Edelbrock Head Ported

[Russ Pottenger]

My customer briefly ran it on a chassis dyno, but was fighting transmission issues limiting the ability to load and tune it.
It's my understanding that he's building a new AW4 and revisiting the chassis dyno.

[jeepxj3]

Dyno'ing an auto AW4 Jeep is tough to do. It will constantly try and downshift a gear when you floor it to WOT.
You need to put a switch on it to be able to lock it in 2nd or 3rd gear and not downshift or hit the speed limiter.
Something like the Rad shifter.

[n2outdrs]

Old thread.

Came across this. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qPnC58wK6Lw

[Torqsplit]

Always fun to watch those! Glad he's taking the time & energy to keep the stroker world motivated.

[275/350 I-6]

I suspect the port work done on the E head in this thread is minimal, only the tip of the iceberg, so to speak. There is probably more room for improvements as compared to an iron head. I suspect the iron head is close to being maxed out.

Since Russ did both, he would know if there is more left in the E head, or at least he would have a good idea of whether or not the E head is maxed out with what he did to this one.

[Randy Bobandi]

I suspect the port work done on the E head in this thread is minimal, only the tip of the iceberg, so to speak. There is probably more room for improvements as compared to an iron head. I suspect the iron head is close to being maxed out.

Since Russ did both, he would know if there is more left in the E head, or at least he would have a good idea of whether or not the E head is maxed out with what he did to this one.

Edelbrock aluminum castings are super thin which leaves much less material compared to the stock iron castings. There has actually been reports of them cracking due to the thin castings.

edelbrock head crack.JPG

[275/350 I-6]

Well that is not good news, It makes my choice to port a 0630 head that much better.

I’ve been running a set of ported E-heads on my Pontiac for years, with no issues. Some of the fastest Pontiacs out there are running the E-heads, but not all of them.

I don’t think anything Russ did to the head in this thread would weaken that upper deck. I wonder if Newcomer Racing did anything to that upper deck area? I would think if they did they would have mentioned it, so I’m going to assume it’s only .2 as cast.

I guess each aftermarket head design has its good and it’s not so good. At least Edelbrock decided to produce the 4.0 head in the first place, that’s better than nothing at all from them. Too bad that upper deck is so thin.

7E98A997-CB18-4572-8B42-1B9F50F62B6F.png

6008F09D-9F7E-4F24-9828-20907CF914D9.png

[Russ Pottenger]

When designing or modifying any part or component whether it’s a cylinder head or let’s say a piston, a clear understanding and knowing the parameters of your modification is obviously important. Whether you’re opening up a port or machining thevalve spring seat pockets It’s critical you know the limitations of what you’re working with and it’s intended application.

[275/350 I-6]

Is the E-head that you ported in this thread maxed out? Or is there room to get more out of it? Just curious about your opinion. I have never seen a E-head for a 4.0, but it would be nice to hear from someone with first hand experience.

[I6FAN]

Can't really tell where the crack is in the photo, but I was always suspicious of "hogging" that head bolt boss in the intake tract away because of the likelihood of flexing or distorting that area of the head. If it was me, I would be very conservative in this area and maybe consider filler to help mitigate the protrusion effect. The idea of filler in the intake tract has always scared the hell out of me, but it is routinely done with success. The protrusion is on the outward side of the intake tract where the flow would probably be lower, so its presence may look worse than it actually is.

Oh, almost forgot: Is this the only case of this, or has there been other reported cases? This is the only time I've heard of it, btw.