The first half of your reply, I'll say this.....you are right, it's debatable how much the power each vehicle made was boost and how much was due to a superior head casting. You'll admit though, boost is a great equalizer when it comes to making a head that would otherwise perform at sub par levels in a N/A application, seem much stronger when forced induction is added. Pumping 12psi into an engine does a great job of masking low lift flow and velocity figures from an otherwise inferior head.....would you not agree? I'd love to see some comparative figures for the two heads in N/A trim at all levels, not just at peak. Peak flow figures are only half the equation and I'm certain you know that.....just as you know different dyno's, different days. It's all relevant.
I'm not saying the Trick Flow's might not need a little work out of the box. Heck....I can't think of one aftermarket head that doesn't need a little "help" in one area or another. Whether it's a better valve job, or upgraded hardware, fixing some casting flash, etc. But the same can be said for a set of off the block Explorer heads as well. The difference is, the Explorer heads need help in all area's. Casting flash is abundant, the stock Ford valve job sucks and the entire valve train needs an overhaul. Time and Money...an we haven't looked into port work yet.
As for how many car's I've worked on....is it really relevant? If I told you I worked on Jerry Eckhoff's '75 Corvette, or Ian Sears 82' Fox body and '78 Fairmont, would it be any more, or less impressive to you? I honestly don't see any relevance in the question other than what I assume is an attempt by yourself to discredit my point? If that's the case....put away the tape measure man, it isn't a contest. I'm sure you're every bit is good as you think you are. As for the top end compariosn....you don't need to take my word for it. There are literally hundred, upon hundreds of dyno sheet's floating around out there that confirm my figures. It sucks that your buddies car only made 270rwhp with a Trick Flow top end. That's certainly on the low side....but you talk as though it's also the norm, which if you've worked on as many engines as you seem to insinuate, I'm sure you know it isn't. I've seen Dyno sheet's for GT40 cars that have barely cracked 250hp!?! Does that mean they all suck? Of course not! Generally GT40 combo cars are generally making in the 270-320hp range on a stock bottom end, depending on the supporting parts. I've seen plenty of trick flow top ends dyno within the 320-370hp range using the same parameters. That falls well within the 50-70hp (or approx. 40-60 if you want to talk wheel horsepower) difference I quoted above. I've seen a few GT40 combo's make a little more, but 9/10 times they've also added compression, or displacement to the mix....something that works equally as well with any top end combination. And again...different dyno's, different days.
....and you still didn't tell me why you had such a hate on for the Trick Flow Track Heat? Does a great job on my 331....at least as far as the SOTP meter goes. Pulls all the way to the rev limiter on the stock tach with my breathed on GT40X's and XE274HR?