whats so great about them cause i hear they are good and are they worth using....keep them on the 327 that they are on or put them on a 350??

 

They were the best stock heads GM put on chevy small block engines back in the 60's. They're 60's technology and that's where they belong. Today's aftermarket heads are at least 10 times better.

 

Yeah, and lots of 'em don't even have the holes for mounting accessories! That's not gonna work well!!

 

Unless you're building a number's matching car and you need those castings, they're not worth anything. 30 years ago they were considered good because there was little to no aftermarket. Finding an old set and having them built up to a good performance head can cost more than buying a new set of aluminum heads.

They're just not worth it any more.

 

damn...i thought i really had somethin going with these heads..thanks for the help i guess
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o yeah...they are off of a 67 bread truck...one of those huge ones...has the 327

 

As said, they were the best in their day; but that day was 40 years ago.

It is not cost effective, relative to purchasing new aftermarket heads, to even try to make them competitive any more. New heads are so cheap and so much better than those will ever be, that besides just the "cool" factor to old geezers, they are not worth working up.

A 67 truck will probably have the ones without accessory bolt holes; which won't fit the accesory drive systems used in any chassis since the early 70s.

I'd say, best left right where they are.

 

True, they also have problems with unleaded gas. The exhaust seats have to be replaced with hardened ones.

 

so what are some good heads then that are really cheap??

 

Few things really cheap are ever good.

 

As far as stock heads, the closest thing you're going to come to both "cheap" and "good" is Vortecs; 96-up truck heads. But even those come with limitations, some rather severe; and by the time you work your way all the way around them, you're right back up to aftermarket money, same as with any other stock heads.

There are LOTS of cheap, good aftermarket ones.

 

I think you need to ask yourself "What do i want to do with this motor?"

If you're really talking about a budget build (and if you already own these heads) I would inspect the heads, and if everything looked good, lap the valves by hand and run them till they quit. Maybe if you already own a die grinder you could try to do mild portwork to them.

Thats what i did with my #187s and at the grand total I probably have $50 in them. I know there are much better heads, but these suit me. I figure $50 is an allowable budget for a very mild motor.


BTW enginekits.com had a special with 2.02/1.60 valves, springs, retainers, keepers, and i think seals for around $130. Might be something to consider.

 

yeah but for $130 you must be geting absolute crap... i just paid $93 for a set of speedpro 1.5 exhaust valves... just the valves

and modifing the vortec heads for lift wasnt really that hard... i got enough clearance for about .510-20 lift with .030 retainer-seal clearance...and for free

 

Maybe so, maybe not, they are big on Federal Mogul. I'm not sure what brand of parts were included in this paticular package. Maybe OE parts.

Figure $2 a peice for springs
$32
$2 a peice for retainers
$16
$4 a peice for valves
$56
And a cheap seal set for
$15

That comes up to like $119. Oreilly auto parts did sell Sealed Power springs for ~$2. OE style and nothing fancy. Around $4 would be the right store cost for valves. Retainers maybe different yet, I never really saw an OE style retainer available. And cheap seals would be around $15. These guys are also a machine shop, so they probably get a great deal on parts.

I'd give em a call and see what they say comes in the kit.

 

well im not lookin for some mean machine...wanna get around 300-350 hp streetable...idk if thats possible with these or not...cause yes i do have them they are on a '68 327

 

Okay then, I'd:

1. Dissasemble and clean heads.
2. Inspect for burned valves, cracks, wore guides, an uneven deck, broken springs, loose rocker studs, etc.....
3. Gasket match intake and exhaust ports.
4. Gently massage the lip right before the valves. (I can send a diagram or pic if you need)
5. Polish the exhaust ports.
6. Clean valves, springs, retainers on a bench grinder using a wire wheel.
7. Run heads through a parts washer.
8. Hand lap valves.
9. Assemble heads and install new keepers and seals along with any other needed parts.
10. Turn the head upside down, and pour a small amount of gasoline in the chamber, if it seeps past the valve, then you have problems.

This is the routine I took when i did my #187 heads. This all can be done relatively cheaply and i would take at least these steps with any of the next motors I put together. Try to keep all parts in order. Ziploc bags and magic markers would help alot. You may ask around at your local machine shops and see what a valve job would cost.

 

what is so great about them, you say??

a set that i ported and polished in combo with a 10.7:1 pumpgas 383, a comp 294S cam, a performer rpm airgap and a edelbrock 800 netted me a 12.76@106 missing the 4th shift.. in other words, low 12-high 11 sec potential..

my oiling system crapped out and my result is in my sig.. bent 4 valves and said firetruck it.. now my combo with AL heads and a bigger cam is barely any faster..

 

ya there shouldnt be anything wrong with them anyways...the motor was running a few years ago but yaaa...whats it cost for a port and polish job?

 

it costed me a couple weekends and a port/polish carbide and sandpaper roll set.. if you dont have a compressor either, you will need one of those, a hose, and an air grinder..

dont forget the patience..


or you could go somewhere and get it done for the cost of a set of vortechs..

 

Are they 461s or 462s?
If you can do a lot of the work yourself you can wind up with a good set of heads for less than $200.
As far as what is special about camel humps? Combustion chamber shape, quench, turbulence and flame propagation. The ability to run above 10.5:1 C/R with iron heads and 15 degrees of base timing.
The youngsters just want to be able to open a box and bolt a HP head on. That's what they don't like about them. They take WORK.
Here are mine:

Let this VIDEO load and you can hear these "CRAPPY" heads at work...

 

how do i tell between the 461s or 462s??....and what do you mean by it being 15 degrees of base timing? sorry.. a little noob....and can you "over do" the porting on them?? and anything i should be concerned about? thanks!

 

supervisor, i'm actually not sure what heads they are but they were good..

jak, the "15 degrees base timing" is the iginition timing at idle.. and yes, you can overport the heads.. if you find a hole in the side of the wall, you overdid it.. or if you did so much grinding, the walls come paper thin and crack.. oh, one thing you should be worried about, if you do your own porting, DO NOT HIT THE VALVE SEATS!!

 

The casting number is located between the rocker arms. The 461, 462 refers to the last 3 digits of the casting number. These are "thick" casting heads and the only place to worry about (besides the grinding tool "walking" up across the seat) is opening up the side of the intake port where the pushrod goes. You have to get it very thin. There is a neat way to measure this with calipers using a ball bearing.
The other place that should not be cut is where the exhaust port comes out to header flange. Do not grind it to equal the exhaust gasket or header pipe.
It is supposed to be smaller to block reversion pulses coming back toward the exhaust valve. You should get a junk set of heads to practice on first.
See this THREAD also. It has the drawings full size so you can print them clearly.
Here are pictures:


Once you start, it will be really obvious what needs to be removed.