Why on earth would anybody pay a premium for "camel hump" heads?

[clutchdust]

I see ads on Craigslist every so often for the old "camel hump" heads. I know that back in the day they were the shit to have. But why on earth would anybody today spend the money to buy and then build a set of old iron heads like that when the basic aluminum Edelbrocks are twice as good for just a little more?
I suppose I understand it if someone is building a numbers-matching car or for some reason they don't want to go with that new-fangled aluminum technology. But for performance or plain old hot-rodding, I just don't see it.

 

[mrvette]

CD, join the club.....join the club.....there is a reeeeeeson this is called VETTE MOD.....

not vette reSTORE.......


:smash::surrender::rofl:

 

[DC3]

3 main reasons.

1) As you suggest, its a numbers matching thing.

2) Racing. Some race classes require stock heads.

3) Some people just want to build an old school motor. The previous owner of my '73 fit into this category. He had the engine built to be roughly equivalent to the early 70's LT1 engines. I'll probably be offering my camel hump heads for sale this winter as I plan to upgrade to better aftermarket heads.

DC

 

[phantomjock]

Got a set waiting here for offers! May need new valves/springs, and a clean up.

Weight in the wrong place, but may have some advantage to heat stress over AL heads.
Personally, I like the "Dyno/Weight" handicap approach NASA has. Reminds me of sailboat handicapping betweenr classes. Some of the NASA classes even permit some pretty wild VetteMod approaches too. (The Old Dame - SCCA is a bit more parochial.)

Cheers - Jim