68sprtsat383
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Welcome
Original 426 wedge
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Badtrader
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yes it could have been ordered in . can you get the build sheet ? and is it a satellite commando car ? i have a 65 sat commando 383 4psd car with a/c ps . so you got what you bought back then i guess .
Sonny Black
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welcome,
The ID tag on the drivers front of the block should say A426 HP and a date it was assembled. the casting numbers on the drivers side of the block between the heads and the oil pan should be #2532230. The last 3 casting numbers on the heads are 516 and they have small valves and don't flow for crap. They used the same heads on all of the "B" & "RB" engines that year, meaning even the 361 two barrel used these heads. I have one of these cars and have restored 5 other ones, so I'm pretty familiar with them. By the way they are not really very fast in stock form, but they can be made to fly with a few changes.An engine is just an air pump, so you have to get more fuel into it and then be able to get it back out. These engines really respond to an aluminum high rise intake, a better cam, headers or Max Wedge exhaust manifolds and either aluminum heads or a pair of the Chrysler 1967 closed chamber 915 iron heads with bigger valves and port work. It should have a big chrome unrestricted air cleaner without any snorkels on it and also chrome valve covers on it
Badtrader
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It’s a 65 satellite with 426 emblem on the hood ,426 street wedge ,,,I’m just trying to see if a 426 wedge should have 518 casting number heads or did they come with 516 heads
What type of heads came n the 426 wedge
Hello!
It looks like 65satelliteman answered the question with post #25 to me.
It looks like 65satelliteman answered the question with post #25 to me.
Factory Cylinder Heads
When comparing factory Chrysler big-block cylinder heads we can break them down into three basic categories: Max wedge, open chamber, and closed combustion chamber. We won’t consider the pre-’64, non-Max-Wedge heads because the rocker shaft and bracket system they utilized is not compatible with modern valvetrain components. Max Wedge heads are easily identifiable by the lack of a heat cross-over passage, large 1.88-inch exhaust valves, and very large ports. Casting numbers for the Max Wedge heads end in either 286, 209, or 518; keep an eye out at the swap meets in the unlikely event you’ll run across a set of these desirable heads. While the Max Wedge heads do offer great power potential, they are expensive and hard to find, so unless you’re building a Stock or Super Stock class racer, or restoring a factory race car, the cost of these heads is prohibitive for the average build.
Closed Chamber Factory Heads
The closed chamber heads were manufactured and installed on pre-’68 vehicles; popular units have casting numbers ending in 915 or 516. These heads are easily recognizable by their closed, quench-style combustion chamber and are actually a good choice for a performance build. The Chrysler engineers knew the quench area of the combustion chamber was key to power production, and these heads utilize that theory very well. The main drawbacks of the closed chamber heads are relatively small 1.60-inch exhaust valves and the lack of hardened valve seats. An exception is the ’67 440 HP 915 casting, which is the first big-block head to incorporate a 1.74-inch exhaust valve, making the ’67 440 HP 915 a good choice for a performance build. In fact, an old racers’ trick was to swap 915 heads onto a ’68 440 HP, which netted some 13:1 compression! Of course, that would never work with today’s pump fuels, but the combination does make great power if race fuel is utilized. Cylinder heads with the 516 casting number are virtually identical to the 915s, but were only produced with 1.60-inch exhaust valves.
While the combustion chamber of the closed chamber factory heads is well suited for power, there are some drawbacks to these cylinder heads. First, these heads were manufactured when there was plenty of lead in fuel to keep the valve seats lubricated, so the valve seats didn’t need to be hardened. Running an engine with these heads on today’s fuel can lead to valves, especially on the exhaust side, becoming recessed into the head, resulting in substantial power loss or even broken or dropped valves. Second, the exhaust valve size limits the flow of these heads and, thereby, also limits their power potential. To remedy these drawbacks, hardened seats and larger valves can be installed, which give these heads the flow potential of later castings and the ability to run on unleaded fuel while retaining the desirable closed combustion chamber. Another issue with any factory steel head is the shape of the valveguide and seat pocket, which limits valvespring choices. The only way to solve this problem is to machine the outside of the guides and the seat pockets to accommodate double or triple valvesprings. Add to the above operations the cost of porting these heads, and you can quickly have as much tied up in your steel heads as the cost of an economical set of aluminum units, so it’s hard to justify the cost unless you’re restoring a rare car or racing in a class that dictates a steel head.
Open Chamber Factory Heads
In 1968, Chrysler big-block cylinder heads were redesigned to be manufactured with an open-style combustion chamber. The engineers knew this was not the best power producing combustion chamber design, but foresaw tighter emissions standards and substandard fuel so the 906 casting was developed to take the Chrysler big-block into the future. Knowing the performance enthusiasts wouldn’t like the new cylinder head design if it didn’t make the power of the closed chamber designs, Chrysler decided to upgrade the open chamber heads with larger, 1.74-inch exhaust valves. Intake valve size remained at 2.08 inches. Designing pistons to reach the top of the cylinder (or above) in their performance models gave engines with the 906 heads similar compression ratios to engines with closed chamber heads. The 906 heads were used on every big-block engine between 1968 and 1971 and will make decent power in stock or ported form. After 1971, the casting numbers changed, but the overall design of the ports and the combustion chamber of the big-block head didn’t. All of the post-’68 open chamber heads offer similar power potential and work equally well in a performance application.
When comparing factory Chrysler big-block cylinder heads we can break them down into three basic categories: Max wedge, open chamber, and closed combustion chamber. We won’t consider the pre-’64, non-Max-Wedge heads because the rocker shaft and bracket system they utilized is not compatible with modern valvetrain components. Max Wedge heads are easily identifiable by the lack of a heat cross-over passage, large 1.88-inch exhaust valves, and very large ports. Casting numbers for the Max Wedge heads end in either 286, 209, or 518; keep an eye out at the swap meets in the unlikely event you’ll run across a set of these desirable heads. While the Max Wedge heads do offer great power potential, they are expensive and hard to find, so unless you’re building a Stock or Super Stock class racer, or restoring a factory race car, the cost of these heads is prohibitive for the average build.
Closed Chamber Factory Heads
The closed chamber heads were manufactured and installed on pre-’68 vehicles; popular units have casting numbers ending in 915 or 516. These heads are easily recognizable by their closed, quench-style combustion chamber and are actually a good choice for a performance build. The Chrysler engineers knew the quench area of the combustion chamber was key to power production, and these heads utilize that theory very well. The main drawbacks of the closed chamber heads are relatively small 1.60-inch exhaust valves and the lack of hardened valve seats. An exception is the ’67 440 HP 915 casting, which is the first big-block head to incorporate a 1.74-inch exhaust valve, making the ’67 440 HP 915 a good choice for a performance build. In fact, an old racers’ trick was to swap 915 heads onto a ’68 440 HP, which netted some 13:1 compression! Of course, that would never work with today’s pump fuels, but the combination does make great power if race fuel is utilized. Cylinder heads with the 516 casting number are virtually identical to the 915s, but were only produced with 1.60-inch exhaust valves.
While the combustion chamber of the closed chamber factory heads is well suited for power, there are some drawbacks to these cylinder heads. First, these heads were manufactured when there was plenty of lead in fuel to keep the valve seats lubricated, so the valve seats didn’t need to be hardened. Running an engine with these heads on today’s fuel can lead to valves, especially on the exhaust side, becoming recessed into the head, resulting in substantial power loss or even broken or dropped valves. Second, the exhaust valve size limits the flow of these heads and, thereby, also limits their power potential. To remedy these drawbacks, hardened seats and larger valves can be installed, which give these heads the flow potential of later castings and the ability to run on unleaded fuel while retaining the desirable closed combustion chamber. Another issue with any factory steel head is the shape of the valveguide and seat pocket, which limits valvespring choices. The only way to solve this problem is to machine the outside of the guides and the seat pockets to accommodate double or triple valvesprings. Add to the above operations the cost of porting these heads, and you can quickly have as much tied up in your steel heads as the cost of an economical set of aluminum units, so it’s hard to justify the cost unless you’re restoring a rare car or racing in a class that dictates a steel head.
Open Chamber Factory Heads
In 1968, Chrysler big-block cylinder heads were redesigned to be manufactured with an open-style combustion chamber. The engineers knew this was not the best power producing combustion chamber design, but foresaw tighter emissions standards and substandard fuel so the 906 casting was developed to take the Chrysler big-block into the future. Knowing the performance enthusiasts wouldn’t like the new cylinder head design if it didn’t make the power of the closed chamber designs, Chrysler decided to upgrade the open chamber heads with larger, 1.74-inch exhaust valves. Intake valve size remained at 2.08 inches. Designing pistons to reach the top of the cylinder (or above) in their performance models gave engines with the 906 heads similar compression ratios to engines with closed chamber heads. The 906 heads were used on every big-block engine between 1968 and 1971 and will make decent power in stock or ported form. After 1971, the casting numbers changed, but the overall design of the ports and the combustion chamber of the big-block head didn’t. All of the post-’68 open chamber heads offer similar power potential and work equally well in a performance application.
1962polara
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Your street wedge came with 516 closed chamber heads. Same heads also on the 426 wedge.
518 heads ONLY came on Max Wedge stage 3
518 heads ONLY came on Max Wedge stage 3
Rob Vaughn
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516s were b block m
What bottom end was used if its stamped A 426 hp?was it a max wedge bottom end with the same compression?
Badtrader
Member
thank you
So the block won’t have a notch at the top for valve clearance correct?
Why the hp on block ?
In the engine pictures this motor it has the wrong intake, carburetor and valve covers. It should have a low plane iron intake with a single feed carter afb carburetor and the chrome valve covers were smooth and had a push in chrome pcv cap and the push in chrome oil cap should say oil on the top of it. The ID pad stamping appears to be correct for the 426 street wedge motor.
streetwedg
Well-Known Member
Another way to identify the correct valve covers is they are factory Crome 6 bolt valve covers,with the push on oil cap and pvc. They also had no cutouts for the gasket tabs .used all studs and nuts instead of two studs and four bolts on each.
oldbee
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And some real “shade tree” plumbing done on that engine. VC’s could be real rusty chrome also.
Polara426
Well-Known Member
The street wedge block was essentially the same as the max wedge block but was only 10 to 1 compression and no valve reliefs and different rotating assembly. The heads were the small valve 516 heads. The nice thing about the street wedge package was it came with the chrome air cleaner and valve covers and 11 inch brakes all around. They also came with a front sway bar.
Rick Carson
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Welcome from Canada,yes a 426 street wedge would have 516 heads, 361,383,413 and 426 had 516 heads if not a max wedge. 915 didn't enter the picture till 67,then 906 in 68
And also wider rims...
Ironbuilt
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Welcome from North Carolina.
Post up some pics of you 65.
Post up some pics of you 65.
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