Camel hump sbc heads

[eedgell]

They did it to me again!!! Went to the local recla scrap yard this morning, and they had a 69-70 c/10 4x4 in there. Stopped by after work to check it out for parts...., and they had crushed it!!!!!! That is the second 67-72 they have crushed in 3 weeks!!!! going to have to keep a keen eye on this place, which means they wont get any more in. Any way the moter has camel back heads on it, but refresh my memory, these humps are just humps, not a tower style hump. I used to have a web sit that showed pics of the different humps, and what they ment. These are not the fuelly heads I dont think, but what are they worth? Should I go try to pry them from the twisted piece of metal or not?

[yenko427]

Most camel hump heads are 202 and you can tell from the two humps on the front of the heads. Most of the older camel hump heads don't have bolt holes in the front. Hope that helps I don't have pics yet of mine soon.

[chipflyer]

I have 6 sets here that are all 194's, I personally believe more were made with that size valve, but don't have any production numbers. If they are easy to get I would get them, along with the brackets for the alternator. There are much better performance heads available now but someone will want them someday for a restoration project.
They don't make new one anymore!

Jeff

[eedgell]

Well that is not entirely true, Yenko427. I have a set of camels on a 377 [std bore 350 block] stroker that numbers go back to a 302 DZ or a 350 horse 327. Difference being that the 302 DZ had 2:02's and the 350 hp 327 had 1:94's, which is what I have. Alot of the old hump heads are 1:94's. The fuelly heads are 2:02's. Mostly it is about combustion chamber size, and the cast on the front tells you about that more than intake valve size. Mine are 64cc I think, and have ben milled so they give almost one full number in compression boost. I will have to look for the link I have.

[yenko427]

I just got the truck and the guy I bought it from said that is how you tell I don't know alot them but every one says they are the heads to get. How can you tell from the hump in the front.

[BCOWANWHEELS]

i,ve got alot of large and small double hump sb chevy heads that are 1.94-1.50 valves.

[chipflyer]

Here is a nice link to chevy cylinder head casting numbers that details the valve size, year and engine used on.
I am pretty sure that the humps look the same on the 194/202 heads, the casting number will tell all.
I think guys also used to say if you can get a nickel between the intake and exhaust valve you have 194's, a dime between them and you have 202's

Jeff

[IvelDesigns]

i agree, go look up the casting numbers. the mark on the front doesn't tell you much more than if it's a camel hump head or not.

and yeah, go pull them if you can. people are always buying them up on fleaBay... in fact, i have a set of 1.94's with a 64cc chamber out there right now with a bid of over $200 on them.

i'm not an engine builder by any means, but from what i have read, it's better and cheaper to buy newer heads than to rebuild a set of camel humps.

[eedgell]

Mostley all true, but there is a difference in the casting humps. Numbers will always tell the whole story, but in my case I have to go in to the crumpled heap to get them, and would like to know that they are not just any other head or close to, ya know. Sbc heads are a dime a dozen, but good hummpers are another story. It is mostly all about combustion chambers, because you can always port, polish and do valve job on most any head for the performance, but chambers are another story. You cant "build" those.

[eedgell]

Also, I have no idea what the engine or heads are. Not stock heads any way for a 69-70 c/10 4x4. Some trouble to get. The heads could be cracked now too because of the crush.

[chipflyer]

From Apr'96 Chevy High Performance:
...The famous camel humps were identification markings found on
Chevy's high-performance heads of the '60s. Large double humps were
found on heads with casting numbers that ended in 291, 461, 461x and
462. Small camel humps were found on 186, 041 and 492 heads. All of
these heads have 64cc chambers and could be found with either
1.94/1.50 or 2.02/1.60 valves. None of these heads are desirable for
building a modern, budget performance engine. First, the
number-matching restorers are paying high prices for quality finds,
and most quality heads from the '60s are rare. Most heads that are 25
or 30 years old have been remanufactured numerous times, and the metal
is just too thin around the water jackets. Even if you did find a
good set of castings for $200 of $300 (which is unlikely), you would
still have to invest $500 or more in machine work and parts to get
them ready to handle 350 or more horsepower. Should you get these
head into working condition, they're still not as good as modern
aftermarket performance heads. The World Products S/R Torquer and
Sportsman II heads are great buys, have improved port designs right
out of the box and offer enough metal to that they can be hogged out
for more power down the road. The price of aluminum heads is also
coming down. Air Flow Research and Trick Flow both offer complete
heads for less than $1000 that will outflow a 461x head, and they
won't leak. Invest your money in a good set of new heads that will
last the life of your engine and have the potential for more power.

These older heads are just that: older. The old GM castings,
even the high-performance ones, tend to be a bit brittle. When you
throw in the fact that they WERE hi-perf, that means they were
probably thoroughly thrashed at some point in their career. Most of
them came with 1.94/1.50 valves, so if you want hi-perf you should
upgrade to 2.02/1.60. In order to run unleaded fuel with these '60s
heads, you will have to install hardened valve seats.
All in all, they don't compare well with late-model aftermarket
heads. Double-hump heads have a deck thickness of only 0.250-inch: a
Dart head almost doubles that. Using the Dart head as an example, it
has a lot of extra material in other critical places as well,
providing a more rigid, stronger casting than the double-hump head.
Also, you have to consider that the double-hump head, while being a
performance item, was built with 1960s technology, while a late-model
aftermarket head benefits from an extra 30 years of research and
development.

So: we got $250 rough purchase price for a set of dh heads
$400 for machine work (clean and magnaflux, install hardened seats,
new valve guides, pocket port, opening up for larger valves, but not
including enlarging spring seats or installing screw-in studs)
$150 for new valves and LT-1 springs

We're up to ~$800 (prices may vary). You can get remanufactured
late-model 2.02/1.6 heads for $350, new S/R Torquers 2.02/1.60 for
$600, or brand-new Sportsman IIs for $825 (April 96 CHP p6), and I
found those without even shopping around.

[yenko427]

The heads that i have don't have ant bolt hole in the front of the heads. Can that mean they are old.

[eedgell]

Yenko427, yes on the no bolt holes in front. The brackets for these heads suck to put it lightly. There is nothing strong or solid to bolt the alternator or other stuff to, because they dont bolt back to the head like the later mods do. No holes in the heads is early to mid 60's. Or old in your case. Newer heads have thicker castings, and are stronger, but not vintage.

[CrashEd]

Heres a couple of good sites.
http://www.chevytalk.com/tech/engine/SBC_Heads.html
http://www.geocities.com/rscott77070/headguide.html
Hope this helps.
Ed

[70stroker]

Originally Posted by eedgell

Yenko427, yes on the no bolt holes in front. The brackets for these heads suck to put it lightly. There is nothing strong or solid to bolt the alternator or other stuff to, because they dont bolt back to the head like the later mods do. No holes in the heads is early to mid 60's. Or old in your case. Newer heads have thicker castings, and are stronger, but not vintage.

I would have to disagree on all brackets suck for these heads. maybe stock ones did. but the ones i have are as strong if not stronger than any alternator/ PS mounting brackets i have ever seen on a small block.

Just my 2 cents.


And not to metion they look way cool down low on the motor.

[larry may]

Originally Posted by 70stroker

I would have to disagree on all brackets suck for these heads. maybe stock ones did. but the ones i have are as strong if not stronger than any alternator/ PS mounting brackets i have ever seen on a small block.

Just my 2 cents.


And not to metion they look way cool down low on the motor.

Where did you get that fan shroud? Need one like you have.

[special-K]

Camel hump heads are worth saving,period.

[70stroker]

Originally Posted by larry may

Where did you get that fan shroud? Need one like you have.

Its out of a 80 model cutlass supreme.

[larry may]

http://www.chevytalk.com/tech/engine/SBC_Heads.html

[1fun71]

I like http://mortec.com/ just look up the casting numbers and it tells you were they came out of and the valve size SIMPLE

[larry may]

Originally Posted by chipflyer

I have 6 sets here that are all 194's, I personally believe more were made with that size valve, but don't have any production numbers. If they are easy to get I would get them, along with the brackets for the alternator. There are much better performance heads available now but someone will want them someday for a restoration project.
They don't make new one anymore!

Jeff

Here is a list and descriptions for you Jeff.

http://www.chevytalk.com/tech/engine/SBC_Heads.html