will a set of gm camel hump heads casting number 3890462 fit in a L03 TBI in a 1990 chevy 1/2 ton cargo van. they were out of a corvette with a 327. i know that i will have to modify the intake but i was wondering if there will be any problems with the valves. the valves are 1.94 1.50

 

The valves are the least of your worries. Because those heads are from the old days (late 60's, i think), i dont think they have accessory mounting holes (the 3 holes in the front of the head). I know the 461's didnt and i dont think 462's are much different.

 

also I would think that even slightly bigger heads would lower your compression some. I'm not sure how much but it would seem logical.

 

1969 and up will have accesory holes. That includes 462, 186, and alot of other heads.

 

they'll bolt up to the block, any differances in the intake bolts can be overcome. the big thing is they're 30 plus years old, not made for unleaded fuel, no bolt holes in the ends of the heads, and should lower your compression. there area lot of better choices in heads for a 305 than those.

 

3890462....66-67...302/327/350..Camel hump,no accessory holes,64cc chamber

Not a good choice for the application at hand; at least, not if you like to keep minor creature comforts like ..... an alternator.

The best ones to find would be 305 heads off of a 87-up LG4, L69, or LB9 (the carbed or TPI 305s) casting # 081

 

all right i will look for #081 heads. but i got the 462's for free i was hoping that they would work.

 

Sell them on ebay or something. You won't get much for them, they're not worth very much these days since everybody else that got some of them for free is in the same boat you are; but maybe you'll get enough out of them to buy and/or partially offset the cost of renewing and improving ones that will work in a modern car.

 

If you do sell them, be sure to list the casting dates as they could be worth alot to someone who happens to need heads with the right codes. The old style heads can be drilled and tapped for the accessories fairly easily, and those are about the best flowing stock iron heads they made. With skinny gaskets compression wouldn't be too bad either

 

"Hope springs eternal", as someone once said who was far better with words than I'll ever be....

That's why the value of those heads in the world at large is exactly ZERO, in other words, that's why you got them for free.... that little myth about drilling and tapping those holes. Only someone who has never tried and failed like everybody else since the late 60s, would repeat that.

There's no metal there to drill and tap; and what little metal there is, is in the wrong plane. Heads with the right casting features have a bolt boss with some metal to drill behind the surface, and they have some extra metal on the outside too. If it was possible to drill and tap those holes so easily, those heads wouldn't be getting given away; they'd still fit cars and be useful. Somebody, in the last 35 years since they added the bolt holes, would have figured it out, and it wouldn't be a "well kept secret" either, and those old heads would still be worth something.

Don't trash what value they have left by trying it. Sell them and get the right thing.

Look at these, which are double-humps that WILL fit these cars, and you'll see the exterior feature that 462s don't have.

 

My mistake, I was told they could be drilled, but never the less, anyone running a low or custom alternator bracket could find use for them, I myself run alternator and power steering without these holes

 

i will probaly post them on ebay with the daates to see if any one will buy them. in no one does i may try them on my 78 truck

 

Yes there definitely are bracket setups that will work without the holes; just not the stock ones out of these cars, or nearly any other car since 69; and above all, not the serpentine systems.

They won't fit a 78 truck, for the same reason. That's why you got what used to be the most desirable set of heads in all of gearhead land, for free. They no longer fit anything that's been made in the last 30 or more years.

In addition, the double-humps without bolt holes, are also without the "squish" area on the side of the combustion chamber under the plug. That adaptation allows the later heads, like the 186s in that pic, to work with modern cat-pee gasoline in a high-compression street motor like 10:1, instead of requiring 98 octane or better like the old ones do.

Kind of sux, but the truth is the truth. People may come along and tell you what you want to hear, but them telling you that won't make the heads fit. There's a reason (at least one reason, maybe more) their PO gave them away.

 

OK, how about the reverse situation? I am getting a 327 but I wanna use my LO3 heads 'cause of the accessory bolt holes and intake mounting compatability issues. Are those heads a viable option on a 327? (I don't have any specs for the 327 so educated guesses may have to be made.)

 

Sure they'll fit but the LO3 heads are the worst current heads for small blocks. They have swirls cast in that impede flow above 3000 rpm.

 

Please don't kill any dignity that poor 327 might have left :nono:

 

Its all good, I am getting 350 heads for it.

 

What 350 heads? There are such things at swirl ports for 350's, Heaven forbid

 

Not sure actually, I'm getting them for free from the guy who is selling me the engine. They probably suck, but at least my car will be back on the road.

 

If it has accessory holes, they are better than the LO3 heads. Period.

 

i have a 73 chevy 400 in my 89 firebird-and i also have gotten a set of 3890462 camel hump heads - i believe they are 2.02/1.6- would these be ok for my 400?

 

Did you read the thread before you posted to it? Did you look at the pictures the old geezer up there posted?

No, they will not work in your car without EXTENSIVE modification - to your car's accessories, not to the heads. They're the wrong choice period. Like was said, sell them on eBay or something, or find somebody that needs them to restore an old car. Don't hack them up and destroy them by trying to somehow "adapt" them to your car, since it won't work and will only ruin the heads. Use whatever money you can get to buy heads that WILL work.

Same for your other post. Asking the question in only one post, is enough. Asking the question in multiple places won't change the answer from the truth to what you want to hear.