Al says this thing would embarrass a 396 Chevelle back in the day. We'll see!
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1965 El Camino 327 engine project
- Thread starter John Conroy
- Start date
It was around 1990 when Al brought me these heads to rebuild. I was still doing this for a living so I had access to all the machines necessary to replace the soft cast iron exhaust valve seats with hardened ones and replace all the valve guides. I used all new 2.020" Ferrea stainless intake valve and 1.50" OEM style exhaust valves along with a new set of valve springs. I did a light port clean-up and 3 angle valve job and since Al thought it may be a while before he had time and cash to do the rest of the engine, I wrapped them in cardboard and sealed plastic. These small chamber early small block heads were the best factory heads available in the 60's so were quite valuable at the time and still quite sought after today.
They had been sitting in that wrapping for 31 years when Al dropped them off at my shop last week and said "maybe you could have a look at these heads because they've been on the shelf for a while. I recognized the packaging but had no memory of doing the work. I was expecting them to be in bad shape as the shelf they were on is in an unheated shed but after stripping off the packaging there was only some light rust buildup on the rocker arm studs and gasket surfaces. I pulled them completely apart and checked them over. A little clean up with a wire wheel and a new set of valve seals and they are ready for action.
After cleanup.
They had been sitting in that wrapping for 31 years when Al dropped them off at my shop last week and said "maybe you could have a look at these heads because they've been on the shelf for a while. I recognized the packaging but had no memory of doing the work. I was expecting them to be in bad shape as the shelf they were on is in an unheated shed but after stripping off the packaging there was only some light rust buildup on the rocker arm studs and gasket surfaces. I pulled them completely apart and checked them over. A little clean up with a wire wheel and a new set of valve seals and they are ready for action.
After cleanup.
Last edited:
BMW Rider
Super User
Those old heads of all types got to be valuable in the early 80s. Chevy went to a lightweight casting and almost two out of every three heads we saw were cracked and unusable. We would source every wrecking yard in the area for older castings to rebuild.
I myself was always a Ford man and have an equivalent set of small chamber 302 J code heads in my Mustang. Those 60's engines with tighter chambers and higher compression were desirable to have after the mid 70's changes that brought low compression and less power in the name of fuel economy.
I myself was always a Ford man and have an equivalent set of small chamber 302 J code heads in my Mustang. Those 60's engines with tighter chambers and higher compression were desirable to have after the mid 70's changes that brought low compression and less power in the name of fuel economy.