454 heads
 

has anyone ever tried any eeebbayy heads? maybe put some better valves in it?

I have not. But if you are looking for some there should be a variety in the classifieds here?

Please be careful in buying "cheap" aluminum or iron heads. As a manufacturereof quality aluminum heads I can tell you I cannot even build a set of complete heads for $900-$1000 per pair, not even close! Many of those heads being offered on some sites and internet sales are very poorly produced castings that even with the best parts in them can fail with a catastrophic results for your engine! If you look carefully at the square exhaust port shape on them you will realize they are all the same product being import mass marketed under many different banners and names and thru many shops just trying to earn a buck in todays tight market. Old proverb" If its too good to be true, it probably is"!

Best Regards,
Ray @ Raylar

cheap used is a LITTLE better. seller can be honest or not. can be knowledgable or clueless. nice thing about ebay, if they sell it as used but good and it is not, with their buyer protection you open a dispute and they make the seller take it back. you are out the shipping at least one way, though. if seller refuses to refund, ebay covers it and throws seller off.

If you think putting a problem set of heads on a nicely built engine, having a problem and then going thru a loose -loose credit situation with proof for EBay is an easy or reasonable way to buy parts and build an engine then you are a fool and you would deserve the nightmare you would create for yourself. Be my guest, Have at it!

What the heck do I know, I only design and build cylinder heads for a living!
By the way I don' t make or have heads for this type of use so I am not biased here, just trying to help a few avoid possible issues.

Best Regards,
Ray @ Raylar

some of us have 15k for an engine. some of us have 2k for a boat. some of us have a peanut port 330 hp motor, and would like to go with oval ports, a little more cam, a better intake and see what that $500 to $1000 does for our boat's performance. i was mentioning the one advantage of ebay over craigslist for used parts. or even over the used parts listed in the classifieds here. i have had good luck and bad on ebay. when i had bad luck, it turned out to be the sellers loss, not mine.

ray, you are never going to convince this person of anything. you tried to head off the stupidity but there is only so much you can do.

just wait for the the thread that starts with... " gee, i bought some chinese heads and a valve broke and busted a piston and then the rod came out the side. i made a claim to ebay for the motor and after a year they paypaled me 3$ for the valve ... does anyone know where i can buy a motor for 3 $ ? "

the first thing smithelec mentioned was REPLACING the valves. i was talking about USED parts with GM valves. if the valve heads haven't popped off in 125k miles, they are probably pretty good valves. they won't hold up in a 750 hp 540 inch 6500 rpm motor. but, like i said, some of us have 15k for a motor. hell, 15k will buy a tour of ray's shop and a keychain. this is a DIY boaters on a BUDGET (google that word for the definition, ray. i am sure you never heard it before.) section. i haven't heard one bad word about raylar's product. so i am sure he builds good durable engines. but lets face it, engines in this environment break. we are not cruising out to the canyon at 2400 rpm. not many engine builders are gonna replace an engine because a valve head came off and did bad things.

Buy it Right and Build it Once!
 

Look Dereknkathy:

The original thread starter asked a question of has anybody got any input on cheap heads bought off Ebay and would changing valves help? I was just commenting to be careful buying cheap new heads for a BBC off Ebay because if you search here on OSO threads you will see that others have had serious problems with some of these cheap heads! The problem seemed to be with the porosity (leaks) of the castings, not the valves.
I was just cautioning as a builder who has seen what a bad set of heads can do quickly to a nice engine.
If my meager knowledge and expierence can save any boater from grief and problems or monetary loss from using a product that will harm their engine I WILL DO THAT!
As far as budget control on boat engines I have always beena proponent of that for the boaters who can't afford the high dollar boats and engines. I also believe quite strongly that you don't want to "be penneywise and pound foolish" when it comes to spending money on an engine. Set a budget based on what you can afford, plan your build based on that and try to make sure "YOU ONLY BUY IT ONCE" as for the budget builder thats even more important, they usually can't afford to build it twice!
As far as $15K goes, I can assure you as other Raylar customers all over the world can, you can get a lot more at Raylar than a shop tour and and a key chain!
Good Luck in your boating endeavors, boat safe, have fun and enjoy whatever you can afford!

Best Regards,
Ray @ Raylar

sorry. that one line was uncalled for.