396 head comparison

[coggonobrien]

how do the truck heads compare to the car ones? i've got a lead on a 69 396 but i can't recall if he said it was a truck or car motor. it'll run me 700 (just need to buy new bearings, accesssories, and slap it back together) so i'm definately buying it. i know the trucks had square ports while the cars had round. just wondering if there was a noticeable flow differance, and if it varied torque curves. thanks, Dave

[smoknbarrels]

well if u're definitely buying it then just pull off a valve cover and slap that casting number into google and you'll find out pretty quick what heads you have without turning a bolt.
but basically from my knowledge anything square port it pretty much really good and flows awesome, and most of the heads off 396's are quite good too.
i have some 781 heads that i am trying to sell that are oval port and I had them fully ported so they flow equivalent to a square port now. but that gives you an idea of the difference in performance some oval ports are compared to squares. only the closed chamber ovals flow good stock, there are only a few good open chamber ovals made.

[coggonobrien]

cool, thanks for the tips