Slant Six head swap?

SpriceyStuff said
Hey guys. I got a (maybe not so)crazy idea. I have a late model slant six in my car (77), and I have an earlier model engine laying around. One thing I hate about the new cylinder head design is the spark plug arrangement. I find it harder to work with with the plugs all facing at an angle instead of perpendicular to the head. But I also don’t like that the new heads are open chamber and low compression. Has anyone here tried swapping an older head onto a newer motor and know if the bolts and holes will line up or if there will be any other issues like water jackets and oil galleys not lining up? I like the idea of boosting compression but I don’t want to just haphazardly slap a different head on there and have it be catastrophic to the engine…

The actual swap itself is no problem, it will bolt on. Speaking from personal experience, bolting a new head with higher compression onto an old warn motor is not a good idea. It is the only time I ever have shot a rod through the block was after I shaved my head .100 and swapped it on my 60,000 original miles slant. I think it was just too much for the old motor. I’m going to be pulling the rebuilt slant six out of my car, has about 30,000 miles on the rebuild. 1974 block, 1974 head all the good stuff. The carb needs to be gone through , modern gas is killing all the seals after three years. It’s yours for free if you can pick it up in Lacey.