'Well, they're finally here! All you Chrysler fans can rejoice in knowing that the long-awaited Victor 440 heads from Edelbrock are now available. This new offering isn't just a re-vamp of the existing Performer RPM heads; it's a completely new and innovative design that remedies many of the shortcomings associated with the stock head layout. Follow along as we put the new Victor 440 to the test and see how it stacks up to ported and unported versions of its older sibling, the Performer RPM.
When this series of dyno tests started, the Victor 440 heads hadn't even been announced yet. We already had a solid 440 package that we had assembled as a weekend-warrior motor to see what we could do with proven parts without overspending. We had the basic engine ready at JMS Racing Engines in Monrovia, California, where we assembled the top end and used the company's dyno room for the tests.
The engine we used is a 466-inch Chrysler big-block that started as a 440 core. We bored it 0.030-over and treated the crank to the poor-man's stroker modification by offset-grinding the stock, forged-steel unit down to big-block Chevrolet rod size. There was a gain of about 21 cid with this trick, making an expensive aftermarket crank unnecessary. Eagle 7.1-inch rods made just for this application were used along with custom Ross pistons that yielded a pump-gas friendly 10.5:1 compression ratio. The camshaft is a mechanical roller with 272 degrees at 0.050 and 0.672 lift with 1.6:1 rockers and was ground on a 110-degree lobe separation angle. The original budget precluded the purchase of any exotic cylinder heads, so we went with the best value head out there: the Performer RPM with a Victor 440 manifold and a Holley 850 carb.
This basic combination made 618 hp at 5,900 rpm and 597 lb-ft of torque at 4,600 rpm. The results were so good with a box-stock head, curiosity got the best of us, and we couldn't help but wonder what a little homegrown port job could do to help. The intake ports were squared up and cleaned with a sanding roll. We raised the roof of the exhaust ports and gave them a modern D shape, but other than that, no major changes were made.
Because longevity was a concern, we left the guides alone so as not to jeopardize valve stability. A lot of attention to detail was paid to the combustion chambers and making sure the valves were unshrouded. Also, the sharp edges left from where the seats were inserted into the head were smoothed and blended. We've found that a multi-angle valve job where the edges on the top of both the intake and exhaust valves are radiused and smoothed really helps with low-lift exhaust flow and relieves any possible hot spots that could lead to detonation. The intake was also cleaned and squared with a sanding roll, but no other modifications were made.
Back on the dyno, the pulls yielded 652 hp at 6,100 rpm and 623 lb-ft at 4,700 rpm with over 600 lb-ft of torque being maintained between 4,100 and 5,600 rpm. That is one flat torque curve. The minimal porting job gained 34 hp and 26 lb-ft of torque-well worth the effort.
We were so excited with how the RPM heads performed, we called a friend in Edelbrock's engineering department to share the good news. He told us the engine would be a perfect testbed for the new Victor 440 heads Edelbrock was about to release and asked if we would like to try a set. Are you kidding? We couldn't get to Edelbrock's Torrance, California, facility fast enough.
The new Victor 440 heads have raised intake and exhaust ports. The exhaust ports have been moved up 0.250 inch while the intake ports have been raised a whopping 0.650 inch. The intake-valve sizes have also been increased to 2.20 inches compared with the RPM heads at 2.14 inches. The heart-shaped combustion chambers are new and measure 75 cc. Edelbrock has also cast enough material into the heads that you can take the ports all the way out to Max Wedge size. What can only be described as cast-in spacers on the intake sides of the heads allow you to use your existing Victor 440 manifold when you make the swap. They come with valves and seals, but because most will be destined for racing applications, valvesprings are left up to the racer.
At the time we got the new set of heads, no one was making application-specific rocker arms for the Victor 440. Comp Cams and T&D Machine Products got together and fixed that problem and now offer rockers designed just for these heads. The exhaust rocker configuration didn't change much, but the larger-sized intake ports required that the intake rocker be offset for pushrod clearance.
Back on the dyno at JMS, the engine made 692 hp at 6,400 rpm and 637 lb-ft at 4,900. That's a 74hp and 40-lb-ft increase with a change of cylinder heads only. Yes, the compression ratio went from 10.5:1 to 11.0:1 because of the chamber-size reduction, and that may have contributed some power, but not overly so.
Studying the dyno sheets, we noticed the engine was pulling 2.1 inches of mercury at peak rpm. It was obvious that the new high-flow Victor 440 heads were straining our poor old 850 carb, and it couldn't keep up. With a little more air, we thought there might be some more power left, so we bolted on a Holley 1,000-cfm HP carb for the test and did another pull. With the larger carb, the engine made 711 hp at 6,400 rpm and 641 lb-ft at 5,100 rpm.
With a cylinder-head change and a carburetor upgrade, we gained 93 hp from our baseline pull without any porting. The torque curve looked more like a table top than a curve. Over 600 lb-ft of torque was available from 4,100 rpm to 6,100 rpm; that's a 2,000-rpm sweep.
In box-stock form, these heads can be bolted on your mildly built 440, and you won't kill the low-rpm performance, but there's plenty of material to play with if you want to step it up. The best part is that all this was done with only a very slight increase in cost over the Performer RPM head.
PARTSDESCRIPTIONSOURCEPNPRICEPerformer RPM cylinder headsEdelbrock 60929$1,359.00Victor 440 cylinder headsEdelbrock 779191,339.{{{90}}}Intake manifoldEdelbrock 2954239.88Valley panEdelbrock 779839.99850-cfm carburetorHolley0-9380535.951,000-cfm carburetorHolley0-80513-1709.95HeadersHooker Headers (Holley)5209HKR449.95Mechanical roller camIsky165163332.69Roller liftersIsky1612-RH476.99ValvespringsIsky9205190.99PushrodsManley Performance Products25985-8 x 2189.38RetainersManley Performance Products23707SCD-16127.69LocksManley Performance Products13091-1646.39Dual pickup oil-pump systemMilodon21190529.95Oil-pump driveMilodon21523132.39Oil panMilodon31160275.95DistributorMSD8546286.88Ignition wiresMSD3122978.88Ignition boxMSD6420229.88Valve coversProcomp/JMS Racing EnginesN/A180.00Rocker armsT&D Machine ProductsCallN/A