By Bruce Toth
Toth Performance
Eau Claire, Pennsylvania
724-791-2514
First let me introduce myself: Im Bruce Toth and Ive been a Mopar enthusiast since my older brother bought his first new car: a 1963 Plymouth Fury convertible with a 383. I sold cars for our local Chrysler dealer for over 20 years and owned a new car every year during that time, which included a lot of muscle Mopars starting with a 1969 Super Bee. I drag raced for over 30 years, starting with my 1969 Super Bee. On the 1962 to 1965 Mopar Web site you can see my 1964 Plymouth Max Wedge Afternoon Delight. I started doing my own engine work around 1975, which also included getting started in cylinder head porting. I now have a business doing performance cylinder head work and selling several brands of aftermarket heads. Enough for the background, Ill move on to the real story on Mopar heads.
Dont be taken in by all the magazine articles you read on all of the aftermarket heads. I myself did an article for the now defunct Chrysler Car Enthusiast magazine, Issue 155, back in 1999 entitled Head Hunting. The real facts are if you are wanting a good head for your street car or even a low 11 second or high 10 second bracket car (depending on the car weight) all you need is a stock steel Mopar head with a good professional porting job. The reason being unless you are planning on spending $15,000.00 or more on your motor all of the big flowing aftermarket heads flow too much air. Placing these heads on a $4,500.00 motor will kill it and you will be very disappointed with your purchase.
Lets look at a Mopar big block engine, take a 451 stroker using a 400 block. I have built a ton of these using either 906, 346 or 452 Mopar casting number heads. We recently dynoed one with a single 750 Holley carburetor and a .550 hydraulic Roller cam that made 524 horsepower. And 580 ft. lb. of torque. This is a killer street motor, and just about as much as you would want to drive on the street. The heads flow 286 cfm. At .600 lift. Much better than a out-of-the-box aftermarket head at much higher price tag.
The story is the same for Mopar small blocks. Using stock steel casting heads like the X or J heads with the 2.02 valves and a good porting job you can make 450 horsepower. The new RHS heads with port work can make 540 horsepower or better, which makes a killer motor for any A body, street or race.
The bottom line is: I have checked just about every head available for Mopars on my SF600 Super Flow bench and have done porting on these heads. If you are going to do a motor, contact me first and let me know what you intend to use the motor for. I can suggest which set of heads you need and also tell you which cam to buy to mate to the heads. This is critical to get maximum performance for your money, or best bang for your buck. So dont hesitate to call I will be glad to help.
Im also a Hughes Engines dealer, I think their cams really work when paired with a good set of my heads. I have a long list of very satisfied customers I can put you in contact with if you would like.
I also have a 1962 Dart 330 that will be finished spring 2011.
Bruce Toth
724-791-2514