Head casting 3758379

Deadwolf

Well Known Member
I'm picking up my 348 and while the heads are removed I am getting the heads with it, actually I am getting everything from carb and distributor to exhaust manifolds and oil pan. The casting number on the heads is 3758379. Looking up info on them and it doesn't look like they breath very well and I can't find any builds so far that have used them. Can these heads be worked on to make some power or are they best kept as far to the rear of the trunk of the car to assist in transferring power to the rear wheels?

Also getting a 4 barrel intake with a casting number of 3732757. I am pretty set on some kind of multi carb intake set up, but is this intake worth anything more than scrap iron going rate? I've thought about budget building with this at first and then later changing to a multi carb set up, mainly to funnel money into quality things that are hard to change later such as crank, pistons, rings, and rods. Top end parts can be swapped out in a weekend.

Looking at the date codes and casting numbers this would have been a date code correct 59 passenger car 348.
 

models916

Well Known Member
Supporting Member 7
379 heads can't flow to make a lot of HP without lots of work. Money better spent is 333 head. Cheap and fairly easy to find and bigger ports and valves. Heads are important and you should plan the build around them. That intake is stock 250 hp from 58 I think? Edelbrock and Offenhauser make small port 2x4 intakes.
 

Don Jacks

Well Seasoned Member
Supporting Member 3
If you're looking for power,I wouldn't use them,intake and exhaust manifolds included.As Mike said 333's with bigger valves or 817's work much better.If you're planning on two 4bbls.,you can go with Edelbrock or Offy,if you want single 4 bbl.,use the Edelbrock.
 

303Radar

Well Known Member
Supporting Member 2
Or you can get some really nice looking heads from Bob Walla!
I won't say cheap, but I will say worth the money, especially since they can be ordered ready to install.
 

Deadwolf

Well Known Member
Or you can get some really nice looking heads from Bob Walla!
I won't say cheap, but I will say worth the money, especially since they can be ordered ready to install.

Yea, with only shooting for 425 HP I'm hoping to keep my whole engine build under the cost of those $12,000+ heads.
 

Don Jacks

Well Seasoned Member
Supporting Member 3
I suggest that you look for a set of 817 cyl.heads,use the stock size 2.06 in.-1.72ex.valves,bowl blend the valve pockets,the K-B Icon 10.5 forged piston,and a hyd.roller cam in the 218 in.-224 ex range with a lobe center of 112,intake centerline of 106,an Edelbrock single 4bbl. intake,a 750 carb.,and small tube headers[FORGET exhaust manifolds,you won't get even close with them].As to the cam,a Lunati 2110711 big block grind on a W cam blank will be really good here.Since they are going to do a "custom grind" in essance,have them grind it with a lobe lift of.323 instead of the .338 they normally use.This will give you a valve lift of.550 if you use 1.7 roller rockers.Unless you pay too much for the core engine,you should wind up in the 7,000-7500 dollar range in this engine,and it should put down right at 425 hp at about 6100,on pump 93 octane fuel.I would not use a BIG PORT head[Eddie,Walla,or factory 690 or 583 head on a stock stroke 348 street engine,they're simpilly too big.
 
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Deadwolf

Well Known Member
I doubt you will make 425 hp with a stock stroke 348 no matter what head you use. I used the 379 head on my 348 build, ported them myself. Ran with three two's, made decent hp. Car ran mid 14's

Actually this is a topic I was going to start a post on once I got the engine.

I'm open to ideas for making my HP numbers with this engine. While I don't want to cut corners I am trying to build something that has a street able 400-450 HP on pump gas max 91 octane. I was thinking of either doing a 380 stroker or go all the way to the 434 as the closer I am to the 1 HP per cubic inch the easier it is to build the motor. If I can get more out of it without significantly increasing cost all the better.

I want to get my plan together this year and make it my project for next winter. Hoping to document prices and as a relative novice with these motors show what can be done without taking a second mortgage out on the home or having a personal machine shop in my home. Just an everyday guy with the idea to upgrade his 63 impalas 283 to a fake 409 without breaking the bank.

My first question is if you can find a good used 454 crank and BBC rods do you really save a significant amount of money machining the crank down and re-qualifying the rods for use? What are my options for stroker kits? It looks like Eagle has a cheaper kit while Scat is the more expensive, other options or should I avoid either of these?
 

Fathead Racing

Well Known Member
Supporting Member 7
I would save up the extra money and go with the Scat crank and rods. Pistons are next, whatever you end up with go with forged. The bottom line is, quality aftermarket parts are expensive. There is no such thing as a cheap stroker. You can look for better prices but it's still going to hurt. If you try and piece together a stroker engine with cast crank and cheap pistons etc, your just setting up for failure. If you have to build the engine twice what are you saving? I've been through all of this. Whenever I tried cheaping out it came back and bit me in the ass. My first W was a 348 three two engine. I built that engine three times and each time built it better. Last build yielded a little screamer. With 4:11 rear gear, 700R4 tranny and reworked carbs I was taking on and holding my own against some big blocks. Like I said in another post, car would run mid 14's all day long. I wasn't just popping the tires in second I was turning them for ten feet. And that was in a 4250 lb. 60 Chevy Impala!
 

boxerdog

Well Known Member
Supporting Member 5
I'm with Fathead on this one, and I have done several different 348 combos. Before you know it, you will have a sizable investment in crank, rods, and pistons. I'd shop around and get the whole Scat setup as cheap as I could find it. Then you could also shop for some big-port heads and you'd have some options as far as iron or aluminum. In my opinion this setup has a lot of advantages over a stock 409. Around 440 inches, longer rods, lighter pistons. Pretty sure it can be done under budget.
 

Deadwolf

Well Known Member
If you must have a stroker use a 409 crank it's a bolt in.

Isn't the scat set up pretty much a bolt in affair? Price wise if I go with new parts a 409 crank and rods with new pistons is not any cheaper than doing the scat 434. If I found a good used 409 crank it might save me a little up front, but is that combo going to make my HP range and drivability requirements? Otherwise if I go new and the price is the same for the 380 set up and the 434 set up why wouldn't I want the extra 50+ cubic inches? Keep in mind this is all going for a street car not a race engine that will be turning 7500 + RPM.


does your block have spark plug cooling holes. casting #

Block 3755011 - L2259 (single notch car block) At least for now, I've offered to possibly trade someone trying to build a numbers matching 1960 impala as long as it doesn't put me out. The engine came pretty well complete with valve covers, intake, the heads brought up in this post, oil pan, water pump, distributer, timing chain cover, and carb. The block is factory bore size, but has a pretty nice size ridge. The crank turns and the pistons all move smoothly up and down the bores. Biggest think I saw visually is minor surface rust in the lifter bores. Supposedly the guy I got it from has had it sitting in his garage tore down to just a block, crank, rods, and pistons for the last 10 years looking for something to use it in and recently realized he has too many projects as it is. Surprised you didn't look it over considering it came form Centerline, MI over near Detroit. Not sure if I over or under paid, but I got it all for $800. I guess I will know for sure once I get it to a machine shop and tested.
 

Don Jacks

Well Seasoned Member
Supporting Member 3
:yup Sell the 379 heads as they will be too restrictive for a 4 inch stroked engine.Also if you get the stroker kit from Show Cars,it will need to be balanced.As a street engine,it will be tough to beat as it will be a monster torquer.You should,with this many cubic inches.use a large port head of some kind.
 

Deadwolf

Well Known Member
I've also found a Show-cars 348 Forged Stroker Complete Master plus Re-build kit. It doesn't give me who makes the forged crank or the KB 4" piston compression. (It looks like they have their part numbers mixed up and the 7815 crank is actually the eagle 6097 and the pistons are ICON 10.8-1) I am guessing they allow the buyer to pick a cam profile and what size stainless valves they want. I'm thinking if this is a good base to start with it. Then I need to shop around for a better set of heads, which brings up another question. Since I currently do not have a good set of heads will it be cheaper to find say a 333 casting and have them machined or should I save myself the trouble of working with used parts and bite the bullet on the Edelbrock heads? With this said I've also heard that for the street a good iron head is better than Aluminum, not sure of the validity of that statement though.
  • 348 Forged Stroker Complete Master Plus Re-build kit
  • 7815 4" forged crank Ea $950.00
    6097 KB 4" Stroker Pistons Set $529.00
    8162 Moly Rings Set $98.12
    5343TR True Roller timing set Set $49.12
    1085 Cam Bearings Set $29.50
    6733 Main Bearings Set $139.00
    3342A Rod Bearings Set $26.50
    0901 Hydraulic Cam Ea $126.90
    3327 Hydraulic lifters Set $44.95
    Stainless Steel Valves Set $159.60
    2298 5/16 Push Rods Set 49.95
    3345A Standard Oil Pump Ea $25.99
    3211 Oil Pump Shaft Ea $12.50
    3345C Oil Pump pick up tube Ea $19.95
    4033A Freeze Plugs Set $11.50
    7445 Gasket set Set $100.98
    5930 Engine Re-build pak Free
  • TOTAL... $2083.55
 
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