Edelbrock 4.0L head soon to be available.

[SDPilot]

Seems logical to ship completed heads in the order that the pre-orders were placed. A few other people were complaining on their page about the same thing with other heads. Edelbrock sets a release date and keeps saying they'll deliver next month.... Every month. I'll give it another month, otherwise I'll just cancel the order and grab a head from Clearwater. I don't NEED the Edelbrock head, but the initial claimed release was timed well with my cracked 7120.

[gradon]

This is exactly the same thing that happened when KB released the 944&945's. They made a bad batch and kept pushing back the release date. I ended up buying Sealed Power h825cp30s. Hopefully for everyone's sake Edelbrock is addressing the high spring rates.

[jsawduste]

This is exactly the same thing that happened when KB released the 944&945's. They made a bad batch and kept pushing back the release date. I ended up buying Sealed Power h825cp30s. Hopefully for everyone's sake Edelbrock is addressing the high spring rates.

Highjack on....

Interesting you mention this.

Had conversation with Eagle the other day. Many of us are aware that the KB`s set down in the hole ~.020 with the 4.0 rods. The Eagles are .020 longer then the 4.0 rods. Which if combined (Eagle and KB) would give a .000 deck height.

Turns out Eagle was looking for someone to partner with in the piston department. A piston manufacture finally came to the plate with (the 944/945`s) but by that time Eagle had said forget it and stopped making rods. KB hurried up and changed the piston to represent the larger 4.0 pin which explains the intail delays.

Now it turns out that Eagle MIGHT be considering re-entering the market with a crank, rod and piston combo. They are being real tight lipped about things........ but MAYBE.......Making a call to Eagle sure would not hurt the cause. One of the topics talked about was releasing a 12 cwt crank or at least a crank with more then 4 cwts as that market is covered by Scat.

While you can have the Scat pistons with any pin height (special order) you want they should have had the sense to hook up with KB and do a mainstream offering with ether a longer rod or a revised pin height to achieve a .000 deck. Something Eagle is looking at.

Hijack off....

Ryan, maybe you can answer this........Is Edlebrock`s release of the 4.0 head typical of product releases of other cylinder heads ? That is, the date keeps getting pushed back and questions answered in vagueness /

[johnj92131]

The slippage in the ship date should not really be a surprise on a brand new product. Didnt they expand their foundry to handle the longer casting of the in line 6 head? Then there always things that don't go as planned or process things that need to be ironed out. Let's not forget about preproduction changes like the larger push rod holes to let the lifters be replaced without pulling the head. Who knows what quality issues they are dealing with? Much better for the customer to get a quality product when it is ready than to get a first to the market sample that is defective or deficient, no? If they were having quality issues, do you really expect them to tell you before they solve the problem? I don't. What I expect is a quality product that lives up to their claims.

[nicpaige]

Since it looks like we may have awhile for the head to start shipping how about a different question. Combustion chamber shape. What if any thoughts are there on having a piston made using a dish pattern shaped the same or similar to the shape of the Edelbrock head?

[jsawduste]

That`s the key to optimizing the Edlebrock head. Taking advantage of the chamber design.

The chamber, reminiscent of a Chevy LS, is of the fast burn design. Having a piston crown that mimics the chamber design would be a key ingredient. This crown shape and an increase in compression will be the ticket.

Not to play all the cards but tightening up the quench to less then .040 is another area to consider. There are risks in doing so with piston to head clearance. However, if your machine shop is sharp enough and you kept the revs to within factory limits there is a bunch of power and economy hiding in there.

Talk to Mike Knowles at Diamond. Ask him about his BBC and the .038 he runs.

[nicpaige]

I think purchasing a flat top RaceTech forging and milling the piston to match the chamber with 16cc dish is looking better all the time.

[Jim K in PA]

That response doesn`t make much sense or hold much water.

Due to increased demand they increased there production numbers which has delayed shipping ?

Something smells funny.......

Just shrewd business practice. Put the product up for sale, but hold back on the order to the foundry until you see what the early adopter rate is. If the curve starts sloping up quickly at the initial price point, keep holding back on the P.O. to the foundry, and negotiate a better piece rate for the castings. This increases profit/unit with no change in price.

Sucks for the real early adopter, but enhances the likelihood of a longer product life (additional casting runs).

Now Bulltear or someone else needs to step up with a matching piston profile. Don't hold your breath for KB/Icon to do that.

[Jim K in PA]

Something like this will do:

[jsawduste]

^^^Yup^^^^

[mountaineerjeff]

I know Chevy pistons have been used before, now that the head design is changed, wouldn't it be worth it to look back into a Chevy piston as an option?

[I6FAN]

Hopefully, there are delays due to before-release-modifications. Early on, there was concern about the lifter holes not being big enough, and behold, they are now big enough. Also, the side rails being high enough to allow for roller rockers without spacer to allow use of stock valve cover without modifications. They may be waiting for a piston manufacturer to design/introduce a complimentary piston. I know it doesn't sound right to promise a release date, and then not stick to it, but there may be some very worth wile and valid reasons for the delay. The piston pictured is not right either. This is not a "heart" or "kidney" shaped chamber, but rather a figure eight shape; there is a little bit of a quench pad on the opposite side of the piston as well (kind of a major and minor). A flat top would work, but the chamber cc is not compatible for a flat top without serious modification/enlargement, which actually may be doable. Edelbrock does their own castings and machining and from the information I have seen it is not contracted out. They very well may be waiting for a piston designer to complete a design for a complimenting piston crown(?). I can see that taking time, as they have to make a mould of the chamber bolted to the deck to do this meaning they have to have a cyl head in hand. This would be very smart on Edelbrock's part to make sure the beginning launch of this great new product is just that: a great new product that works to it's full potential. Edelbrock are are you listening.....Edelbrock can you hear me......

[nicpaige]

Now the ship date is April 24th. Good thing I am not in a rush for this build. I am also still waiting on my camshaft anyways.

[SDPilot]

I wouldn't hold my breath.

[CrankyD]

Was that ship date from edelbrock or from a vendor? I was wondering the same last week and edelbrock quoted the first week of april for shipping. I was trying to get my motor done for June, but i'm not about to tie up that kind of change waiting on parts made form vapor. Too bad, it's really starting to make me question my descision.