"X" heads? How do I tell?

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tomcatx5

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I'm looking to buy another 360 to build. I've heard that "X" heads are the best if they can be found. I looked at an engine today that supposedly came out of a '71 pickup. It has a huge oil pan which leads me to believe it probably did come out of a truck. My question is how do I tell which heads it has? I read somewhere that if u remove The valve cover you can tell by the numbers stamped on the head by the #1 cylinder. I wrote them down and they were 3671587-8. Can anyone tell me by these numbers? What makes "X" heads so much better than any others? Are there any advantages to getting an engine from a truck or does it matter? Any and all help would be greatly appreciated,
 
If there is a J there ...it is a J head...if there is a U it is a U head....if there is a O there...It is an O head...

and if there is a Z there...it is a Z head......which all of the above are basically the same head...
 
X heads will have a big X on the side next to the spark plugs. X heads flow about the same or maybe a few CFM's better than the later late 1970 j heads and even the later smog heads. In other words don't waist your time and money on X heads unless your doing a resto on a car that had them originally, you won't feel the difference from a X head or a smog head with a 2.02 valve.
 
EL5DEMON340 said:
X heads will have a big X on the side next to the spark plugs. heads flow about the same or maybe a few CFM's better than the later late 1970 j heads and even the later smog heads. In other words don't waist your time and money on X heads unless your doing a resto on a car that had them originally, you won't feel the difference from a X head or a smog head with a 2.02 valve.
Click to expand...

Really this is the truth,

They are decent factory heads.
I bought an un-ported set off here, fresh valve job no cracks for $500.
I dye-floral pen them to double check for cracks no issues.
They are perfect match for my 340.
They are decent for a medium street car.

To buy a set and rebuild them, cheaper to buy newer better castings.
 
Thanks for the info everybody. What I'm trying to do is build a '68 dart w a 360 that I can take to the track and play on the street. Would I be better off buying a set of edelbrock heads off e-bay?
 
j head cut to 2.02 intake and bowled = 340 x head send your js to your local shop if any good craftsmen there or send them to indy for fair work get 2.02 arrow heads back 700 invested with a 1.88 j head
 
tomcatx5 said:
Thanks for the info everybody. What I'm trying to do is build a '68 dart w a 360 that I can take to the track and play on the street. Would I be better off buying a set of edelbrock heads off e-bay?
Click to expand...

What's your budget and goal?
 
3671587s came on 1973 to 1974 340s and 360s. These heads had 1.88 intake and 1.60 exhaust valves and are Js you can have them open up to 2.02 but the cost are high. You will need new valves,seats,maybe guides, I have over 700 in my Xs and I had the valves. take a look at the Js with 2.02/1.60 that I have on abodies for sell thread I also have some Xs done I will take 850 for. I'm just trying to show the cost dif. My ? to you is do you need 2.02 or would 1.88 work fine?
 
krazykuda said:
It's not very expensive to have the intake valves opened up to 2.02". I've had that done for years.
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It will cost at least 100 for the valves alone then 80 to 100 to have the heads serta cut for the 2.02 then a valve job, guides, seals, set spring height, and so on. here is a picture of a bill form 2001 and he had the valves. sounds like a lot of money to a poor country boy like me.
 

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Tbone416 said:
It will cost at least 100 for the valves alone then 80 to 100 to have the heads serta cut for the 2.02 then a valve job, guides, seals, set spring height, and so on. here is a picture of a bill form 2001 and he had the valves. sounds like a lot of money to a poor country boy like me.
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Ok, but if you consider that you are going to have to have the valve job done anyway. Ignore all of the guides, seals, springs, ets.

Just having the valves opened up typically costs $10 per hole.


I have a good head guy near Detroit airport that does good work out of his garage. I buy him new valves, springs, retainers, and locks. He installs hardened seats on the exhaust, checks for flatness, ports the heads, does all the machining, checks spring pressures, paints and bags them. Here's one batch of heads that he did for me...

View attachment Heads A02 B.jpg

Here's my stash of heads ready to go. Mostly 340/360 heads with 2.02's and a couple of small valve head sets for a 273...

View attachment My Heads A01 B.jpg
 
He also has a CnC program for these heads that will pull about 290cfm at 550 lift.
 
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