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Old 01-15-2020, 10:27 AM
62tempestlemans 62tempestlemans is offline
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Question cylinder head recommendation needed

I am having my 4 cylinder rebuilt currently, and the engine builder stated that the cylinder head was cracked. My car was originally equipped with the one barrel intake and the head appears to have the larger combustion chambers, so I know it's the lower compression version of the engine. I want the engine to make more power and torque than stock, so that it will be able to keep up with modern traffic. I have a 4 barrel intake and plan to try out the sniper fuel injection setup on it. I thought a target of 9.5:1 static compression would be optimal for pump gas to make power without having detonation issues with the stock camshaft. What casting number cylinder heads should I look for? I don't think an expensive Edelbrock aluminum casting is needed since i'll be running a stock reground camshaft. I won't be able to take advantage of all that head has to offer.

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Old 01-15-2020, 10:43 AM
62tempestlemans 62tempestlemans is offline
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After doing some research it appears that compression was changed on 61-62 engines by using a flat top or dished piston and the cylinder head casting number remained the same- 538177. Will these engines run on 93 octane pump gas with the 10.25:1 compression ratio? I've got several small block Chevrolet engines that have 10:5:1 but both have large cams and aluminum heads. I really want this engine to make as much torque as possible because my car has the powerglide trans with 3.08 gears.

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Old 01-15-2020, 12:28 PM
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mechanickeith mechanickeith is offline
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Correct, compression was changed by pistons on the 61-62's. Does the engine currently have dished pistons? It wont run with todays junk gas if you up it to 10.25 flat tops. The cheapest way to get a big gain in performance is to put a larger diameter exhaust pipe on the car. I run a 3 tube hedder with a 2.5" pipe all the way out the back. That 4 bbl manifold wont bolt to any head newer than 1964 & wont bolt to an eddelbrock either. You can get pistons with a smaller dish in them to raise compression, but expensive.

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Old 01-15-2020, 12:36 PM
62tempestlemans 62tempestlemans is offline
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Keith, the engine is currently .040" and will require a .060" bore to clean it up. It had flat tops in it but never noticed any detonation with 93 octane. I plan on getting a pair of 538177 casting heads since I can't source individual ones.. This is the correct head for the car, right? Thanks for the advice on the exhaust. What brand header do you run and what application was it for? Does it fit well?

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Old 01-15-2020, 12:44 PM
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I don't know if you saw this other recent post, someone found a 4 barrel parts car - depending on where you are located, maybe you could get the head off that car. http://forums.maxperformanceinc.com/...d.php?t=837156

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Old 01-15-2020, 01:21 PM
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I run an old BlackJack 3 tube. Fits pretty good. Still retains the front sway bar.

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Old 01-15-2020, 03:50 PM
62tempestlemans 62tempestlemans is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by mechanickeith View Post
I run an old BlackJack 3 tube. Fits pretty good. Still retains the front sway bar.
Keith, is the application for your header something similar to the one below? I understand you have a 3 tube, but I saw these and for the price it's hard to argue for stainless steel. Are the 538177 heads considered D port or round port?

https://www.ebay.com/itm/For-64-79-P...YAAOSw7OFc9xoj


Last edited by 62tempestlemans; 01-15-2020 at 03:59 PM.
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Old 01-15-2020, 07:22 PM
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Watching this thread...Keep in mind that anything that works on a 389 head will work on just one head too.
Some port & bowl clean up and some 1.65 rockers may do wonders??
PM sent

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Old 01-16-2020, 12:38 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by 62tempestlemans View Post
Keith, is the application for your header something similar to the one below? I understand you have a 3 tube, but I saw these and for the price it's hard to argue for stainless steel. Are the 538177 heads considered D port or round port?

https://www.ebay.com/itm/For-64-79-P...YAAOSw7OFc9xoj
This one wont work with the T 4 banger as its for a round port head. The shape of the right side is correct but needs to be for the D port. The 177 head is a D port.

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Old 01-16-2020, 02:40 PM
TransaxleTempest62 TransaxleTempest62 is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by 62tempestlemans View Post
Keith, is the application for your header something similar to the one below? I understand you have a 3 tube, but I saw these and for the price it's hard to argue for stainless steel. Are the 538177 heads considered D port or round port?

https://www.ebay.com/itm/For-64-79-P...YAAOSw7OFc9xoj
I ran a header on my 4 cylinder and took it off, I now run a Ram Air Manifold from Ram Air Restoration. You can order just the right, add Ceramic coating, 2.5 inch opening and I recommend the down pipe as they have listed in their description. I am very happy with this manifold. I run a 2.5 inch system with a flowmaster 40 sounds great! Especially with the 10.25 to 1 compression.

Header used to scrap the ground, it was a pain to remove the oil filter and blew gaskets all the time. No issues with the manifold.

https://www.ramairrestoration.com/po...y-headers.html

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Old 01-16-2020, 04:45 PM
62tempestlemans 62tempestlemans is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by TransaxleTempest62 View Post
I ran a header on my 4 cylinder and took it off, I now run a Ram Air Manifold from Ram Air Restoration. You can order just the right, add Ceramic coating, 2.5 inch opening and I recommend the down pipe as they have listed in their description. I am very happy with this manifold. I run a 2.5 inch system with a flowmaster 40 sounds great! Especially with the 10.25 to 1 compression.

Header used to scrap the ground, it was a pain to remove the oil filter and blew gaskets all the time. No issues with the manifold.

https://www.ramairrestoration.com/po...y-headers.html
Thanks for the information! I was researching this today actually. Do you have any pictures of your setup on the car that you wouldn't mind to share? I've been worried about finding a header that had proper clearance for the oil filter. Did you notice any real difference in power/torque between the header and manifold?

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Old 01-17-2020, 12:14 AM
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My 3 tube blackjack header doesn't scrape or leak. I run nothing but the full length Napa Gold 1049 filter.

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Old 01-17-2020, 03:40 PM
62tempestlemans 62tempestlemans is offline
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Quote:
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My 3 tube blackjack header doesn't scrape or leak. I run nothing but the full length Napa Gold 1049 filter.
Do you have pictures of your header? I know that blackjack falls under the dynomax umbrella but I don't know if the particular header you have is still made. Do you remember what car application you bought it for? If they don't make it I can use the picture for comparison to other headers on the market to try to get one that has the right bends in it.

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