Just out of curiosity does any one have flow numbers for stock or modified 371 #14 heads?
If not 14 heads any first gen heads other than 303?

 

Thats a good question. I have never known that anyone has flowed them.

 

Chuckle, some how that doesn't surprise me. I am loving what I am learning with this motor. Picking up my cam from Camcraft on Monday and am trying to figure HP possible with these heads. I may bite the bullet and have mine flow tested.

 

Well, be a pal and let us know how they fetch up. Inquiring minds and all that ...

 

Did you meet Hunter ? They seem like real nice folks.

I have to say, I am learning a few things about the 57-58 371's. The ONLY place that I know of may have flowed a #14 or #16 head would be Tony at Ross Racing Engines. Tony built the "World's Fastest 371".

Now, to qualify what I remember.......... The "371 block" was fabricated from a billet of 6061 or 7075 aluminum on a 4 or 5 axis CNC in his shop. The engine was blown and injected, ran on Nitro and alcohol in a dragster chassis. I don't remember what heads he used.
I do know that he has a few sets of aluminum 57-58 371 cylinder heads cast. If I remember correctly, he wanted about $3300 a pair about 5 years ago. I would think he has flow numbers on those heads. He "claimed" they were good for 50 or more horsepower over the stock heads. I would think he has the flow numbers on those heads. I have considered buying a pair for one of my 371's.

 

First, I have not met Hunter yet. We will be in that part of the state this weekend and will stop by the shop on Monday. He thinks he can keep my roller cam close to original iskenderian specs. His cam doctor showed the specs I got fron Ron Iskenderian to be exact.
I have talked to Tony about heads but didn't think to ask about flow numbers. That's a great suggestion and I will ask when I talk to him again. The heads he has are around 3500 now. I was tempted because I will probably have close to 2000 in mine by the time I am done. All my head parts are coming from Tony. If my heads weren't ported and polished it would have been a no-brainer.

 

Were the $3500 heads ready to run or just castings ?

 

I thought ready to run fully dressed.

 

Stopped br Camcraft to pick up my Isky roller he rescued for me. Lift is slightly higher at 460 at the valve and lobe separation shorter. I am tickled with what he did. Hunter is a super nice guy and spent time with me in the shop. I would highly recommend him for any cam work. Since he has the blanks I think he is the go to guy for our engines. He may be the source for brown paper early Oldsmobile engines.

 

I have talked to Hunter a few times and I have been impressed. I think Camcraft Cams is my preferred place for my 57 Olds camshafts. I think they may have better quality cam blanks than the "big name" cam companies.

 

It is a small shop so each cam is "hand" done not machine programmed. It is truly the heart of America type of operation.
I picked up the pieces to CC my heads and see how close they are to the NHRA
specs. They were polished so that may have a small effect. I got my J2 manifold back from the powder coater and it is now obvious they had gasket matched it also.

 

It would be interesting to know where and who the engine came from.

 

I figure it was built in the late 50's or early 60's because of some of the choices. It had a 50 olds 3 spd instead of a 4spd. They didn't spare any expense on the engine, so to my mind, would have used a 4spd if common.
I bought it out of Southern VA, where the car had been stored for years. Based on burnt exhaust valves I am not convinced they had it dialed in. It was strong enough to strip the clutch disc which is why it was parked.

 

Gasket matching the heads and intake and roller cam with "Rev Kit" tell me that "someone" was very knowledgeable. These things go beyond the "back yard mechanic" stuff. There is a "story" behind the car and engine that would be interesting to find out.

Three speed transmissions were the best you could do with those engines, back then. 1964-65-66 (mid 60's) was when four speeds started becoming commonly available. By then, why go to all the work of adapting a four speed when you could go out and buy a newer car and the work was already done and you have a newer, more modern, higher horsepower engine. Street rodders would have been the last bastion for the J-2.

Look over the connecting rods, that could be a weak spot. There might be "H beam" rods available that could replace the stock rods. If not, polishing the beams, shotpeening them to .010-014"A, resizing them and new pins would be a bare minimum.

Once you check bearing journals, you may want to check out Calico Coatings in Denver, NC. JPL67 had them coat bearings for his Dad's J-2. I haven't used their service yet, but I have talked to them.
https://www.calicocoatings.com/index.php

 

I CC'd two combustion chambers today. I did one in each head to check consistency. Each chamber came in at 85 CC's which is greater than the NHRA specs. That probably helped with the compression ratio with the domed pistons.

I am starting to believe this engine started life in a different car than I bought it out of.

What did he have coated?

 

The NHRA Specs are minimum cc's. All production heads have greater volumes from the factory. Be sure to measure the head gasket thickness. I am guessing that it takes about .005" machining to change 1 cc. Use one of those online compression ratio calculators online for better accuracy.

JPL67 had the bearings coated. He also had the valve lifters polished. The coating reduces oil clearance about .0005" per surface...... that would be .001" on a diameter.
(704) 483-2202 Calico Coatings Denver, NC. You should call them up to chat about costs and advantages. I was thinking turn around time was short and cost was not bad. It was extra dry start up protection til the oil starts flowing good. You have to figure the .001" into your clearances.

I forgot to ask, but coating the camshaft lobes and journals might be something to try.