HEADS!..New Castings , Replacement performance heads?, Anybody have any info on this company or their products? Options

[Speedster Mike]

Has anyone used these heads from this company Called DRD Racing? Their web site looks really good! Here's a link.
http://www.drdracingheads.com/index.php Their heads are New Castings! Looks like the L5 and L6 Heads are the way to go!....anyone got info ?

[HAM Inc]

I don't make a habit of commenting on competitors work, at least not when it comes to specifics. Though I have not seen to much of Darrens work, I have spoken to him on the phone and he is a very nice guy, and seems pretty knowledgeable.

I do know that there are other competent machinist out there, for that I am grateful as I already have more work than I can do, (for which I am also grateful).

The problem is finding one who is willing to work with used T4 castings and deal with ALL of the issues they present, (from previous hack work, to cracks, to damaged sparkplug threads, worn or eroded exhaust gasket surfaces, butchered ex stud bosses, not to mention all of the routine work they require) without either ignoring the issues or doing patch work.
Even a competent machinist will "max out" his commmitment to "value added service" at a point typically short of that required by most used T4 heads. Over the years I have seen a steady parade of heads that had just been picked up by my new customer from some shop or another (some from a popular West Coast shop, not DRD) that had issues not dealt with or work that was questionable to the owner, so he shipped them to me to straighten things out.

That is why I stoppped working with used T4 heads. I found that I was going to have to raise my prices again to keep them profitable if I intended to keep my commitment to shipping truly ready to install heads.

I don't want to sound dramatic, but the quantity of quality used castings flowing into my shop has really declined in the last two years. I still prep used heads fro racers, as we are required to use O.E. castings, but it really is a drag having to spend hours of casting repair and cleaning up details before I can get down to the business of making some power out of the darn things.

I put a tremendous amount of effort into ensuring that each pair of heads that leaves my shop are the best offering anyone can buy anywhere on the planet. That includes a lot QC work on each operation and constant attention to details, plus ongoing tweaking of designs and flowbench work.
As all of you are well aware this does not come cheap. I'm sure that most of you in the market for heads have developed sticker shock when seeing how much a pair of new HAM heads runs. I don't blame anyone for that. I wish the raw materials weren't so expensive, just as I wish the original castings were heartier and the supply of quality used castings deepers. But such is life.

I am very proud of the fact that I have yet to hear anyone complain that they felt they didn't get what they paid for when they purchased a pair of my heads. I don't mean for this to sound like a sales pitch. I just wanted to let the members hear my feelings on the subject at hand.