I have 71 heads I believe(1237661), can I bolt the performer intake and ta gasket up without any other changes.. Whats the purpose of the 2 oval holes and slit over the holes.. can I cover these up if the gasket does.. I have detonation on this engine and in the process of changing the manifold and getting the hei recurved.. I previously posted about detonation and timing. I couldn't get the egr working and the engine won't idle unless the timing is at least 18 to 20 advanced. I didn't realize these were 71 heads until i pulled the intake yesterday.. I had a 74 egr manifold mated to the heads. Even though I had exhaust coming out of the egr port with it removed .. anyway I have made a few mistakes with the engine, I wonder if the egr manifold and these 71 heads were causing the timing issue and no idle.. Anyone have any input ?? I am definitely not sure if I can cover the holes on the heads with the gasket and intake since I seem to learn things the hardway!!! Thanks everybody Alan Wilson
Hey I just installed one myself, and taking a look at the gasket. Two of the holes are water passages, and the two in the center are to let exhaust gas pass through and warm up the carb. As far as I can tell on my car I have 71 heads on a post 73 block. If the gasket covers up the holes, it isn't really to big of a deal I don't think, as long as you got the proper gasket for the heads.
When I tore my engine down I found similar items. It is a later block with the oblong wather holes. The heads were from a 71 with a performer intake on top. The 2 round exhaust crossover passages were plugged with freeze plugs to keep that much heat out of the intake. Now I am installing another set of 71 heads with minor porting. I just plugged the 4 holes yesterday with freeze plugs. Don't remember the exact size, but the plugs are the same size as the end of a 1/2", 1'2" drive Craftsman socket. I am installing them with TA's gaskets. You have to trim the valley pan to work with the gaskets. It should work fine for you since my old engine ran great with no heating or pinging.
