I have a set of 455 C Heads that I might be Selling. They are not re-done but they are good shape. How much are they worth? And would any of you be interested in purchasing said Cylinder heads if I sell them? Thanks guys

 

I have seen them go between 150 -300 a set depending on condition and if they are big valve or small makes a difference as well but a good

 

95% Sure they are the big Valve.

 

That's a plus I wouldn't list on the high side because these weigh easily 60lbs each to ships will cost a bit

 

i pay $125 at the boneyard, all day long. just fyi.


bill

 

C-head cores sell for $100-$150 a pair regularly, depending on condition and valve size. Small valve rusty cores run at the low end, big valve (and that needs to be 100% sure, not less) without a lot of rust run at the high end. There was a clown here in DC that had a set of rusty, crusty small valve C heads on Craigslist for about a year, touting how rare they were, yada, yada. Price slowly dropped to $600. Still no sale. Note that C heads are the second most common BBO heads, behind Js.

Note to Bill: Please let us know where that boneyard is that still has cars with C heads in it. Here in the mid-Atlantic region, you're hard pressed to find a car in a wrecking yard with a 307 anymore, let alone a BBO. It's been over two decades since Olds made any V8s (other than the Aurora/Northstar).

 

there are several yards in WI that are still brimming with loads and loads of olds(and other makes) goodies. i'm going to have to keep "the goldmine" yard info under my hat for the time being-there's just way too many treasures in there. it can be found, but you'll have to do the legwork.


bill

 

I should be a bit more clear this is what I have seen them list for . Now what they actually sell for I don't know
I picked up a three motors one for 50 bucks because it was cracked from not winterizing the boat witch had big valve ka heads so , yes there out there for cheap if you spend the time and hunt for them, but time is money no matter how you chop it up it might be cheaper to buy at a higher price and be done with it

 

Bill is right about there being several yards still left here in WI with 60's and 70's. But those are going fast as the owners grow older or go to the great beyond! The rest of the family only sees the money they can get if the whole thing is scraped or sold as a whole. A lot of yards have gone to the metal scrapers. I've been lucky finding parts or parts cars just hanging around peoples backyards. There either something they just parked and let sit or the "I'm going to fix it up one day". Kinda like my 67 Cutlass convertible that's been sitting in my shop for the last 5 years! Going to fix that up one day.

 

I've been wanting to ask this. In order from best to worst, how would you list all the Olds big block cylinder heads?

 

Yup. Sadly there are several trends all working against us. First, as these cars get older, there is less demand for the parts. A wrecking yard needs to maximize value per acre, and most only leave cars out on the yard for a few weeks before the carcass gets scrapped. What are the chances that the one guy who needs parts for a mid-60s car will be in the yard during the few weeks that the car is there? Second, wrecking yards in general are going away as land values go up (or as the neighbors who bought a new house next to a wrecking yard realize that, hey, there's a wrecking yard next to our house that needs to be shut down). Third, the raw material is drying up. These cars haven't been made for three or four decades. In addition, the internet has made it much easier to target interested buyers for cars, so far fewer old cars go to wrecking yards. Fourth is that it's more profitable to simply scrap old cars than to take the time to part them, especially if they are non-running since you can't easily sell a profitable engine or trans with a guarantee. Here in the DC area, scrap steel (and mixed metals) go for $100/1000 lbs. That's $350-$400 for a 1960s car. It's a lot more cost effective to just scrap them than to pay for the real estate (and environmental cleanup issues) to part them out.

 

By letters Do you mean performance, flow or price and availability?

 

For me DFCHG

 

Yeah..by letters and the performance.

 

What about E, K and J?

 

Where would A and k ,ka Ga be at

 

J good for paper weight lol

 

Bill Trovato claims the A heads are the best factory iron heads, in stock form.

For what it's worth, here's a flow comparison.

 

After looking at that flow chart, I've got to agree.