# e heads on a stock 400-worth it?



## 69ponlem (Jun 12, 2011)

Got a stock 73 400 reman.with about 1500 miles,AT,Power breaks,stock iron intake w/74 carter Q-Jet,stock cam and 4x-1H heads & the rear is probly in the mid 2's since its an a/c car.It's in a 69 lemans so already not original.Been looking for some heads to get more compression since mine are around 7.2 or so.Not having much luck finding any iron heads that are cost efective since it would run around 1500 to get them done right.I will be runnig 93 octane so I would like to go as high as I can safely go on compression.Also thinking about getting intake matched to the heads.Would also be installing R.A.R.E. factory headers on my duals.Car wil be weekend crusier only.Finaly to my question,would the 72cc d port e heads,ethier stock or upgraded from say Buttler work good with what I'm thinking on doing to the car?If the extra 500 can get me better results so be it.Thanks for any help.


----------



## Thumpin455 (Feb 17, 2010)

I knew a guy who had a mild 400 in a 78 Trans Am with E heads on it, it ran pretty good with box stock heads. Unless you are racing it, the bottom end should live. The aluminum will let you run more compression on pump gas too, so I would say they will work for you.


----------



## dimitri (Feb 13, 2009)

What cam do you have in it now? This will dictate compression.


----------



## 66tempestGT (Nov 28, 2009)

i dont think i would let my cam dictate what heads and intake i buy. cam is chump change compared to the rest.


----------



## jetstang (Nov 5, 2008)

Cam wont' dictate compression. I think you need different pistons to get away from the dish and then get some normal CC heads. Hopefully one of the guru's will pipe in. There are tons of other build threads that spell this out, try searching on them, look for Mr. Pbody, he is the man.


----------



## 69ponlem (Jun 12, 2011)

Thanks for the input guys.Since the motor was in the car when I got it I don't know anything about it.Receit just says 400 remaufactored engine.Really don't have the money for pistons & cam swap so I wanted to do what I can afford to get the best bang for the buck.Am I heading in the right direction?


----------



## Thumpin455 (Feb 17, 2010)

Unless you get the D port heads you will need round port headers and they are rather pricey. The three sets I have all cost more than $550, so add that in with the heads and you have $2500 - $3000 or more (depending on where you get parts and what you get) when its all done. 

The E heads flow more than most ported iron heads, even the D ports do, so its a step up even without touching the ports. Port them and it makes a big difference. Having more airflow means the ability to feed those cubes enough air, and that means your engine will turn more RPM before it runs out of airflow. That means if it has stock rods they become the weak link and you still dont want o rev it over 5800 with stock rods. 400s like to spin more than 455s do, so over revving it is a possibility. Just something to be aware of, you can limit the RPM easily.

Aluminum heads dissipate heat faster than iron heads, thus you can run more compression with them. An iron 72cc headed 400 that pings or flattens the upper rod bearings will run without issue if the heads are swapped to aluminum, all other things being the same. They are more resistant to preignition, so you can run more squeeze with pump gas. 10:1 is very easy to handle with aluminum heads, and unless they really are 72cc chambers, and you have zero deck on the block, it wont be that high. Usually 400s with stock replacement pistons end up with them down the bore a bit, sometimes as much as .100" which is too much as it ruins quench, but even .050 will drop the compression quite a bit. Also the four eyebrow slugs lower compression as they have deep groves and often a chamfer around the crown, if it has those they are cast but will keep the compression down to manageable levels with aluminum heads.

It will make more power and run a long time provided you arent racing it or beating the snot out of it all the time. So its a step in the right direction. Also you can build another 400 shortblock with forged rods and pistons then swap those heads on it. Otherwise, using all the parts you have now, sending the heads out to be ported and new valves, springs, locks, retainers, seals and a valve job will be cheaper and only be down on power a little bit if at all. If it runs on pump gas with the iron heads it has now, it will after working them over too, unless you mill them a bunch.

I think you could do the aluminum D ports from either KRE or Edelbrock and stay under $2200 doing the installation yourself. Sending the iron heads out to get ported and rebuilt will run you about $1700-$2000. The set of 48 heads I have at Butlers right now will run me about $1400 total plus $200 in round trip shipping. They are getting new everything and a street port, plus a .050 mill to raise compression for my ethanol engine, which you dont want to do with pump gas. The difference is pretty small really, unless $500 is half your monthly income (which I seriously doubt).  You could go either way and still get a nice running powerful 400 that is still limited by the stock rods and cam in it.


----------



## 69ponlem (Jun 12, 2011)

Thanks for the good info Thumpin,at this point the price difference is not that much since I can futher build with better end results with aluminum.I emailed Buttler & he says the 72cc would work fine & come in around 10.1.


----------



## Thumpin455 (Feb 17, 2010)

Which is perfect for 91-93 pump gas with aluminum heads. They do nice heads, I have three sets of them.


----------



## geeteeohguy (Feb 2, 2008)

Here's what I did with my 400: I finally found some iron 87cc heads, and had to have them totally rebuilt. The cost was about 1400 bucks. I ended up with okay heads with small valves and inferior flow to the aftermarket aluminum stuff. The car runs well with about 9:1 compression, which is about optimum for today's fuel. If I had to do it over, knowing what I now know, I would buy the aftermarket D port E heads or some KRE's for a few dollars more. As you've found out, the iron heads are expensive to have done "right", and for not much more, you can have a great top end. JMHO....


----------



## 69ponlem (Jun 12, 2011)

Thanks for the reasurance.Dont need to make a $2000 mistake!


----------

