Heads for 318

[A100]

Thanks Neil and Dave for all the info. You’re right, by the time I’ve shelled out for valves, springs, probably guides and maybe some porting work I’ll be looking at the thick end of £1K. If there are any Black Friday deals to be had on ally heads that might be more cost effective and it’ll take out a lot of fannying around for the machine shop.

[A100]

I’m definitely not going racing with this motor. It’s going in a van !

[A100]

So, Black Friday came and you were right, Some good deals on the Speedmaster heads. 35% off!!
I'll get me some of that......
until it came to shipping..... almost $1000 !!
It is cheaper to get a pair of Edelbrock heads from Summit. The heads are more expensive but shipping is only $160.
So I treated myself to an early Christmas pressie and pulled the trigger. They should be here on Friday.
from what I've been reading the Edelbrock heads are much better quality than the Speedmaster. But even so I understand that they may not quite work out of the box and will require a bit of fettling.

[Dave Napier]

Nice, the Edelbrocks are "ranked" higher than the Speedmaster so it looks like you've come out "ahead" (see what I did there ? ..... I'll get me coat )

[A100]

Thanks for the thumbs up on the Eddy heads Dave. I suppose the next decision is what cam to use that will make the most of these heads and the KB flat top pistons without loosing too much in the way of street ‘manners’???

[Dave Napier]

We used the one below on our 318. TBH, despite using a lot of initial timing and a fast curve, it's a bit slow off the mark until it hits 3000 rpm. Not really that noticeable during normal street driving but very apparent at the strip. We have a 2200 stall converter in it too but the 3.23 gears and reasonably tall tyres don't help. Best et/mph was achieved by staying in 2nd gear at the strip, 6200 across the stripe .
You likely have better driveability with a smaller cam.

https://www.compcams.com/xtreme-energy- ... 3-360.html

[A100]

That cam seems to be a popular choice on a lot of the engine builds that are out there online.
Rear gears on my van are 3.55 and I'll be using stock-ish height tyres.
I've got no idea what stall speed the converter is ? Whatever was standard when the engine was built presumably?

I'm assuming the engine and box were out of an A100 originally (according to the VIN tag mine was originally a /6 with a three on the tree) as the gearbox has the correct short tail housing with an eye mount on top of the tail housing.
At the moment tho' the engine has a cast iron 4 barrel manifold and Holley carb, not standard for an A100, so who knows, when it was transplanted the converter may have been changed?
I'll have to research what numbers it should be, that'll give me a starting point at least.

[Dave Napier]

OK, could be a 273 manifold or a 360, if the heads haven't been opened up to 360 size there will be a mismatch on the manifold to head if it's a 360 manifold. Checking the part #'s should find out what it is.
I also fitted a low gear set into the 904 which helped a lot but I still feel 4:10's or 3:91's rear gears would be better suited for strip duty but that compromises motor way cruising, the 3.55's are a decent compromise.
I'm impressed with the 70 - 100 times with the combo we have, in a chance encounter with an Audi R8, it made it work hard for the pass

[Dave999]

if you are willing to wait
try ron fenton at STS imports

https://www.stsimports.co.uk/

or see if Chris Goodale can get you some

https://www.americanspeedshop.co.uk/

subtle differences in service
Ron ships, so you end up paying vat and Import duties like the old days but you benefit because its his shipping container they come in not DHLs/TNTs

Chris executes a purchase, tax registered business to business so all money is sorted in the price he quotes
and this may be much quicker as is stuff comes in regularly. whereas Ron is once every 6 weeks

purchasing anything direct as an end user now, is just too hard, Brexit broke it all by forcing foreign vendors to collect VAT for HMRC. only big players like summit and Rockauto can be bothered doing that.

the days of getting them to send stuff wrapped in bubble wrap via USPS and Royal Mail, hoping it gets through with no VAT or Import duty are long gone... which is a shame...nothing like sticking it to "the man" every now and again

Dave

[A100]

I’ll definitely be getting in touch with Ron or Chris in the new year for all the other engine internals. You’re right about ordering stuff directly, total PITA. Last time I ordered a large item it took a week to arrive in the UK and then another 2 weeks for DHL to clear it through customs and deliver it
Mark

[Dave Napier]

purchasing anything direct as an end user now, is just too hard, Brexit broke it all by forcing foreign vendors to collect VAT for HMRC. only big players like summit and Rockauto can be bothered doing that.

Dave

That's happened to me only once since Brexit and it was quite a while ago. VAT has been paid at this end the last 1/2 dozen times I've ordered stuff other vendors, ie Marsh Performance, Indy Cylinder head, Dakota Digital, Racepak. Maybe import paperwork has changed ??

[Dave999]

its all a bit strange
i guess you are dealing with some big players maybe they are willing to jump through the hoops

some vendors won't sell to the UK anymore, their excuse seems to be too much paperwork or they put you off with the shipping.
30 quid shipping on a bag of clips and washers for my broken clutch linkage... was the last purchase i made direct with a vendor in the US
ridiculous


in theory unless you are VAT registered a company outside of the UK selling into the Uk to an end user is supposed to get themselves a UK government gateway account and collect the vat on what they sell and forward it to the UK

you can understand why some can't be bothered when you read this

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/vat-and-ove ... -in-the-uk.

so in theory i can't send someone in the US money have them put something in a box and take it to the post office anymore
they have to itemize contents and work out the VAT charge me the VAT

or lie understate the value and say it is a gift or sample. the only guys who do this are the Chinese, you pay the price but the value quoted on the forms attached when it arrives is negligible. Then you see in the bottom of the package a pre filled customs declaration for return of goods to china, should there be a problem, and the value is £0:00. happy to take the mickey out of both governments.
vendors on aliexpress seem to be the kings of this little game.


the only exemptions seem to be for ebay and amazon etc i.e an online market place

ebay now adds vat to second hand car parts...basically scrap....

i can't understand why there hasn't been a massive outcry


Dave

[Dave Napier]

Jeez, seems an absolute PITA. I deal with quite small vendors mainly, though I sometime purchase stuff from Jegs or summit but get it sent to someone who then sends it all across to me. USPS, UPS or Fedex have always sent me a invoice for the VAT a few weeks after delivery apart from that one time when Fedex sent it to the vendor (GRP). They paid it and I just paid them back for it with a CC. I can remember them saying they had never had to do it before and thought it was a scam
PS I'm not VAT registered or a business.

[A100]

Well, The Eddy heads arrived from Summit, but not without a little hiccup by UPS this end.
Because of the weight they were sent as two separate items with two separate tracking nos.. Makes sense.
However, when they got to this end they got separated, one got delivered on Monday and the other came on Tuesday.
I mean, it took two days to get them from USA to UK and then a further 6! days to get them to me, separately.!!

But I think that seems to be the UPS (or OOPS AS my mate likes to call them) way.

Anyway, enough moaning and merry Christmas to me

[Dave999]

excellent news

can i suggest they are left on the dining table for at least a week so that all can admire them...

does nothing for marital harmony But hey! Look, NEW HEADS...!



Dave