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head swap

Bee383

Bee383

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i'm planning on swapping the heads on my 69 bee.just going back with some reworked 906 heads.can a guy with middle of the road mechanical skills tackle this?and what head gasket should i use?383 bored 30 over flat top pistons.1 st time this far into a motor and looking for some tips.thanks,David
 
The first time I did it, I was 19 years old, using a set of hand-me-down tools.

It ain't rocket science, but it does require your attention.

Get a good Chilton's or Hayne's manual and follow the instructions. Keep everything clean and dry. Good luck!
 
It's not hard but as Ward said- pay attention. If I were doing the job, I'd make sure all the push rods ended up in the same location (use some cardboard to poke them through and to keep them in order), that the rockers and shaft end up on the same head, clean the block deck and get your torq sequence and torq spec's in order. The 1st part about the rockers and push rods probably isn't 100% necessary but I do it for consistancy sake. Oh yeah and I've always used Fel-Pro head gaskets with good luck. I'm sure others have their fave head gasket of choice.
 
Funship is right on the Felpro gaskets! I went with steel shim type for the compression and now I have to replace them after a few years. Another neat trick is to use an 18" or so 1/4" wooden dowel rod or something similar to hold your push rods in position while you put the rocker shafts in place. Lay it across the top edge of the towers and after the shafts are bolted down you just slide the dowel out the end.
 
It's very straight-forward. If a bunch of drunks and stoners could put them back together in the day.......most anybody could.
 
mguner said:
Funship is right on the Felpro gaskets! I went with steel shim type for the compression and now I have to replace them after a few years. Another neat trick is to use an 18" or so 1/4" wooden dowel rod or something similar to hold your push rods in position while you put the rocker shafts in place. Lay it across the top edge of the towers and after the shafts are bolted down you just slide the dowel out the end.
Click to expand...
Did you run antifreeze in your coolant? What did you apply to the gaskets before installing them? I've used the stock type steel shim gaskets many times and they lasted for many years. Good idea on the dowel rods but if they have more than 50k miles, I'll replace them.....they are cheap enough.

mmissile said:
It's very straight-forward. If a bunch of drunks and stoners could put them back together in the day.......most anybody could.
Click to expand...
Really??? I never work drunk or stoned on any of my cars.....especially when doing engine work.
 
Did someone say head swap?


6345848_700b.jpg
 
When I was 15 I inherited a used (abused) 68 Camaro from my older brother who didn't know crap about auto maintenance. He never checked the oil, let alone change it. When the car quit running it sat in the backyard for a few years. One day my Dad told me I could have the Camaro if I could get it running again; which, I did. I drove the car awhile until the teeth sheared off the timing gear (GM engineers thought plastic teeth was a good idea); bent some valves in the process. I had to pull the heads and reinstall them after a trip to the machine shop. The only help my Dad and dealership mechanic uncle gave me was a manual and some tools. All went well getting the engine back together. But, it wouldn't start. No one told me about pulling and replacing the distributor and I had apparently put the distributor back in wrong. Once that was corrected the car was back on the road again.

So, if you have the tools and a manual and all of us forum members with you go for it.
 
themechanic said:
When I was 15 I inherited a used (abused) 68 Camaro from my older brother who didn't know crap about auto maintenance. He never checked the oil, let alone change it. When the car quit running it sat in the backyard for a few years. One day my Dad told me I could have the Camaro if I could get it running again; which, I did.
Click to expand...

When I was about that age my dad said I could have his '77 Maxivan with a cracked cylinder head if I could get it running again. The van was about seven years old and already toast. It's funny how quickly stuff turned into junk back then.

I found a machine shop that had some finished heads ready to bolt on for a good price. I managed to get it back together and running OK again but it ticked. Looking back, it's probably because I didn't know about things like checking lifter preload and I'm now I'm thinking clearances probably changed between the original heads and the replacement heads (which were probably milled).
 
ok.you guys talked me into it.i have everything off except the heads themselves and have a few questions.do i need to use any sealant on the head gaskets?even just to hold it in place?also do i need to use anything on the head bolts as far as anti seize or thread lock?one more - i know what the bolt sequence is,but what torque sequence is best?thanks again,David
 
Just keep organized and pay attention to the details. Make sure the deck is super clean and flat and you vacuum all the crud you scrape off from the cylinders and lifter valley. Don't use sand paper but rather a razor gasket scraper.
 
While probably unneeded I've always used a permatex spray copper sealer on the head gaskets. But again...that is my choice. As for sealant and such on the headbolts- none is needed. However do make sure your threads are clean on both the bolts and the bolt holes. So clean the bolt threads for sure! Then lightly coat the bolts with oil install and torque down. I typically torque everything down in a 3 step process.
 
At least you'll have cooler weather now to finish up.

I can't add to any of the good advice you already received. So, good luck. Keep us posted.
 
I have both heads off.everything has gone fine so far.i pulled the passenger head off tonight and noticed that there was oil on the block between the two middle cylinders.one cylinder looks like it's had some oil in it.also one of the long bolt holes above that cylinder was full of oil.looks like the oil came from above.anything I need to worry about?i am using a performer intake with the standard valley pan.no paper gaskets.thanks,david
 
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