Thread: Heads for 350 SBC in '65 El Camino. Will these work?

Tweet

Just pulled the valve covers too. Definitely the 624 heads

624's came in 3 varieties 1.72, 1.94 and 2.02 valves. And yes they are crack prone especially the 2.02's. I have the 1.94 variety in my 76 Corvette and I have a couple thousands miles on them with no problems, your money, your decision.

Originally Posted by cletus141

Glenn,

Actually, it looks like I have an Edelbrock Super Victor intake:
https://www.summitracing.com/parts/edl-2925

And Edelbrock 1412 carb:
https://www.summitracing.com/parts/edl-1412

Not 100% on the carb, but it's stamped "1412 0160" on the lower left mount.

Yikes! That manifold/carb would be great for a highly modified 383 stroker that you trailer to the drag strip but it is probably one of the worst street combinations you could possibly run. You need a dual plane manifold that's designed for off-idle to 5,500 RPM The Super Victor is a single plane that dumps fuel straight into your cylinders like the flush of a toilet. The 1412 is a fantastic carburetor - for a modified 454! It's way too much for your build.

Using this induction setup for the street will guarantee frustration and consume copious quantities of gasoline - most of which will be spewed out the tailpipe without making any usable horsepower.

Ditch the Victor and the big Edelbrock and go with this combination:
Weiand Street Warrior Intake Manifold 8126 Weiand 8126 Weiand Street Warrior Intake Manifolds | Summit Racing
Quadrajet JET Performance 34002 JET Streetmaster Quadrajet Stage 2 Carburetors | Summit Racing

A bit simpler and far more streetable!

Glenn

Welcome to CHR, Cletus. Glenn has given you some great advice, I think you'd be well pleased with the results. Over cammed engines with a single plane intake are a couple of the most common mistakes made when choosing parts, bigger is not always better!

Glenn,

Thanks so much for all the help! Remember that one of my goals is to get the car back on the street with as little effort and expense as possible. I was perfectly happy with how that intake combo ran on the turd L83 motor. I'm not concerned with fuel consumption. Your recommended intake combo would nearly double my expenses at Summit. Can I make my existing intake components work reasonably? I would assume that if they were way overkill for the L83 (and ran just fine) that they are less overkill for my newer shortblock. Is that a fair assumption? Part of the reason I'm exploring new heads is that I have been told that my new short block would run like garbage with the old 624 heads. I'm willing to get heads. Hopefully, my Edelbrock setup would run fine and merely be just wasteful, which I'm ok with. It would take me years at my expected annual usage to recoup the cost of the wasted gasoline to justify the expense of the new intake combo.

Am I barking up the wrong tree then to even get the Floteks instead of just running the 624s?

This could prove to be an interesting experiment. The 624 head is a low compression (9.0:1), 76-cc open chamber head. In all likelihood the ones off an ’82 Corvette were 2.02/1.6 valves with 165cc runner volume. The intake runner volume influences how the combustion chamber is filled during the intake stroke. Smaller runner volume(s) increase the velocity of the air going into the combustion chamber and as such, they build more torque at low rpm (when using stock or near stock intake/carburetion). As such, small runners are best for street cars. They typically accelerate better off idle and perform well below 6,000 rpm. However, at higher RPMs, the small runners restrict the airflow, limiting the output. As mentioned above, the 624 heads can be used successfully but one needs to pay attention to cracks.

Your Victor intake and 850 CFM carb need a larger intake runner volume (180 - 210cc) to be effective and typically do not perform well below 2,500 RPM.

Larger runners will provide better fuel distribution at high rpm. This increases horsepower; however, they don’t start making that horsepower until higher in the rpm range. This results in poor performance on the street.

The Floteks have smaller combustion chambers (62cc) and larger runners (180cc) so they will provide some compensation for the over carburation. It could prove to be quite acceptable and it sounds like you’re familiar with the combination so you know that if you let the clutch out at 1,200 RPM you will bog like an elephant in quicksand. Once you’re rolling and at about 3,000 it should jump like a scalded rabbit.

So back to your original question (and I definitely hear you on the money side of things!!), I’d still shy away from the 624 heads, go with the Flotecs (with new bolts, pushrods and the recommended gaskets) and drive it like you stole it!

Have fun,
Glenn

Hey Cletus, it sounds like Glenn has given you a ton of great advice, including some info on how things might work on a budget. Hoping that after you get your new heads and get things buttoned up you'll come back and let us know what you experience. You can always grab the 8126 Weiand Street Warrior Intake Manifold and 34002 JET Streetmaster Quadrajet Stage 2 Carburetor later, if you want to spend the bucks and make it a bit more street friendly. Be sure to use a high zinc/phosphorus (ZDDP) motor oil with that flat tappet cam!

Another way to lower your expenses is to spend some time at the local swap meets and going through the ads on Craigslist and local ad sites.

Originally Posted by Dave Severson

Another way to lower your expenses is to spend some time at the local swap meets and going through the ads on Craigslist and local ad sites.

Good advice, but I'd be cautious about buying a used Quadrajet from anybody! They are not an easy carb to rebuild, there are a lot of things to look for on a used unit, and there aren't a lot of quality shops to do a rebuild right. IMO you'd be much better off saving for a new/rebuilt unit from Summit or the like. Just my $0.02 at my advanced age....

Originally Posted by rspears

Just my $0.02 at my advanced age....

You're advanced?

Lucky you!

I'm on retard...

Originally Posted by glennsexton

This could prove to be an interesting experiment. The 624 head is a low compression (9.0:1), 76-cc open chamber head. In all likelihood the ones off an ’82 Corvette were 2.02/1.6 valves with 165cc runner volume. The intake runner volume influences how the combustion chamber is filled during the intake stroke. Smaller runner volume(s) increase the velocity of the air going into the combustion chamber and as such, they build more torque at low rpm (when using stock or near stock intake/carburetion). As such, small runners are best for street cars. They typically accelerate better off idle and perform well below 6,000 rpm. However, at higher RPMs, the small runners restrict the airflow, limiting the output. As mentioned above, the 624 heads can be used successfully but one needs to pay attention to cracks.

Your Victor intake and 850 CFM carb need a larger intake runner volume (180 - 210cc) to be effective and typically do not perform well below 2,500 RPM.

Larger runners will provide better fuel distribution at high rpm. This increases horsepower; however, they don’t start making that horsepower until higher in the rpm range. This results in poor performance on the street.

The Floteks have smaller combustion chambers (62cc) and larger runners (180cc) so they will provide some compensation for the over carburation. It could prove to be quite acceptable and it sounds like you’re familiar with the combination so you know that if you let the clutch out at 1,200 RPM you will bog like an elephant in quicksand. Once you’re rolling and at about 3,000 it should jump like a scalded rabbit.

So back to your original question (and I definitely hear you on the money side of things!!), I’d still shy away from the 624 heads, go with the Flotecs (with new bolts, pushrods and the recommended gaskets) and drive it like you stole it!

Have fun,
Glenn

Glen,

Thanks for all the advice! I think based on your input that I'm going to give the Floteks a chance with the existing Edelbrock intake combo. And thanks for the advice on the new lifters too!

Be sure and let us know how it all comes together. Pictures would be great!

Glenn

Originally Posted by glennsexton

Be sure and let us know how it all comes together. Pictures would be great!

Glenn

Here's the car

The one generation of El Camino I haven't owned.


.