Cylinder head replacement

Hello!

I am currently nearing completion on a full restoration of my 1982 SIII county petrol and am going to change the cylinder head today.

The only problem which i am facing is the fact that I had a spare head lying around which I have fully reconditioned and had the seats hardened in which I am going to use.

My question however is this....

The re-con head came from a 3 main bearing engine where as my engine is a 5 main bearing block.

Apart from the little extra hole for a heater valve beside the thermostat housing and the different valve guides I can find no differences.

Am I correct and is it a good idea to use this head? (FULLY RECONDITIONED!!)

Thanks

Alan

Good question and sorry I don't know if they are interchangeable but it may be worth a try if nothing hits anything, also the head gasket is the same for both engines which must be a good sign.
I would look at the spares catalog and check out what the differences are between the two engines as this will point out the places to check.


BTW
If you cant use the head let me know how much you want for it as mine blows a gasket every couple of thousands miles.
Also that little hole next to heater housing on the recon head is for the Cold start sensor switch.

Regards
Clivees

Pretty sure they are the same. The older heads had a small thermal switch in that hole which connected through the yellow choke light to the switch on the choke cable. Cant remember if it was supposed to let you know if it needed choke or when to put the choke in. I'd buy the correct gasket and screws and either buy or make a blanking plate. You'll never notice if you paint it over.