Disappointed in Edelbrock

[383_GrandPrix]

3 years ago when I was in the planning stages of my sbc engine build I was recommended a set of heads by my local performance shop; some Edelbrock E-street heads. Not knowing any better I of course ordered a set complete with valves, springs, guide plates etc. Well now 3 years later I'm finally trying to get my motor ready to fire up for the first time (exciting times) and I've found a few issues that seem to be common occurrence with these heads.

1:The guide plates didn't have enough adjustment to get my rockers straight over the valves and the push rods were almost contacting the wall of the push rod clearance holes in the heads. No big deal, I got a set of adjustable guide plates to try and remedy these issues. Well the rockers line up, but turns out that the clearance holes are drilled in the wrong places and the pushrods still come way to close for comfort, Edelbrock basically tells me 5" or .005" clearance is clearance.

2: There are steps and even a shoulder or 2 in most of the ports. Sent Edelbrock some photos and got a "looks fine to me" from the tech and his "Manager".

3: Not surprisingly the valves don't seal worth a damn. They all leak like sives, a lot more then they should even though they aren't broken in. Pretty sure at least one or two of the valve seats isn't aligned with the valve guide. Tech says it's normal for them to leak as the seats are cut and not ground (what a bs excuse). Edelbrock says everything is vacuum tested before leaving the factory so they're obviously "with in spec".

4: to top it off, I guess just to piss me off since I'm a machinist, the heads aren't even completely deburred.

The best they could do was tell me to ship them back to them via UPS at my own expense (from Canada to Cali. and back) and they'll check them out and repair them if need be. Guess I learned my lesson; you get what you pay for.
Next time I'll buy some better quality heads bare and have them assembled at a proper performance shop.

 

[JBreu]

I had a bad experience with the Eddy carb in tbe past, I'msurprised at the quality of those heads as Edelbrock makes excellent heads, I know guys with the performer rpm heads and they love them....As for me, I prefer Dart and run the Aluminum Pro 1's on my sbc, with tbe performrr rpm air gsp intake and performer rpm cam....At least their Aluminum, cheaper to ship. Good luck on that first up

 

[L92 OLDS]

In the Oldsmobile world, Pro Comps are just as good in my opinion and are a fraction of the cost.

 

[565bbchevy]

I have a set of SBC Edelbrock RPM heads that came on a project car that I parted out so they didn't end up costing me anything but when I saw the port openings I had thought the previous owner did some half *ss home porting and I asked my machine shop when I dropped them of to get freshened up and they said that is how they normally look.
I have used their intakes for years but this was my first experience with their heads.
If I had actually bought them new I would have been disappointed but they worked very well on the previous engine.

 

[Turboelky]

AFR heads and never look back. Best heads on the market and nothing compares. Just clearance that stuff yourself, not a hard task. Valves should NOT leak at all weather cut with a serdi or finished with stones. That's not acceptable. Not to mention you can't see what the valve job on the back side of the valves even looks like. Valve job and short side radius is where the power is made.

 

[565bbchevy]

These are my bare AFR 357 BBC heads with some of the nicest CNC porting I have seen.

 

[Turboelky]

These are my bare AFR 357 BBC heads with some of the nicest CNC porting I have seen.

The seats also appear to have a 5 angle finish, hard to tell in the pic but looks like it. Nothing comes close to AFR. Out of the box they flow well on the bench, on the engine dyno and in the car. People buy edelbrock or other lower cost heads, then spend another $500-1k on port work, valve jobs and proper springs for their setup. Better off spending up front on the real deal.

 

[NorthWestRider]

I had a issue once with a ls victor jr intake that the gasket area was machined wrong summit sent me 3 intakes before it finally came right but the good thing is summit has good customer service only problem is it took longer than i wanted it to

 

[Streetbu]

I've only ever used carbs and intakes from Edlebrock. Actually only intakes now. The one and only carb I bought brand new was an Edlebrock. You could take the idle mixture screws completely out while the engine was running and it wouldn't change a thing. Passages were plugged full from the factory. They wouldn't do anything about it. I'll never buy another piece of crap carb from them again.

 

[565bbchevy]

I had a issue once with a ls victor jr intake that the gasket area was machined wrong summit sent me 3 intakes before it finally came right but the good thing is summit has good customer service only problem is it took longer than i wanted it to

I remember your posts about the intake that was ridiculous, it is hard to believe stuff like that gets past quality control.