Anar76

Hey guys
I recently picked up a 454 for my `76 and have the chance to buy the original heads (i guess theyve been slightly modified)
Theyre 119 cc heads, open chamber, 2.07/1.72 valves
But they need a valve job (whatever that means) :)
I'm building the 454 from the block and plan to really hot rod it , atleast 500hp
I also may be sticking a blower on it soon.
What do you guys think ?
Are these heads worth $100 ?
Thanks

Anar76

ttt... do you need more info or something ?

Smokehouse69

As long as they aren't cracked they are probably worth at least $100.00, plan on spending at least another couple hundred on the valve job. It really depends on how bad of shape the heads are in to judge their worth.
It would help the guys that really know BB heads to have the casting number of the heads.

73Ken73

No offense but if you don't know what a valve job is then you should look into buying a crate engine. Crate engines come with warranties and are a lot less hassle than building an engine. There are many good crate engines around and it may end up being cheaper than building the 454 for 500 hp.

73 LS-4

If you can get the casting number off of the heads, we can better tell you if they are worth putting any money into or not, not all BBC heads are created equal.

:cheers:
Pat Kunz

Anar76

I emailed the guy asking for the casting number.
I'll reply when he tells me it :)
Thx

Anar76

Ok he said the casting number is 781 Large oval ports, with open 119cc combustion chambers and 2.07/1.72 valves

BubbaJJ

Yeah, theyre worth a hundred bucks if they aint cracked. Thats what I have on my 454 only I had the bigger 219 valves put in.

bence13_33

Anar:
If you are shooting for 500+ horsepower those heads are REALLY going to hold you back. First and foremost the valves too small, I highly recommend getting 2.19/1.88 put in the heads. I would also have your heads ported to flow better (especially if you are considering a blower).

So you are putting a blower on? You do understand that you are going to have to put dished pistons in to lower your compression ratio to around 8.5:1 or so. If you are going this route I would recommend building your engine around the blower and then when you have the money slap the blower on. I would go with a forged crank, rods & piston. A better flowing set of heads...those heads aren't going to flow very well if you slap a blower on.

Anar76

Aright, cool bence, Thanks.
It is a cheap price... Maybe I should buy em , port em and put bigger valves in , untill I get the blower. (its a long way down the road)
I know about the dished pistons and all that , but thanks :)
So what do ya think ? should I get em and run em untill I get a blower ?

ddn

bence: I'm going to have to disagree with you on that one. I'm using my 781's, and I promise you they won't be holding me back at all. I'm having 2.19/1.88 valve installed, a 3-angle valve job, guides machined for PC seals, and porting by mountainmotor. Obviously the valves are too small, pretty much all stock valves are too small for a performance application, but the 781 castings are excellent heads. I'll leave the open chamber vs closed chamber discussion alone.

Also you probably aren't going to need much of a dish with the 781s, they are open chamber, ~119cc so they have pretty big chambers as it stands. You could maybe stand to run flat tops.

bence13_33

ddn:
I'm not saying the "781's" aren't a good casting. However, they will hold his engine back if he runs them with a blower. If I were going to run a blower I'd make sure I had top dollar heads that flow extremely well. With a blower I feel the "781's" come up a little short....unless he has a professional port job by someone who has access to a flow bench. Just my opinion, but for the everyday big block I would say they are a good head.

Anar:
If it were me (maybe some people will disagree) I would make sure to build it right the first time. If you are sure you are going to run a blower, build your engine around it. Get yourself some good forged internals with dish pistons. That way when you do have the money for a blower, you won't have to pull the engine to add stronger componants. Once again just my $0.02.

RatRacer

Flat top pistons and 119cc chambers will give you 8:1 compression. There will be no need to run a dished piston w/ a blower. In fact, I would run more compression even with a blower. The best piston to run with those heads is the TRW 2399f which has a .085" dome that will net a compression ratio of 9.5:1. It's forged. 9.5:1 will work well with a blower and the right cam. If you decide later on not to run a blower the car will still run well with that CR.

Those heads will be fine with a blower. In fact they will help the lack of low end a big valve/port head will give. The positive pressure of a blower will make the small port/ valve flow a lot of air regardless of their sizes.

tictocdok

as far as the dished pistons.... $.02
if he puts flat top pistons now, and then under drives the blower a little, wouldn't that be the equivalent of putting in dish pistons? with a possible benifit being he could realize a few extra ponies now until he could afford the blower. and then if he under drives the blower there would be no need to remove the flat pistons and replace with dished??