Patriot Heads...

[Sean]

So whats the deal with Patriot's heads being so cheap? Anybody have any experience with their products?

Specs on the "Big Mutha Thumper" cam are showing that my worked-over stock heads aren't going to be anywhere close to handling the lift (.533) for that Cam. Been wanting better heads anyway, so if the Patriot Heads are decently made, that looks to be the cheapest route for me to go.

Their Vortec Heads claim .575 valve lift at $629 a pair fully assembled (Jegs). The prices on their aluminum heads are so cheap, it almost seems suspicious.

And would the Vortec heads work with my LT1 intake Manifold? I have two Action Plus intakes, one that I saved from my last SBC, and the other on the LT1. (Different bolt angles or something like that. All I remember is that the old intake wouldn't match up to the heads on the LT1 so I had to buy a new one.)

[chimp koose]

Patriot heads are cast in china. This does not mean they are a bad product. The quality is supposed to be good. Apparently a lot of OEMs have their castings made in china as well , it comes down to the quality of the design of the casting, not where it is cast. All the machine work on a patriot head is done at patriots own machining facility in the USA. The hardware on the heads is all quality brand name,american made stuff.I would run these heads on my motor.The valve spring pockets are cut for 1.44 or 1.5 " springs. Others in the same price range are not.A 1.25" spring on a .535 lift cam will have a relatively short life span.If you have any questions about the heads you can call patriot on their toll free # listed on their web page and ask them direct questions . I have done so and been given direct answers. I called them in june inquiring about how much cut was required to remove 1cc volume from the chambers.I waited while the tech line guy got the machine shop foreman on the phone to answer my question. (.006 " per 1cc if you care to know)I was also looking up these heads a while back as you are now. I came across a chevelle site that had a bunch of unsubstantiated bickering going on about the quality of the product. The patriot rep got on the web site and answered ALL of the questions in a curteous and respectful manner even though some of the questions were not worded in the same tone . That won some respect from me ,then when I called them I was further impressed by their handling of my inquiry. I would feel confident in dealing with them.Without saying more I would NOT suggest using the even less expensive pro comp heads . I have chosen to rebuild my stock heads instead of using the patriots only because I have all the equipment to do so and the heads I have are the old ,no accessory bolt hole 327 castings that I feel will look better on my engine.

[Sean]

would NOT suggest using the even less expensive pro comp heads

I take it those are the ones I've read about that have a problem holding on to their Valve Seats?

[chimp koose]

Yup,and guides too.