Dart Engine Cylinder Head

Dart Cylinder Heads: Engineered Where Racing Meets the Street

When it comes to aftermarket engine cylinder heads, few names carry as much weight as Dart Machinery. Founded in 1981, Dart built its reputation on the race track before translating that hard-won knowledge into a full lineup of heads that serve everyone from weekend street enthusiasts to professional motorsport competitors. The company's cylinder head catalog is arguably its greatest achievement — a range broad enough to cover Big Block Chevy, Small Block Chevy, Small Block Ford, and GM LS platforms, yet engineered with the precision of purpose-built race components.

A Legacy Built on Cylinder Head Innovation

Dart's earliest products were aluminum Hemi cylinder heads designed for Top Fuel and Funny Car drag racing — castings so effective they helped break the 300 mph barrier and produce the first four-second Funny Car elapsed time. That competitive DNA flows directly into every engine cylinder head Dart produces today. Over the decades, the lineup expanded from Pro Stock race heads to accessible street/strip offerings, giving builders at every level access to race-proven technology.

Dart offers both iron and aluminum castings across many engine families. Aluminum heads pull heat from the combustion chamber more efficiently, allowing higher compression ratios without detonation risk, while iron heads provide an economical solution for iron-block builds and racing classes that mandate cast-iron components.

Key Dart Cylinder Head Product Lines

• Iron Eagle & Iron Eagle Platinum Series: Dart's Iron Eagle line set the standard for cast-iron small-block performance when it debuted in 1997. The next-generation Platinum Series refined the formula using proprietary Speed Flow technology to develop more efficient port designs with improved velocity and flow, along with redesigned combustion chambers for better breathing and more controllable combustion.
• Pro 1 Series: Available for Small Block Chevy, Big Block Chevy, and GM LS platforms, the Pro 1 heads are available bare or fully assembled in both cathedral and square port designs. The Pro 1 LS line, for example, features a 15-degree valve angle for better airflow and more efficient combustion chambers than stock LS castings, while retaining stock valve locations and accessory mounting points for straightforward installation. Manganese bronze valve guides and multi-angle intake seats are standard across the range.
• SHP (Special High Performance) Series: The SHP line targets builders looking for the weight savings of aluminum at a more accessible price point. Built using a proprietary permanent-mold process with a dense aluminum alloy, the intake and exhaust runners and combustion chamber are exceptionally smooth as-cast, delivering strong power gains without the cost of CNC porting. Available for Small Block Chevy (in 180cc and 200cc, 23° configurations) and Small Block Ford (175cc and 205cc, 20° configurations), SHP heads are equally at home on street, strip, circle track, truck, and marine applications.
• Race Series & Big Chief Heads: For all-out competition, Dart's Race Series and Big Chief spread-port heads for Big Block Chevy platforms have set the benchmark in classes from Pro Street to Pro Mod. Valve angle options extend from 23° street-friendly configurations all the way down to 9° pure competition designs, each intended to maximize airflow at specific RPM ranges and power levels.

What Sets Dart Apart in the Cylinder Head Category

Dart's advanced casting technology produces heads with higher density and strength in the combustion chambers. Tighter casting tolerances allow profiled valve guide bosses to be cast in place, resulting in smoother surfaces that improve airflow without requiring additional machining. Port volume options for small-block Chevy heads alone span from 165cc through 245cc, giving builders the precision-matching capability that production heads simply cannot offer. Dart's CNC machining centers convert raw castings into finished heads with exacting dimensional consistency, ensuring every head that leaves the facility meets the same standard whether it's destined for a daily driver or a championship-level race engine.

Whether you're refreshing a classic muscle car or building a dedicated race engine, Dart's cylinder head selection offers a technically validated path to more power, better efficiency, and lasting durability.