Brodix Oval-Port Heads
With early-'70s oval-port heads performing so well, we couldn't wait to see what the benefits of 30 years of cylinder head technological evolution could bring to the table. It was time to bolt on a set of Brodix's Race-Rite oval-port heads. With the RPM Air-Gap intake, they raised peak output to 665.3 lb-ft and 604.4 hp, a gain of 50.7 lb-ft and 68.5 hp. On average, the engine was now making 603.3 lb-ft and 460.4 hp, an increase of 47.8 and 40.5 numbers, respectively, over the iron heads. And would you believe more than 525 lb-ft at just 2,100 rpm?
Summing up, our progress so far verifies the clich that there's no substitute for cubic inches. It's also apparent that a big engine like this wants more plenum volume than provided by intakes originally designed for 396-454 mills. In every test to date, the engine has run better with a 1-inch open carb spacer. So far the engine has also run best with Hooker 2-inch primary-tube headers (PN 2217-1HKR, listed as fitting '70-'72 Camaros), preferring them to 1 3/4-, 1 7/8-, and 2 1/8-inch sets. We expect larger headers to come into their own at some point as we move up the food chain.
Next we planned to try the larger 2 1/8-inch primary-tube headers and then the Victor Jr. again, but power mysteriously started falling off. It turned out there was water in the oil. Time to regroup before the next go-round. There could be another 30 number in the present combo alone, and we haven't even gotten to mechanical roller cams or rectangular-port-head combos. Never fear, Godzilla will return, headed for 800 hp.
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