Aluminum Heads and Other Questions

Discussion in 'Small Block Tech' started by knucklebusted, May 11, 2020.

  1. MrSony

    MrSony Well-Known Member

    That's the wagon that was on an Episode of roadkill that they tripped to Kansas and gave to a kid. He still has it its getting a 468 BBC.
     
  2. knucklebusted

    knucklebusted Well-Known Member

    That's how I'm working with him now. I was interested in the heads only back when he was going to part it out. I wasn't interested in the whole motor. Still not sure I am.

    Agreed but I'm not going racing and I don't want a cam that large. I literally was too lazy to pull my heads and get all the broken bolts that will inevitably happen when I go to swap in the headers. I've got an entire exhaust, which the car needs, in my garage ready to go except for the manifolds coming off.

    He was selling a set of large valve heads for a reasonable price. I think that's all I'm really interested in. I don't need or want that big of a cam.
     
  3. Dano

    Dano Platinum Level Contributor

    I think we'll start seeing some ported big valve iron heads coming up for sale in the not too distant future for a great value/discount as guys go to aluminum & try to recoup some of that cost if you can hold out for a little while or if you can pick up just the big valve heads from that guy and have them ported that would be a great way to go. If you get roller rockers out of the deal great but if not, stock rockers in my experience worked fine even with the more radical cam (I'd have probablygone to rollers if they'd been avail.). I'd try to get the (or an) intake too - Again, there may be some used dual plane intakes avail. too if guys go to the single plane with the head swap. Throw a mild cam in the stock bottom end while you're at it & maybe have the heads milled to pick up a little compression and compensate for the thicker modern head gaskets and you should be rockin'.
     
    knucklebusted likes this.
  4. knucklebusted

    knucklebusted Well-Known Member

    I hope you are right. He wants $350 for the heads with the big valves that are shaved 0.020" so that would compensate for the thicker head gaskets going back on.

    I'd take them apart and see if the area behind the valves was opened up. If not, I'd probably get a little clean up done and a gasket matching job.

    The stock 71 350 runs fine and I literally just wanted to put headers on it to get a new exhaust on it. After swapping coils when the factory Delco-Remy one died during the tilt column install, I think it runs stronger now than it did. It used to die off at 4200 and now it pulls much better to about 4800.

    Once I get a decent Q-jet on it to replace the 650CFM Holley 4165 I'm hoping for crisper throttle response.
     
  5. Dano

    Dano Platinum Level Contributor

    Sounds like a good plan - I don't think you can go wrong spending some $ on porting at that price or taking a little more off the heads for some added compression (not sure how much one can take before running into intake alignment issues (maybe Sean knows) & even a mild cam while it's all apart.

    I have a thing for 350-4sp. cars so I'm super curious how you make out w/all this. They were pretty darn rare cars to begin with, very few have survived (much fewer than Stage 1's) and I had such great success building my old one (bought it when I was 18). I should've never sold it but the one I have now is every bit if not more oddball & quite arguably the quickest factory GS 350 ever built ('70 HP, super low option, SCO 3.64 rear). I think it'd be fun to build it 100% stock to see how it runs & maybe run it at the PSMCDR races and then start building it. I keep thinking about shorty headers but will have to see if there's any interest when the time comes.

    Pleasr keep us updated!
     
    sean Buick 76 and knucklebusted like this.
  6. knucklebusted

    knucklebusted Well-Known Member

    Now he is trying to sell the whole motor for $3,000 on facebook. He was asking $350 for the heads and now he wants $500 and $750 for the roller rockers. The short block is now down to $500.

    He is suggesting a regasket so I'm guessing it leaked somewhere. $500 for a set of heads with no port work sounds a little high to me.
     
    alec296 likes this.
  7. Swagon

    Swagon Well-Known Member

    car ended up running best of 13.80 at 101mph. never did get around to spraying it, and honestly never really wanted to. Anyways the converter and trans was an issue in the car, found out that it was slipping pretty bad in second and the converter was way to tight to be running it NA. I believe that this car could of gone low 13's with an adequate driveline, it is lacking in the head department but I wanted to put the aluminum heads on but never got around to buying them. Thats why I never ported the heads.
     
    Reidk and Dano like this.

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