Dart Pro 1 Heads
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Joined: Jul 2011
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Dart Pro 1 Heads I am looking to buy some new heads and I initially wanted to get some 243s and then get them cnc ported, but I found some Dart Pro 1 heads for really cheap. What are the advantages/disadvantages of the Darts? I haven’t seen that many running them, and I have heard some stuff about oil consumption problems. My other question is do the Dart heads have the coolant crossover pipe holes in them? I don’t have the money for some nice AFR's or Trick Flows so these are my two realistic options. Any extra info would be appreciated.
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Joined: Sep 2005
Posts: 13
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From: Michigan
I am looking to buy some new heads and I initially wanted to get some 243s and then get them cnc ported, but I found some Dart Pro 1 heads for really cheap. What are the advantages/disadvantages of the Darts? I haven’t seen that many running them, and I have heard some stuff about oil consumption problems. My other question is do the Dart heads have the coolant crossover pipe holes in them? I don’t have the money for some nice AFR's or Trick Flows so these are my two realistic options. Any extra info would be appreciated.
like your stock head I run this head c n c ported it is a good head.
run the ls2 head gasket, and you have to trim the rocker stands no big deal.
i have seen TONS of good/bad rep on the dart heads. a vendor cnc'd a few sets and they had oil consumption issues. but a good head ported will make some nice flow numbers out of the darts.
I run these on my 550 rwhp 408 with 750 rwhp with a 200 shot. And mine are as cast, unported.
There are zero oil consumption problems. The hype was propagated with a few people who basically ruined the heads with "prep" work and posted online how they didn't work right.
Call Dart. They got some of these heads back and did a big WTF check. It was all consumer error. They work great for me.
There are zero oil consumption problems. The hype was propagated with a few people who basically ruined the heads with "prep" work and posted online how they didn't work right.
Call Dart. They got some of these heads back and did a big WTF check. It was all consumer error. They work great for me.
Dick Maskin has forgotten more about cylinder heads than most of us will ever
know. Back in the mid 70s he would horizontally cut AMC heads through the
intake ports(1 set 1/4" above mid port, 1 set 1/4" below mid port) then braze
weld the taller upper and the taller lower to make a hybrid runner cylinder
head that when ported would flow enough air to support well over 750 fwhp
from a 354 cubic inch small block tunnel rammed with a pair of 660 center
squirter holleys. Again MID seventies....WTF. The guy ain't no dummy !!!!
know. Back in the mid 70s he would horizontally cut AMC heads through the
intake ports(1 set 1/4" above mid port, 1 set 1/4" below mid port) then braze
weld the taller upper and the taller lower to make a hybrid runner cylinder
head that when ported would flow enough air to support well over 750 fwhp
from a 354 cubic inch small block tunnel rammed with a pair of 660 center
squirter holleys. Again MID seventies....WTF. The guy ain't no dummy !!!!
I have not seen alot of dart heads on here making waves where we all want them because it's a good/great head. The two cars i seen at the track with dart heads were less then impressive with the times they were running vs my AFR head combo. I ran near 10's n/a in a 3,700lbs car with a AFR 205 head and a stock ci ls1 block. I have a 402 now with trickflow heads that makes 540hp on a stang dyno and at 3,700lbs i trap near 131mph 1/4mi and mid 10's. n/a. I would save your money for the AFR or trickflow heads and not be in a hurry to buy something less. Maybe in 6mo you can find a better set of heads with the saved money. I have had five sets of heads on my car and the AFR/Trick flow is worth wating for.
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I ran Dart 205's for about two years. I bought one of the first sets out. Mine were fine with no problems at all, but they have had some issues with valve guide clearances and non-concentric valves. If the price is right there are a couple of places that can make them really run. If you have any port work done, make sure they are familiar with Darts for the LS motor. There were some issues with them being over ported when they first came out, which didn't do much for their reputation. Sort of like a bad newpaper article, the retraction is always buried in the back of the paper.
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Verdad Gallardo I ran Dart 205's for about two years. I bought one of the first sets out. Mine were fine with no problems at all, but they have had some issues with valve guide clearances and non-concentric valves. If the price is right there are a couple of places that can make them really run. If you have any port work done, make sure they are familiar with Darts for the LS motor. There were some issues with them being over ported when they first came out, which didn't do much for their reputation. Sort of like a bad newpaper article, the retraction is always buried in the back of the paper.
