[1968Motion427SSNova]

I was thinking about this and wondered why GM never offered this option on the 1969 Copo 427/425HP 11 to 1 Cast iron block Camaros and Chevelles. It would of saved 85LBs of dead weight off the front end and top end of motor would of ran cooler.Any thoughs on this?

[dyno jonn]

I do believe it was actually offered, but just may be that very few (or none) were ordered that way.

I just checked and Chevrolet records show 311 L89 427's were ordered in 1969.

** Big error on that 311 number. Evidently the 311 aluminum headed engines were all on 375 horse 396's, not on 427's. My bad. **

[Eleanor's Nemesis]

Originally Posted by 1968Motion427SSNova

I was thinking about this and wondered why GM never offered this option on the 1969 Copo 427/425HP 11 to 1 Cast iron block Camaros and Chevelles. It would of saved 85LBs of dead weight off the front end and top end of motor would of ran cooler.Any thoughs on this?

I'm thinking the cost would be a factor-the AL headed 396 wasn't a big seller and iirc it had a pretty big price tag.

Those AL head castings weren't that great in terms of quality. I worked in a race shop in the mid 1980's and we had a few of those OEM AL heads come in....there were porosity issues and many had broken the rocker stud bosses.

The '69 Chevelle with the 427/425 was basically a creation by Vince Piggins so Chevy would have a competitive car in Super Stock D in NHRA.....that is what some fellow stock eliminator racers have said. The Stock and Super Stock classes are determined by weight to HP and used the OEM ratings, at least for a while. The high HP Vettes and Camaros were already in classes A-B-C.....so D would be the perfect fit for the heavier Chevelle.

The AL heads on the Chevelle may have put it in 'C' due to the weight reduction.

[Ls6racer]

i just did this conversion on my '68 L78. i had read that it was 78 lbs lighter. my actual weight number was 77 lbs. (about the weight of one iron head)

[1968Motion427SSNova]

I love the look of the Old GM Aluminum Heads whether 842's or open chamber 3946074 119cc ZL1/L88 427 12 1/2 to 1 Heads,,, just plan Cooooool looking!! Too bad GM didn't put the 842's on the 427 Chevelles!! What class was a 1968 or 1969 Camaro 396/375HP L89 running in back then??

[Eleanor's Nemesis]

Originally Posted by 1968Motion427SSNova

I love the look of the Old GM Aluminum Heads whether 842's or open chamber 3946074 119cc ZL1/L88 427 12 1/2 to 1 Heads,,, just plan Cooooool looking!! Too bad GM didn't put the 842's on the 427 Chevelles!! What class was a 1968 or 1969 Camaro 396/375HP L89 running in back then??

Bill Jenkins was running a '68 396/375 AL head engine back in '68 iirc, and it was in SS/C.

In a few weeks I'm going to be picking up such a super stocker

A '68 396 AL head combination has a 'natural' classification of D. According to the rules the weight can be adjusted so the car can run in C at 2963 pounds including driver. Same car can be raced in D at 3162, or E at 3361. This is a 4 speed only combo, no automatics.

The '69 with the same engine is a natural E car.....can race in D at 3162, E at 3361, or F at 3560. Either a 4 speed manual or automatic is allowed for the '69.

[1968Motion427SSNova]

Michael thanks for the info.Like the part on the 68 396/375 L89 cars,4 speeds Only! Hey was that class allowed for a 68 Chevy 2 Nova SS396/375 4 speed if the owner put the 842's on??In these classes were you allowed to go to say the more radical L88 cam?? Dan

[1968Motion427SSNova]

Michael , You found a old Vintage SuperStock 1968 Camaro???

[Eleanor's Nemesis]

Originally Posted by 1968Motion427SSNova

Michael thanks for the info.Like the part on the 68 396/375 L89 cars,4 speeds Only! Hey was that class allowed for a 68 Chevy 2 Nova SS396/375 4 speed if the owner put the 842's on??In these classes were you allowed to go to say the more radical L88 cam?? Dan

Dan, If the Nova came with the 396 AL head engine from GM- and not a dealer option-then it should be in the NHRA Class guides. I've never seen one at the races but that does not mean they don't exist.

In NHRA Super Stock you can run any camshaft and valvetrain so long as the valve angles are essentially stock and the stock size and weight valves are used.

Typically a 396 super stock engine will have a full rollerized valve train with .750 inch lift or bigger at the valve. Usually shaft style rockers like JESEL or T&D are used with a JESEL belt drive.

The 842 head, if it was offered by the factory in 1968 and is in the engine blueprint guides, is acceptable for use. For several years now NHRA has permitted the '401' aftermarket head produced by Edelbrock for GM to be used.

The cc's of the heads must remain factory, but the heads can have the ports moved and shaped. This gets very creative and the headwork is like a masterpiece. Typically the port floors either get welded up or filled with epoxy while the ports are raised and moved to promote better airflow.
The head work gets taken to the point where it isn't all that unusual to find water 'weeping' into the ports. Some guys drain the water out of the engine after a day of racing to avoid contamination.

[Eleanor's Nemesis]

Originally Posted by 1968Motion427SSNova

Michael , You found a old Vintage SuperStock 1968 Camaro???

I don't think it is 'vintage' from back in the day but it has been around for a while. When I pick it up I will find out more about the history of the car-I know where it was in the early 2000's and was a race car then. Held the record in SS/E in 2004-5.

[1968Motion427SSNova]

Michael I was reading a Old Muscle car magazine from 1973 and they showed the D port exhaust ports were the hot set up. Air Flow was well known for porting Aluminun Heads. Theres a member on this site who has a set of 1971 074s Air Flows used on a 1969 427 Camaro raced at ET Raceway Park NJ. Did you ever Dragrace at the "Rock" in NC? Let me know about the history of that 68 SS/E Camaro your buying.Maybe its a old dragcar from the early 70's. Does it have a Dana 60? Slapper Bars? Original 4 Speed?

[bcm66]

As far as I know, the 842 aluminum heads were only used on the following...
1968 and early 1969 Camaro 396/375 hp L89
1968 Corvette 427/430 hp L88
1968 and early 1969 Corvette 427/435 hp L89
1969 Chevelle (early) 396/375 hp L89

In 1969, the 074 heads were originally only on the following
1969 Camaro 427/430 hp ZL1
1969 Corvette 427/430 hp L88
1969 Corvette 427/435 hp ZL1

The 074s were used into the early 70s and were available later than that over the counter.

I have a set ready to bolt on. They were just checked over last week and are good to go. Like most of these, they were used hard and do have some repairs. They are not that hard to fix. The porosity on the ones I have is not bad at all.

[Eleanor's Nemesis]

Originally Posted by 1968Motion427SSNova

Michael I was reading a Old Muscle car magazine from 1973 and they showed the D port exhaust ports were the hot set up. Air Flow was well known for porting Aluminun Heads. Theres a member on this site who has a set of 1971 074s Air Flows used on a 1969 427 Camaro raced at ET Raceway Park NJ. Did you ever Dragrace at the "Rock" in NC? Let me know about the history of that 68 SS/E Camaro your buying.Maybe its a old dragcar from the early 70's. Does it have a Dana 60? Slapper Bars? Original 4 Speed?

I have raced many times at The Rock, but never in a IHRA or NHRA sactioned race, or Super Chevy. Just regular bracket races but that will change next year if the IHRA has Rockingham on the schedule.

Not many people use Dana 60 rears anymore, at least in performance based classes due to the weight. The car I'm picking up has a 9 inch with a 4-link. Almost nobody uses the original types transmissions anymore-this car has a Jerico transmission.

The OEM stuff back in the day was prone to breaking a lot. Over the years better and more reliable parts were created and the sactioning body accepted them to replace the OEM stuff.

Once I have the car I will start a thread here at TC as I make test and tune runs and embark on my racing schedule for 2013. I'll be at quite a few NHRA and IHRA races this year and even more in 2014.

I also race a 1968 Caprice(2 door coupe) in Stock Eliminator....parked the car last year but I will have it out again in 2013. It's a 327-250 HP 3 speed automatic w/ 12 bolt, runs in O/SA and P/SA.

[1968Motion427SSNova]

Koool! Let me know if that 68 had a 1 piece fiberglass nose with a 1 piece snokel scoop. Did it have Super Tricks? Its a long shot but I've been chasing a Special SS Camaro for 10 years now. If you wanna take this off line send me a email at chevyiimuchpa(removefirst)@msn.com.....You do know the Rock Open sometime in late 1969. Brooklyn Heavy's Motion Vette ran there in 1970!!!!

[Eleanor's Nemesis]

I have talked to the current owner of course and the guy that drove the car for the owner before him, nobody said anything about a fiberglass nose or a snorkel scoop...none of that would be legal in super stock. Might have been in a Gas class or something like that.

The car had Weld Draglites which come separately with the car, currently has Weld Alumastars.

Been going to the Rock since 1985, love the place.