Procomp cylinder head

[outlaw087]

Is ProComp 190cc aluminum cylinder head better head than the 041 heads. I just want to up grade from the 041 to a better head . I just want a good head for reasonable cost +/- $ 600.00 Going on a sbc 355

[50j]

The stuff I've seen from them is pure junk. Cheap knock off things that sort of look like racing parts. I'd buy a decent set of Darts or something and have something you'll be able to sell if you need to. In the long run you'd be money ahead IMO.

[RCJ]

We had to throw a pair of 210cc on so we could race, compared to track 1s they were way off on power.They might be a little better than vortecs.

[parrot69777]

I bought a set to see what they were like and I put them back on ebay an hour after Fed Ex dropped them off. Very poor castings, valve seats were all different heights, can't cut the spring pockets, couple of the valve guides had too much clearance. This was what I expect from a used set of heads....not new ones.

[outlaw087]

Thanks for the info.

[Axis Racing]

I bought a set to see what they were like and I put them back on ebay an hour after Fed Ex dropped them off. Very poor castings, valve seats were all different heights, can't cut the spring pockets, couple of the valve guides had too much clearance. This was what I expect from a used set of heads....not new ones.

Really, which heads were they? Who did you buy them from?

[parrot69777]

190cc runner, 64cc chamber, Pro Comps. I bought them from a guy selling them on ebay a year or so ago. I see now they are selling a 210cc head....not sure if it's any better or if it was designed as a replacement or not. From now on I think I will stick with Brodix or Dart Pro 1's. Much better quality.

My son was rebuilding a 1979 Ford with a 400. He bought a Pro Comp HEI distributor for it and right out of the box....it would never fire on cyl #2 (actually was double firing on #3).

I called a friend of mine who was a Pro Comp dealer and he said he stopped selling their crap because 99% of the stuff he sold kept coming back due to warranty issues. Said it wasn't worth the hassle. Pro Comp doesn't give refunds....all they want to do is send a replacement.

[Axis Racing]

So let me get this straight...

You bought a pair of $450/pr. cylinder heads and you weren't going to do a performance valvejob on them? Hahahaha I wouldn't even try running a set of Brodix or Dart heads without doing a good valvejob on them! As for the loose guide clearance, that isn't acceptable. It does happen from time to time on the Dart Pro 1's that we run too though. Usually, it's not worth the aggrevation of sending a head back so I knock in a new guide or two BEFORE doing the valvejob that the heads require anyways.

As for Pro Comp not giving refunds, isn't that EVERY aftermarket company? Seems to me that most companies have a repair or replace warranty of varying lengths from 30 days to lifetime... Not many companies that have the stones to offer a moneyback lifetime warranty!

Anyhow, thanks for the heads up on the thin spring pockets. Next time a customer brings in a set of those heads, I'll sonic that area just to see how thick it is. I know I've put 200lbs. of seat pressure and 550lbs. of open pressure on a pair of Pro Comp SBC heads and they handled it with no problems. On a 190cc. head, you're probably not going to be running a solid roller that requires any more than 550-600lbs. of open pressure anyway, right?

[parrot69777]

Your right...even dart's and brodix heads need a little touch up... However most decent heads are at least all around the same heights on the seats and not as much as .030-.040 deaper on some. The problems with the depths on the seats wasn't cause by cutting the angles....it was caused by the one who put the seats in in the first place.

Also when I stuck a stock length valve in to check assembled heights....none of them even came close to a stock chevrolet height of 1.75-1.800. They were 1.650-1.700. I like to put a spring locator on aftermarket heads and with these being so tight....my options where either cut the spring pockets some or go to a +100 or +200 valve which I didn't want to do. After making a few phone calls....everyone said NOT to cut anything from the spring pockets.

Guess my point is....I would spend the extra money to buy the good stuff.

[oldnelly87]

ive use some of their parts with no problem i guess it just depins on what you buy from them their stainless rockers and pro i-beam rods ive used and never had a problem and ive ran one of their bilet ready to run distbutors thats a run off of a msd now for 4 year with no problem.

[jsf74]

I'm gonna run their 215's on a sbc for 2012 so I guess well see. Gonna have them checked out first though. Might mill them a little for some more comp too.

[Graff Spee]

The Pro Comp stuff is fine. You should check it out just as you would any other product you buy. I hear all this bad rap on this stuff but in the end the problems are not uncommon to anythig else. The castings that I have seen (not many, 2) small chevy and big ford both looked really nice. There was plenty of meat for port matching and fit perfect. The CNC porting is great for the money! It offers over 60 horse on the dyno. (car craft mag.) The competition can not touch the price! Would I expect to make the top power #'s with them? No, but would I run them before some stock cast iron stuff? You betcha! Its a great product for the price, its just that simple! All the magazines have done testing with them and the results are not bad.

[50j]

In the long run you spend a dollar to save a dime.

[Graff Spee]

In the long run you spend a dollar to save a dime.

I would disagree.

[50j]

No problem, we'll agree to disagree. I've had enough of that stuff in my hands to know the level of quality, and I wouldn't use it on anything you want to keep. Consider resale value too if they hold up long enough for that. I hope that yours work out for you though.

[Graff Spee]

I used two differant sets of these heads on two engines . One circle track and one hot street car. both were just fine for the class or application. I wouldnt use them for my race car but I dont think thats what they are for. I feel that they fill a niche. Thats all.

[TBRE]

Heads/blocks are the foundation for an engine buildup, cut corners, and you will pay more in the long run. Brodix is the ONLY choice for aluminum, Dart for cast iron. Both are still made in America.
We sell Brodix at or below jobber, so the cost isn't nearly that much different as most people believe. And they DO NOT need anything done to them when you get them, we have them set up for YOUR application, the Serdi valve job is good like it comes.TB


Call Liz @ 601-847-4744 www.tonybarkerracingengines.com

[dirty white boy]

it dont matter who's head you use,..or who machined it,..if you dont check the specs your self you dont know how off it might be! dont matter if your heads are shipped perfect if machine guy thinking bout a blond when when he dose your head it still could be off! oh yeah,..motor dont know what name head is on there just how the ports draw!! seen big name motors brake an seen junk a redneck scratched up in the barn on a dirt floor go to the front!

[Competition Specialties]

If you guys are using that Pro Comp crap, then you really cant afford to do any racing.
I had a customer bring me a whole lot of there stuff to assemble his engine & I should have charged him double as it took me twice as long to try to get their sh*# working HALF reasonable. I did however tell him that there is NO warranty. Pay peanuts, you get monkeys, not horses:)

[oldnelly87]

If you guys are using that Pro Comp crap, then you really cant afford to do any racing.
I had a customer bring me a whole lot of there stuff to assemble his engine & I should have charged him double as it took me twice as long to try to get their sh*# working HALF reasonable. I did however tell him that there is NO warranty. Pay peanuts, you get monkeys, not horses:)

what race motor is warranty anyways ? no race motor is made to last their made to take apart every year and redo some sooner than that . and it doesnt matter what brand you buy as far as i know all goes trew the same forging shop its the machine work that you have to worry about. Idc if its name brand or off band you should always have it checked to be safe they can make mistakes. i had set of eagle rods i bought brand new and they where out of spec on the rod journal bores and had to be resized. same problem with the procomp stuff just have it checked out by a good machinest and you will be fine.

[Egoracing]

it doesnt matter what brand you buy as far as i know all goes trew the same forging shop

This is not correct for several reasons, the most blatant of which are:
#1 there are MANY off shore forging business and only a few USA/Canada based factories. The differences in them are HUGE.
#2 the company that purchases the casting dictates the casting tolerances and the metal mix that is used in the casting, the tighter the tolerances and better the metal the higher the initial cost.

Even if a Dart and Pro Comp head came out of the same place it IS NOT the same part!

[TBRE]

oldnelly, as far as chinese rods, yea they probably have 90% of them go through the same foundry.
But you couldn't be farther from the truth on heads. Brodix has their own in house foundry. I know, I go there 3 or 4 times a year. When they develope a new product, it is done, cut up, and redone until it's ready to sell to the public, unlike other companies that are at the mercy of whoever they are farming it out to. TB

[oldnelly87]

oldnelly, as far as chinese rods, yea they probably have 90% of them go through the same foundry.
But you couldn't be farther from the truth on heads. Brodix has their own in house foundry. I know, I go there 3 or 4 times a year. When they develope a new product, it is done, cut up, and redone until it's ready to sell to the public, unlike other companies that are at the mercy of whoever they are farming it out to. TB

thats true on heads stuff like that im just meaning alot of ur eagle ,scat and that sort on ur bottom end are chinese made anymore thats why crank and rod prices have went down from what they used to be. but if someone was on a bugget and didnt have alot of money like alot of us races i dont see why they wouldnt work if u had them checked good. Alot of us are just out their to have fun and dont have big wallets like the guys running up front that out spends everyone to win like i seen one guy comment at about money. ive ran scat,eagle, manley and procomp ive had problems with all them and it all fell to bad machine work ive never seen one fail because it was a bad part it was either not enough bearing clearnce or it just wasnt put together right . but as far as heads ive looked in to the dart iron eagles and they will out flow the procomp heads.Theirs a race shop -machine shop on ebay that sells alot of blem and second dart heads that may have a wrong casting number or of that sort he sells them cheap ive bought an ran a set from him for 4 years. its terry rosebush motorsports here is the link for someone that doesnt have alot of money. i think u can get a bare set of darts in a pair for like 389dollars. http://stores.ebay.com/Terry-Rosebush-Motorsports?_trksid=p4340.l2563

[TBRE]

Put those Pro Comps in a washing machine (jet sprayer for auto parts), gasket surface down, and see how many seats are still in place when they get to 180 degrees. TB