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462 camel hump heads

4K views 3 replies 3 participants last post by  Big Dave 
#1 ·
just picked up a cherry set of heads for a spare engine,and would like to know how much should it cost to get them redone with screw in studs
add 202 valves/hard ext.seats valve job.i have a set of k motion stock type springs good for 600 lift k 750,s and retainers.i know the newer alum. and vortec heads are alittle better hp wise.iam trying to keep the orig theme with the spare eng. engine is a 350 with small dome trw type pistons.will use a old school eddie torker. 650 double pumper that i have for it.thinking about a isky z 50 or ?? solid lifter.car is a 63 ss four speed/dana 60 456 gears.like i said this is a spare engine for the car.had a 350 with the z30 isky in the car before and it ran real good with it.like to try a bigger cam this time.i dont just putt around with this car/i like to beat on it every chance i can.
don
the norcal group
 
G
#2 ·
i'll venture a guess that you'll have close to 1500-1800 in them Don... you can price out the parts, the 2.02's the 1.60's, plates & studs. then call the shop and get a price on guide & seat work, the CCing and machining for the springs, plates & stud work.

i have a set of 291's that i had a lot of extensive work done to way back in the early '80's that cost me an arm & a leg. very nice heads for what they are. never did have seats put in them, mine are 1.94's & 1.625's, full port job etc. they really brought my 327 alive, they were some heavy breathers for sure...
 
#3 ·
Hate to say it, but...

If you do all that, you'll have more $ into those heads than it would cost to buy brand new aluminum aftermarket heads...and they'll give you better performance.

If you still want to do it, you can skip the hardened seats. Unless you're planning on using it for a daily driver, you'll probably not put enough miles on it to show much harm from today's low-lead gasoline.

IMO...if you're going cheap and going to get some machining done, start with a good set of vortec heads, and have them cut for springs and high lift clearance. (You'll need a vortec-compatible intake too, and you'll have to verify that the holes are all where you need them for the accessory mounting brackets.) The good vortec castings flow much better than the old school heads, and almost as good as the aftermarket ones for much cheaper.
 
#4 ·
Price of guides depends upon condition of existing guides if they have been reamed in the past there may not be enough meat in there to press in new cast iron guides which leaves you with a set of sil-bronze guides which are more expensive. Hardened seats are not as important as once thought, especially with a stainless steel exhaust valve. I think you will find that unless you are cutting the heads to increase compression you can not open up the chamber enough to get a 2.02 inch valve to breath better than a 1.92 inch valve as the chamber as cast shrouds the valve which hinders breathing. seats may be required however as the valves have probably been faced so many times that they now sit below the chamber floor which kills any low lift valve flow. Either way since you are changing guides and buying valves go for the reduced valve stem diameter to lighten the load.

On the other side of the head the pockets and push rod guides need to be opened up for modern valve lift figures (I prefer the 1.55" BBC valve spring on a SBC head) and the guides are also cut down for more overall lift with PC oil seals. The screw in studs also benefit from 7/16" diameter BBC screw in studs if you are buying new parts along with a raised instead of flat push rod guide plate (I also like the 3/8th inch chromemoly push rod instead of the stock 5/16 inch ones) which requires more material to be removed while you are cutting out the head guides for the push rod.

Big Dave
 
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