head problem

[onebadmopar]

hi everyone i have a 69 charger 383 4bbl and i was goingto install some new plugs today upon installing them i noticed the one on the drivers side rear wasnt even there .. ive yet to start this car its been under a restoration .anyhow when i went to install the new plug the hole is to big in the head i got a flashlight and looked in the hole and saw what appears to be a threaded sleeve i was able to get some of it out with a pick but then i heard a clink looked back in the hole and the sleeve is gone down inside the motor the hole still has threads but the plug isnt big enough to thread into it now ..whats up with this i cant imagine chrylser installing threaded sleeves into the head.....i always thought they were threaded directly into the head

[Lurker]

someone prolly crossthreaded a plug in there at one time and either heli-coiled it or put the sleeve thing in your talkiing about, if its been sitting with no plug in it for any length of time that cylinder is prolly full of crap and rusty i would pull the heads and asses the damage before i bothered starting it. i have seen a lot of strange things find there way into an engine that sat without plugs like mice etc.

[onebadmopar]

then they all must have sleeves in them the plugs fit in every other cylinder except for the back one .. yeah i figured got to remove the heads now for sure to remove the metal that fell in ..... just another setback i guess ... now question is .. how hard is it lol

[onebadmopar]

yup its a helicoil pulled the head off ...40 minutes not bad for a novice ...found the rest of it sitting on my piston

[aifilaw]

a sleeved spark plug hole...genius

What casting are the heads....if they are 342's, 906's, 452's, or a few others... aside from maybe 516 or 915's I would toss them and pick up another pair from someone rather than use a set that had a spark plug hole heli-coiled as that will be a primary failing point due to its position close to the apex of a cylinder head between the ports.

[Hot_Rodder]

Sorry to hear about your set back. What casting heads are they anyway? Hopefully not one of the "better" casting heads that the factory put out. Hopefully it's only uphill from here for ya though

[onebadmopar]

i dropped both heads off at the cylinder head shop guys a friend of mine their gonna fix the plug hole and do a valve job on it for 200 bucks ...i didint think that was bad this motor is stock and i dont plan on doing much to it ( i did add an aluminum intake and a 750 edelbrock) would just like it to run decent till i can build a 440 not sure of the casting numbers since they have the heads i do know the motor is a 67 383 wich had a 2bbl so im sure their not desirable heads

[aifilaw]

I would question his ability to redo it...

in order to "fix" a cylinder head, you need to heat the whole darn thing up to about 600 degree's in an oven, and while it is that hot you have to be one hell of a good welder to get the exact metal matching done, fill in the whole, grind it flat, re-drill it, retap it.

This process typically costs the average joe about $400 and you'll be lucky if you find someone with the equipment and skill to do it right...because if it is not done right, you will have a crack/leak/rust/spark plug in your cylinder a month into driving it.

especially when for $200 you can get a used set of the same iron heads in good condition.

[onebadmopar]

i dont think their gonna weld it he showed me a peice that threads in then they knurl it over they tell me its as good as new but now you have me wondering im in north alabama not many mopars here so parts hard to find........ mostly chevy ford guys here

[Hot_Rodder]

i dont think their gonna weld it he showed me a peice that threads in then they knurl it over they tell me its as good as new but now you have me wondering im in north alabama not many mopars here so parts hard to find........ mostly chevy ford guys here

I hear ya, I'm right next door to ya in South GA. You don't see very many, if hardly any, Mopars around here, but I know better than that. There are some bad boy Mopars around here, they seem to be lurking about, some might say "hiding" I say "waiting" LOL. Anyway, There's a few known Hemi cars around here, including Hemi 'Cudas and Hemi Challengers , so.... Also a '68 Barracuda with one mean 440 (well more than 440 cid I'll bet ya) he's puching around 1000 horse power for the street... So... Like I said, they aint hiding, they waiting

[onebadmopar]

ive got a guy here in town with a 70 hemi cuda clone 70 charger r/t  71 hemi cuda conv and a 69dart hemi clone other than that dont see to many others

[onebadmopar]

got the casting number off the head .. its 240651640 least i thnik thats it ..also does anyone have a diagram on the tightening sequence and torque setting  for the heads .. or  where i could find one ..thanls

[aifilaw]

start from the center and work your way out alternating away from it.
for example:
1 2 3  4
5 6  7
8 9 10  11

if the bolts are like that you do it in this order:
6,2,10,3,9,1,4,8,11

I believe its 60 ft lbs, but it's been a while and I always forget stuff if I haven't done it. Someone else will chime in shortly.

[Chatt69chgr]

Doesn't the same head fit the B and RB engines?  I think that's the case.  And your 69 head would just be an open chambered head.  I would guess a 906.  You would be better off just going to the junkyard and picking up a set of 452's off a 76-78 C-body.  You should be able to score a set for a couple of hundred dollars and then you would have a good foundation to spend your $$ on-----plus, they have the induction hardened valve seats in the exhausts.

[aifilaw]

yes, the hardened valve seats are necessary for the budget buildup.

If it were me, I'd throw $2k at a new set of aluminum heads, but then I don't have $2k to spare either.