48 Heads or Edelbrock Aluminum
 

Dealing with a head gasket leak on the driver's side.
Head is out and obvious leak near cylinder #1 where after checking EVERYTHING else and pressure consistent at 75psi, it is the head gasket.

So I have the head off and it's a 48.... and thought should I change now to aluminum?
It's a 1970 WT bored .040 over with comp camshaft and rollers.

Comments welcomed...

If the wallet can afford it, he!! yes.
KREs

That motor should when tuned right and even thru exh manifolds make a solid 360 hp or a tad more.

If that’s not enough and you do not want to run more Cam and port those 48 castings somewhat then go with the a aftermarket D port head.

Just note that to get what you pay for out of those heads you should be running headers.

Whatever heads you plop back on be sure all the head bolt holes are cleaned out and that bolts thread into there hole with just finger effort and your not using too long of a bolt such that it bottoms out before clamping down on the head as needed.

If you put the iron heads back on then be sure to torque the center two head bolts to 100, not the stock 95.

I’ve yet to meet anyone who regretted going to aluminum heads. That said, what are your performance goals and how is the car used?

Thanks Gents; when I removed the head the only bolts with any real resistance were the two center. And the gasket was a felPro 8518; not a 1016 as it should have been.
I am running headers now; street brawler 650CFM, and edelbrock intake.
Engine is bored .040 over with comp cams cam, rockers, lifters
No idea what the cam is.....
HEI distributor

Short trips and occasional long hauls....
Bought the car unseen in Seattle in July. Drove her cross country to Florida.
It was very cool and very hot.

Whichever way you go would be a good idea to cc the 48s - typically come in at 72cc so you have a good idea what your compression ratio is. Any idea what the cam specs are and were you happy with the performance before the blown head gasket? Based on your intended use the 48s should be more than enough…

I priced a set of Kauffman aluminum heads from them 2 yrs ago. I thought reasonable what I was getting,New heads ready to bolt on.

Looks like the Kaufmann are priced near everyone else now :(

Concerned about fuel octane and always finding 93+, concerned about the heat in traffic and Florida, concerned about current valves and whether worth spending money on the 48s or just mortgaging the Aluminum....

No idea what the current cam is but she hops when I step on it....

FYI my 4 speed Muncie is also toast; gears popping and clutch slipping...
So upgrading to Tremec 5 speed which also $$$ sucks

Well, no doubt some 74cc KRE heads and a TKX will make it an awesome ride. Are you doing a cam change to compliment the heads?

It's obviously a new cam; any suggestions how to determine what it is?

If it is Comp Cams you can pull it and get the numbers off the back to identify it. Otherwise, you can use a degree wheel on an intake and an exhaust lobe to get an idea of general specs but that won't help identify the actual grind. If you decide to pull it, make sure you keep track of/return lifters to their original lifter bore.

20mpg plus as well

If you still one head on, then do a cranking compression test on that bank.

Stan

All cylinders tested at 150psi except #1 which was 75....

Was that a hot test?

Idled for 5 min prior

Would that also be applicable to the aluminum heads