After a unexpected bout of bad luck lately (on multiple levels) I am now in need of a different cylinder head for the 69 Skylark. It started with a simple 2 to 4 intake swap went bad due to auto shop (had them do the work since I had to remodel due to flooding) that worked on it tried to float the titanic with silicone (had to use engine hoist to remove intake!) and silicone unknowingly down in the bolt holes. A intake bolt snapped while torquing 1/8 below the surface and ensuing attempts to tap out the broken bolt resulted in the head turning into a paper weight. This is the worst possible time for such a issue to arise and our Skylark sedan is our backup vehicle. It ran great and a 4 barrel qjet upgrade would give some much needed fuel mileage and performance boost over that 2 barrel. I would like to be able to source a usable stock spec one to avoid having to rebuild any heads and reuse the stock 69 rockers, etc. I have a core 72 350 thats been indoors for decades, but something tells me they changed from 69 stock specs. This being my first Buick 350 (used to nailheads and 455s) I am not as well versed in the small block tech.
72 does not oil thru head. Can a machine shop repair the original head? Is you have a complete 72 , why not rebuild that or use both heads rockers,pushrods and get correct lifters. If the shop messed up head, the should be responsible for getting a replacement.
No the head is scrap. The 69 is a numbers matching car I got from the original family (same family passed down 4 generations) local car since new. The 72 needs a complete rebuild, but the heads should be usable. Can't I use TA hybrid adjustable rockers with the 72 heads to get the car back on the road so to speak or does that mean I need 70+ lifters as well?
You will need 70 and up lifters, otherwise there will be no oil to rockers. 68-69 lifters don’t usually have oil pump up hole . With all this work, you should test valves on other head/valves. I would mill them for a bump in compression. Considering all the added work going on might as well gain from it. Just my thoughts.
