gunnibronco

Thanks!

I'm moving into my new shop and sorting through some parts. I got these with a 331 extended bell (1951 I think). I won't be using them and wondered if there is a market for them. Maybe I should be posting this in for sale, but I want to make sure I know what I have and what it fits. Any suggestion of value is appreciated. I'd rather see them put to use, or stored for future use than scrapped.

Thanks for your help. I still need to pull the motor out of the bed of my truck, but it's safe and dry there until then. I will grab those headlight parts and get them off to you. I've been trying to get the new roof on my shop between rain, snow and wind storms.

I've had some great help on the Hamb. It's the same on my early Bronco and 4x4 forums. The larger the audience, the better chance you'll get bad info or someone who bashes your build. The smaller forums, with specific focus do tend to give better, less judgmental information. It might just take longer.

That is where I've spent a lot of time, and got some good answers.

No problem at all. I've received some good help there. I'm very familiar with the larger forums, I've been on 4x4 forums for years. I'm all too aware of the chances of getting bad advice. Mostly I just needed to confirm what I remember reading years ago when I first bought my 331. Between my advice here and on the HAMB I think I've made a decision how to move forward that will help me build the right motor for my car. I just have limited time to put my name on a set of heads so the seller doesn't sell them to someone else. Thanks again.

I gotcha.

Anyone interested can check out my car. I hate to admit it but I got it in 2012 and haven't done anything to it except accumulate parts. Life has taken a few twists and I haven't gotten around to the car. I relocated a couple years ago and have no shop. I'm finishing a new shop up and hoping to get to work on the car 'soon'.

I'm leaning towards picking up a set of the 354 heads and using my Weiand 2x4 intake and a cross over. They are a good price, flow well, work with my intake, and since my 51-53 heads will have to be rebuilt anyways, the cost is fairly minimal. The 55-56 331 heads I can buy are "Industrial" heads casting #1632159-1. I have been told that the 55-56 Industrial heads are a crap shoot as they were intended for industrial (pumps, etc) applications and 'don't follow the rules'. Castings, valves, and specs can vary.

Thanks for all the info. Here is what I've come to learn: 51-53 heads are fairly restrictive and lower flowing than 54+ heads. They run out of air about 4000 rpm, but will be adequate for a street driven car. Small round ports in the 51-53 heads, larger oval ports in the 54+ heads. 51-54 used a water cross over with the t-stat housing in the intake manifold. 54 was the only year that OEM offered a 4bbl with the crossover & t-stat in the intake. I happen to have one that came with the 2nd 331 I bought. I've attached pics of the factory 4bbl I bought, and a Edmunds aftermarket 2x4 with this design. 55+ (331,354,392) heads & intakes don't use the water crossover/t-stat housing in the intake, but use one built into the front dress. To use 55+ head & intake manifold on a 51-54 block/front dress you have to add a cross over with t-stat housing. HHH sells 2 versions: http://hothemiheads.com/water_pumps/crossover_cast_aluminum.html http://hothemiheads.com/water_pumps/crossover_and_housing.html 54-56 331 heads, and 354 heads all flow about the same in stock form. 55,56 "555" or "triple nickle" heads (casting #1556157) are probably the most desirable, as they can be modified to flow more than others. 54 flow similarly and work with the 51-54 intakes with the water cross over in the intake manifold. I've also included a pic of my Weiand 2x4 manifold w/2 Carters. I got this with the first 331 I bought. It is a vintage part w/"Say Why And" on it. It's been ceramic coated. I have no idea what it's worth. HHH sells the new version for $529. I saw one on Ebay around $1000 without ceramic coated or carbs. http://hothemiheads.com/intake_manifolds/weiand_intake_2x4.html All the factory rocker assemblies are the same for 331, 354, & 392 heads

I'm getting good information. Thanks to all. How do you add the thermostat and water outlet to an early 331 when switching to 55 and later intake and heads? I'm guessing you have to change some of the front dress. I can't seem to find the info. Hot Hemi Head's web site is wonky and keeps failing to load for me.

Thanks, I've had the extended 331 blocks for a while now. I know about the difficulty mounting transmissions and have read about all the adapters. From what I can tell, I've gotten pretty good deals on both. Looks like I could sell the intake manifolds for more than what I have invested. If I came across a well priced 54 or 55 block, I would buy that and sell off the extended blocks I have. I did more reading last night and realized what you've said about punching the block to a 354. It can be done, but really shouldn't. After reading, I will probably not do that, and stick with a minimal overbore and rebuild. Thanks for the link, I'll look through those pages.

I've read if the block is sonic tested it can be done. I'm not an expert and only going by what I've read. I'll be doing more research before my build for sure.

Thanks, I'll look for the book. I've posted on the HAMB and HHH's forum as well.

I'm hoping to get some advice on some heads I have a chance to buy. I'm not an expert and trying to buy good parts at good price for a long term build. I have a 39 P8 coupe I will be building. I've had the car for a while but life has gotten in the way of my build.Over the last few years I have bought 2 51-53 extended bell housing 331s. Both disassembled. Both motors have a set of early heads with rockers. I have one set of exhaust manifolds. One motor came with a ceramic coated Weiand 2x4 intake with carter carbs (no tstat in manifold). One motor came with a 1954 4bbl factory intake manifold (tstat in manifold).I expect I will bore the block out. I'd like to go up to the 354 bore size, assuming one of my blocks is solid enough.From what I've read the early heads don't flow well. I'm guessing that both the 1954 4bbl and the Weiand 2x4 would outflow the heads.I've found someone selling several sets of heads, rockers, and exhaust manifolds.He has a single 1955 head (casting #1556157-1).He has what he claims is a matching 1954-55 set (casting #1632158-1 & 1832159-1- I'm wondering if this is actually 1632159-1). These numbers don't match what I've found on line. Are these actually 54/55 heads? One google search came up with 54/55 Dodge truck heads. Are they better than my 51-53 heads? Do I need matching rockers & exhaust manifolds or will my 331 rockers & exhaust work?He also has what appears to be 3x 1956 354 heads (castings 1619823-1). Would these be a good head for my motor?The prices seem fair but they are a long drive away (4 hours each way). I don't know what to look for and really don't want to drive that far if it's not what I want.Thanks.