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choosing a replacement head

874 views 7 replies 5 participants last post by  lluciano77 
#1 ·
i drive a 1979 c20, with a 350, i need new heads, but im confused on what to get, there are soo many different heads for the 350. im gonna get a used original equipment, not anything performance. the casting number on the ones i got now is 333882. do i have to get the same casting number? and another question is do all the exhuast manifold on these heads idenical? cause i want to keep all the same manifold.
 
#2 ·
You can use any 350 Chevy head from 76 till the valve cover/intake change in the late eighties. As you know 882's crack, the other head to avoid is the 624. 350 Chevy heads come with two intake valve sizes. 1.72 and 1.94", you need to keep them matched as a pair. There are two bolt patterns on the exhaust side. One has six exhaust manifold bolt holes the other has seven. You will need to match this up to your existing manifolds. A seven bolt head will work on most all exhaust manifolds.

There are several variations on the front acc. holes. Most heads are tapped 3/8" thread, some of the HD heads are tapped with 7/16" thread. This can be adapted up and down with the proper bolts.
 
#7 ·
you can get a set of new iron bowtie heads for nearly what you pay for used heads and they come all set to go,202/160 ,184/155 cc intake & ex. runners heavy duty castings.the only thing with vortecs is you have to have machine work to get 202/160 valves and the will only except a cam up to .470" lift and you have to buy the intake.with bowtie you can stick them on now if you like or port them yourself or have it done and you can do as well with it as you can with vortecs for a lot less trouble and money.

one more thing though,they don't have a heat cross over if you need one.i have a set and have no trouble with them at all in the winter.
 
#8 ·
There's no argument that will win against aftermarket heads. This guy seems stuck on stock heads. You can buy aftermarket heads for the same price, but some people insist on stock. If stock is the only choice, Vortec is the way to go. Even with all of Vortec's machine work needed to make the car really fast, if used with a modest cam, the Vortecs are the most efficient. The chambers are better, the plugs are placed better, and they have better port flow.
 
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