As a representative of Edelbrock, we have signed on as a LS1Tech sponsor and plan to officially launch on August 1st. The reason we haven't been involved sooner is that we wanted to have some great product for the market and we are approaching that point. As an enthusiast of LS1Tech, we value the community and really look forward to interacting as a sponsor. I will answer a few of the pending questions to the best of my ability, without giving away too much:

1.) The only heads that are currently on the market are castings in the hands of some highly knowledgeable engine builders, porters and resellers for their opinion(s) and evaluation.

2.) We have not released the head yet, due to the fact that we want the head to be competitive to the best on the market and AFR has set a high standard. We have spent a lot of time on the dyno with these heads in order to prove out their worth as a LS1 performance cylinder head. And much to the dismay of what some have said, Edelbrock is more than "a glorified aluminum version of stock stuff". That statement is just plain uneducated---just ask aour Ford friends over in the NMRA. We have however, preserved the factory dimensions and accessory attachment points, so you don't have to redesign your car around the heads.

3.) The partnership with Lingenfelter Performance is intimate and active; our combined efforts will undoubtedly produce a high quality, great performing piece. I will say that all parties involved are proud of what we are accomplishing together.

4.) Pricing will be competitive, but I'm sorry to say that we won't be hitting that $1500/pair range for a complete, Lingenfelter CNC ported head---just being honest!

5.) The casting is beefy and the machining is of the highest quality; the water jacket has been completely reengineered to ensure efficient cooling. Look for Comp 918 springs and titanium retainers on the complete heads.

6.) Our initial release into the market will be for the PRO-PORT LS1 as-cast for the professional head porters, followed by the out-of-the-box, complete heads. We are anxious to get the castings into the hands of the professionals, as we are confident that this casting will soon be the porters casting of choice. AND with our foundry capabilities, casting production, pricing and availability is a high priority.

We're excited and we look forward to getting the Edelbrock/Lingenfelter LS1 heads into your hands. Once we are an official sponsor, I will post some internal images of the castings and cut-aways.

Thank you,
Jason Snyder.
Edelbrock Corp.

 

Jason,
Its great to finally hear something from the mouth of the person who knows.

Gald your a sponser, will the unported heads (i.e. no CNC) run approx 1500 for a set?

thanks
ed

 

Great to see some new heads coming out but i do hope that they keep the price down some $1600-$1800 wouldn't be that bad but over $2000 puts it out of reach for a lot of people.

 

Are you questioning an unported, as-cast complete head? Or the unported PRO-PORT castings that will require machining?

The reason for the question is that our initial introduction into the market does not include a non-cnc ported bolt-on head. However, that is one area that will be pursued in the future, much like our current 23-degree RPM Chevy heads.

If your are inquiring on the PRO-PORT castings, definitely; we will be below your price point.

 

I can concur and we will be doing our best to price them as competitively as possible. It is just very difficult to hit that price point with the quality of machining and the component package that will be offered. Again AFR has set a high standard both in performance and price, so look for our price point to be in the same range on a complete head.

 

Hmmm.... I am a "bit" familiar with that gang....

Other than the Victor and Glidden/Victor in Hot Street, there aren't too many Edelbrock heads in competition...

That could change if I could get a set of "raw" castings to play with for the Pure Street class.... "hint, hint"....

Ed

 

Good to see that aftermarket companies like AFR, Edelbrock, and World are interested in the LS1 market.

 

We'd love to have you! We do post contingency on cylinder heads in nine out of the eleven classes; I'd have to verify payouts, but racers are winning and we are paying.

 

Ive been wondering why ls1 heads would cost more than the other aluminum heads made for other chevy or ford. Are there special sized valves being used or something? Just wondering . I shouldnt just say it is the heads even with other things such as headers ls1 guys seem to be paying more for. Im not sure why a afr or edelbrock couldnt do heads for 1500 like they do for other motors. Anyone have any ideas?

 

The time involved in doing quality CNC machining to the ports and combustion chambers certainly adds cost to the finished head. You are correct that the components for the LS1 are not our typical small chevy or ford, off the shelf stuff, so there is a higher cost in some of the components. But consider the fact that the LS1 isn't just any other engine or platform; we are looking at a production head that not so long ago would have been a purpose built 15-degree race head. If Chevrolet wouldn't have made the factory heads so damn good, the target would be easier to hit! But, the aftermarket castings do have much more material and this also adds to the bottom line.

 

Thanks for the response. I see what you are saying about the differences on head design. Do you think the prices will drop over time as some of the money is recouped from the initial layout of design etc?

 

It is possible, but not a guarantee as I have seen more price increases over the years than reductions. Aluminum pricing changes daily and as components become more commonplace and volumes increase, costs can be reduced. The factory castings are limited due to their production line purpose; the factories goal is to save as much material as possible for massive quantities which, as you know, doesn't lend well to big ports, high compression and high HP. Our castings are heavy and strong, with material added in critical areas for increased strength and plenty of room to open up the ports.

In due time, I believe we will actually see some of the lower cost ported GM heads on the market actually increase due to core availability. It looks as if the guys who were lucky enough to get in on some volume core buys from GM will have a difficult time doing that again, so once that well runs dry you will see more porters choosing the Edelbrock/Lingenfelter, AFR and ET casting as their carving canvas. But, that's just my assumption.

 

It's good to have someone who knows facts about these heads give us some info there has been too much speculation about them. By the way I've been an Edelbrock fan for years and a Lingenfelter fan for almost as long. That combo has got to rock. Also I'm gettin ready to build a 383ci Gen I with all RPM stuff to put into a '65 C10 should run like a scalded *** ape.

 

The Edelbrock heads we've been working with show much promise.
There's plenty of metal provided in the porter's version to accomodate many different types of port profiles. Even the small bore truck guys will have a head that will have nice flow with small port cross sections and small chambers, all packaged in a thick deck casting. Great to see them signing on as a forum sponsor. Welcome aboard Jason and team.

Richard

 

Thanks Richard. We're glad to be a part of the LS1Tech community. BTW, Richard is one of the few that have been looking at our casting, giving us some great feedback.

 

Not sure if this was covered, are these to be centerbolt or perimeter or both?

 

I would imagine center-bolt since perimeter bolts were only used in '97 Y-bodies and '98 Y and F-bodies.

 

The raw casting has perimeter bolt bosses and center bolt bosses, but the perimeter bosses are machined off for the time being. If there's enough demand for the perimeter bolt heads, I imagine Edelbrock could accomodate that in short order.

Richard

 

If the head game is like all other industry, the manufacturer has to make back the R&D. This is typically done with higher prices in the beginning of production. Eventually prices fall as competition shows up. I would suspect that has something to do with why SBC heads are so much cheaper than LS1 heads now, but someone would have to make an inflation adjusted price history of some SBC heads to verify that.

 

Ultimately it's whatever the market will bear. The Fast intake at $870 and the Crane rocker kit for $700 are two of many of the major rip offs we in the LS world face. I do happen to think head prices will drop with the new competition entering the marketplace.