Thread: help a newbie, how can i identify camelback heads?

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ok just got a 1973 z28 camaro from my grandpa last saturday but it has been sitting in my dad's backyard uncovered for the last 12 years and the engine is in peices. it was supposted to have camelback heads and there is a pair of heads in the car that have matching id numbers so i think they are both the same type but i need to know it they are camel backs. the numbers are s782461a295. i have absolutly no experience with rebuilding cars but i love musclecars and would love to rebuild this one as my first car.

Look at the end of the head........it will have a double rounded "hump" if these are camel hump head...........altho there are different heads that have that marking.....some have .202 valves and some have .194's I believe

Originally posted by mycamaromax
ok just got a 1973 z28 camaro from my grandpa last saturday but it has been sitting in my dad's backyard uncovered for the last 12 years and the engine is in peices. it was supposted to have camelback heads and there is a pair of heads in the car that have matching id numbers so i think they are both the same type but i need to know it they are camel backs. the numbers are s782461a295. i have absolutly no experience with rebuilding cars but i love musclecars and would love to rebuild this one as my first car.

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I think you need to look at those numbers one more time. The s is proberly a 3 . the other numbers you have run together at the end a295 should mean---A= January. 29= 29th day of the month . 5=1965
If that is the case you have 461 double hump ,hi performance heads, they have 194/150 valves , on the face of the of the haeds is a double hump impression in the casting. There are no bolt holes in the front of the heads to mount power steering,alternator,a/c etc. the way it is mounted on a 73 camaro You could use the older brackets but it is not really ideal.
Look at the heads again carefully and get back herer so we can figure out exactly what you have. See if there are any bolt holes on the ends od the heads . Thats were the humps would be also. Check the numbers on the other heads and we'll try to figure them out as well.

unfortunalty i don't have the original heads. i will double check the numbers. thanks for the replies. it has the double hump casting on the ends. where would i find the numbers your looking for??? i posted the numbers that i saw on top of the heads. here they are as they appear on the tops of the heads
3782461 and to the right is "gm" and on the far right hand is a
a295 5 clock

on the bottom lefthand side of both is
461
on the rightthand side on the bottom is 03(or perhaps c3) and on the other head is 2
the only bolt holes on the ends are under the valve cover.

what's that mean????? can i fit them on my 350?

Originally posted by mycamaromax
what's that mean????? can i fit them on my 350?

Yes , Maybe you already have the early model brackets, if not you'll have to round them up

i have no idea what your talking about, i'm an extreme newbie( i don't even have my permit yet) my mom is explaining most of the engine parts to me. would i be better getting bigger camelbacks? also they are slightly rusted, what's the best why to get this off??? will soaking them in a bucket of diesel fuel for a couple of days or weeks work? i have all summer to get the car/engine clean before school starts and i hopefully get into autoshop.

Originally posted by riverhorse59
Yes , Maybe you already have the early model brackets, if not you'll have to round them up

max, the early heads were not drilled and tapped on the ends for accessories like the alternator to be mounted. Chevy mounted the alternator from a bracket on the end of the ram's horn exhaust manifold.

Soak the heads in a mix of 50/50 swimming pool acid and water for a day or so, then take a look at them. If they're still rusty, soak them another day and so forth until they are clean of rust, then put them on e-bay and sell them. There are restorers looking for these heads and the money you get for them will help you buy some decent later heads that are drilled and tapped for accessories, such as Vortec heads, which flow way better than those camel hump heads you have anyway.

Techinspector is right. Your heads are probably 1.94/1.50 valves. even though they are camel hump heads and some of the best of their day, there were much better heads made to fit your application with a lot less trouble and rigging. Someone somewhere would like to have the heads you have for a restoration project. Not much good for what you want to do. Good luck with your project and don't get discouraged. It takes a while to get everything down.
Ed

ok so i'll polish them up and make them look nice then sell them. how much do you think i could get for them? does the matching id numbers make any difference? what kind of replacement heads should i get for max power and fuel economy and if not fuel economy the max power? btw what should i do about the fact that the engine doesn't have any heads on it and is slightly rusted?