRA ……

[B/S 428]

Wow, thanks for the disrespectful slam, never mind that I build everything on my car, rear end, rollerized trans, custom cylinder hone and ring pac, heads and seat work by me along with carb, 20 years of working on it, I went from running mid 15s to a best of 12.90 at 101 with a .355 lift cam so yeah it's been a gift...21 Wallys and #1 indy 2022 Ive never worked so hard to go so slow.
Brian Seaberg 627