1968 327 in a 75 stepside

[qwas37]

I have a 1975 stepside I bought with a 1968 327 in it. It has 083 heads with bent intake valves. I’ve done quite a bit of research and found these may have been used to increase compression, which makes me think that’s why the intake valves were kissing the top of the pistons. I’ve also read that the cam timing could’ve been off. wondering if these are compatible.
It has water getting into the number 2 cylinder And I’ve checked for cracks but could find none in the cylinder or head, no obvious leak past the head gasket. she started up and ran fine until it warmed up and steam would come out of the exhaust.
Quite a bit of work was done to this set up as it’s .60 over and the brackets were installed to accommodate a uni-belt, etc
what’s the question? Are the 083 heads and a 1968 327 block compatible.

 

[bucket]

Those are late model TPI heads. Not a fantastic head, but much better than the swirl port TBI heads of the same era, and also much better than the previous smog era heads.

However, they are definitely compatible with your 327.

 

[1lejohn]

I would think that your head gasket is bad at best case, or the head is warped worst case for water to get into the cylinder. You can check the deck of the block and the head surface with a machinist ruler.

 

[Ricko1966]

Yes those heads will work, I'd look at cam timing or the cam itself. As @bucket said not bad heads not great heads,but still a decent budget performance head for a stock head.

 

[bucket]

Also, if the valves had kissed the pistons, I would think there should be witness marks on the pistons.

 

[qwas37]

Thank you for your replies i’m not looking for big horsepower, just something strong to pull the old truck around. There is evidence of the intake valves hitting the top of the pistons as seen in this photo. Just enough to bend the valves slightly. I got a machinist rule and checked the deck on the block. I found no warpage there.
The old ranch truck is definitely a worthwhile endeavor as the minor rust it had has been replaced as well as the dash, seat and all rubber. It had a granny four speed in it, which was swapped out for a modern five speed overdrive Tranny. I’ve always been a fan of the 327 so I’m hoping I can just swap out the heads with a similar 083 and bolt it back together.
I’ve never adjusted cam timing, so that’ll be next in my research. thank you once again.

 

[Ricko1966]

You'll probably find a lot more 193s than 083s or 601s but despite all the bad mouthing people give 193s they are a great work truck dd head.better mpg and lowend torque. That's what thry were designed for, the swirl atomizer the fuel si burns better,so you use less ignition timing to light it off. The reduced timing means the piston isn't fighting ignition as long on the upstroke. It's minimum best timing. MBT. Everyone attributes the power and mpg of the the tbi trucks to the tbi,nope it's the tbi heads.

 

[Sgt Gus]

Great read. Could OP need to double check push rod length? If cam timing is off, would more than one piston show valve kiss or rods bent?

 

[Sgt Gus]

I also love those huge deck rear bumpers. Make a great seat when you just need to sit a spell.

 

[DoubleDingo]

Maybe my eyes are bad, I don't see any where the valves contacted the pistons. I'm going to go back and look again