My mid-60s 283 was rebuilt about 12-15 years ago and never run. Is there a
way that I can pull the valve cover and tell if the seats were hardened or
do I have to pull the heads?
BobK
51 5-window (in pieces)
Arnaudville, LA
Cameo3124@aol.com
Sent by: To:
oletrucks@autox.team.net
owner-oletrucks@aut cc:
ox.team.net Subject: Re: [oletrucks]
Running unleaded
03/20/03 01:43 PM
Please respond to
Cameo3124
1972 and newer chevy small block heads had hardened seats for running
unleaded gas, unless the 327 you have is a hi compression engine you
shouldnt have any problem running unleaded gas, performance will slowly
fall away as the valve seat wear do to lack of lead lubrication .. you can
buy in some states lead gas additive that will enable you to run unleaded
gas without eventual valve damage,, but additives can be expensive over
time. If your engine is in pretty good shape and all you want to do is run
unleaded gas you may consider either buying a set of heads that are 72 or
newer or have yours reworked with new hardened seats,, check with your
local machine shop for pricing,, I just paid $180 to have a set of heads
reworked with out the added expense of the machine work, labor and cost of
seats, I imagine it would be cheaper to buy a reworked set of 72 and newer
heads,,, if you have a higher compression 327 engine with smaller chamber
heads you may probably want to buy a !
later set of heads with a larger combustion chamber and install them on
your block,,,the higher compression heads you dont want can be easly sold
to a corvette enthuisast or some one who is builing a race engine.. if you
remove your valve covers you can obtain the casting numbers, as well as
determine the year they were made from the casting ID, on the front of the
head there are distinct casting markes that help Id them too, but the best
way is to pull the valve cover,,, becareful when buying heads,there are
some heads that are of lighter casting that are undesireable,,They are
prone to cracks because of the lihter casting and poor circulation.. you
can forward your casting numbers to me and I can look them up and give you
the information on your heads,, someone may have allready installed later
heads on your engine and you may not need to do anything.. good
luckRichard57 cameo
oletrucks is devoted to Chevy and GM trucks built between 1941 and 1959
oletrucks is devoted to Chevy and GM trucks built between 1941 and 1959
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