63 461 cylinder head question

[Joe T.]

years ago when I bought my 63/327/300hp the car had(and has) 65 heads on the engine and the seller gave me 461 63 heads with dates that are close to the build date of my car and he was told they were for my car. I am about to have them rebuilt/restored. Before I do so I want to confirm that these would be correct for my car and in fact compatable. They are 461 heads, double hump and dated approx. 1 month prior to build date of my car. Could heads with this part number be for more than one application and possibly incompatable? Just wondering before I spend the bucks to restore and install. Joe T.

[Philip A.]

Re: 63 461 cynlinder head question

years ago when I bought my 63/327/300hp the car had(and has) 65 heads on the engine and the seller gave me 461 63 heads with dates that are close to the build date of my car and he was told they were for my car. I am about to have them rebuilt/restored. Before I do so I want to confirm that these would be correct for my car and in fact compatable. They are 461 heads, double hump and dated approx. 1 month prior to build date of my car. Could heads with this part number be for more than one application and possibly incompatable? Just wondering before I spend the bucks to restore and install. Joe T.

Joe
i think you are good to go. Dated parts are accepted to be 1-6 months prior to assembly. I would also check head cast date is prior to engine assembly date. The heads are definitely for more than one application but are compatible.
Phil

[Patrick B.]

Re: 63 461 cynlinder head question

Do the casting dates of the heads preceed the engine build date stamped on the block? If so, they could be original. 461 heads were cast at both Flint and Tonowanda. Corvette SB engines were built at Flint where the casting date year was marked by one digit. In contrast, Tonawanda heads used a 2 digit code for the year - 63 instead of just 3, and it would be a waste of money to rebuild Tonawanda heads for your Corvette because there are other cosmetic differences besides the extra digit.

[Joe T.]

Re: 63 461 cylinder head question

engine block cast date is C23, cast number 3782870, engine id is F0509RD3115979 which correlates to a May 9 engine assembly date. The cast dates on the two heads are D10 3 and C29 3. I hope this all makes date sense, I would love it if theses were the original heads. JOe, I didn't know if heads from a 340 hp or fuel injected engine were different in some way.

[Edward J.]

Re: 63 461 cylinder head question

Joe, 300 hp engines used the same heads. Your dates are correct and likely original to your engine stamps

[Timothy B.]

Re: 63 461 cylinder head question

Be careful what you do to them. The 461 X heads you have are not easy to find in stock condition. If the valve seats are OK don't let someone talk you into hardened seats. Keep the original spec springs and the stock rocker arms, that's all you need for the 300hp engine.

DON'T let a machine shop take a cut on the bottom if they are flat...Many times this leads to a problem when installing the intake manifold. Others will know better but I would consider using valve guide inserts (bronze) if they are needed and not cut the guide top for seals. Just use the factory O ring and I think they make a umbrella type seal that slides down over the valve stem. Keep the stock 45psi oil pump FWIW..

[Joe T.]

Re: 63 461 cylinder head question

thank you, will pass message on to the machine shop. JOe

[Nick K.]

Re: 63 461 cylinder head question

I am sure you already know this but numbers on the head are not judged as you'd have to remove the valve cover to see and we don't do that in judging. Having said that as a purist I located a set of 461X heads for my '63 years ago while rebuilding and re-installing the original engine in my 340 HP car.

[Domenic T.]

Re: 63 461 cylinder head question

Joe,
I agree with Tims advice. Most shops like to take a cut on the heads even if not needed. I use a stone block across the bottoms to show irregularities. A thick glass table top is good to put the heads on to see if all parts touch.
When I twisted a wrench at a Chevy dealer the heads that used the positive seals all suffered from guide and valve stem wear because the wiped the oil off the stems. The O-ring seals will let the guides and valve stems lubricate along with the engine upper end.
Back then new car owners were concerned with making it to their scheduled oil change withoit adding oil. tThe Chrome ring was also discontinued because it was hard to get them seated, therefore using oil. The O-ring seals will most likely use a qt of oil in about 1K and according to your driving habbits can dirty up he spark plugs especially if using a cold heat range.
The young shop owners will say hog wash to this because most all valve seals are positive wipe seals now. They may never have seen the O-ring seals as they were not born yet.

DOM