The Jesse James series of heads are engineered to accept common ARP head bolts or Manley bolts. If you’re wondering, these heads are aluminum castings that have been anodized. It’s a special process developed specifically for the Jesse James series by Brodix. Neat touch.
What Fits What?
So which heads do you use where? While it’s impossible for us to determine the specs of the engine tucked between the frame rails of your Chevy, we can point you in the right direction when it comes to the Jesse James series. For big-block applications, Brodix recommends an RPM range of 2,000-6500 for both rectangular and oval port applications, with displacements ranging from 396ci all the way up to 502. These heads are engineered for use with either hydraulic or hydraulic roller camshafts.
All of the small-block heads are recommended for use in engines displacing 355-406ci, with RPM ranges between 1500 and 6,000-6500 RPM (JJ180 to 6,000 RPM, JJ200 and JJ210 to 6,500 RPM). The JJ180 small-block head is engineered for hydraulic cams while the JJ200 is set-up for either a hydraulic roller cam or a flat tappet cam. The CNC-ported JJ210 El Loco head can be used with hydraulic, hydraulic roller or flat tappet camshafts.
A close-up look at the valve train included in the assembled Jesse James 270 series head. All you need to do is install your existing rocker arms and push rods (remember, the heads accept stock hardware or high-performance hardware designed for stock Chevy engines). You’ll note too, in the accompanying specs, these heads (big-block) can be modified to accept huge 1-5/8-inch valve springs, but that’s only if you plan on running a big solid roller setup.
Street-Friendly Accessories
Some aftermarket heads really don’t have provision to accept alternators, air conditioning pumps, and so on. Brodix went beyond that with the Jesse James heads. Both small- and big-block versions are pre-drilled on the leading and trailing edges, which means they’ll accept all traditional (stock) Chevy accessories. For things like spark plugs, the small-block heads are of the straight plug configuration. That means you don’t need special angle-plug headers. Big-blocks use conventional plug layouts as well. See the accompanying spec sheets for more info on spark plugs, other hardware and torque specs.
As you can easily see, the grief of swapping in a set of high-flow, high performance cylinder heads is pretty much eliminated by these new offerings. They definitely work and equally important, the folks from Brodix have gone the extra mile to ensure you can use them on your street-driven Chevy.
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