i just found a pair of heads for my sbc 400 and he says the heads have just been redone and the heads have pooted cut for 1.5" springs. I'am not sure what that means. i also found a set of Hump back heads(?) with 2.02 intake and says they have been port and polished, but need to have the steam holes drilled. would humpback heads work? which is beter heads?

 

those camel hump heads are good, maybe get the casting #'s and post them?

 

Personally I wouldn't buy anything that said they were ported and polished without flow bench numbers. It simply means they went in the runners with a cartrige roll or carbide burr and opened up the runners to flow more air. The problem is some people think there Ace Headporter and have no numbers to back it up. In reality most people do more harm than good. BTW a flow bench is a way of measuring airflow through the port, usually in CFM.

The 1.5 springs are for motors with roller cams or serious lift. More likely roller. The roller lifter wieghs more than a flat tappet and needs a larger (bigger diameter and stiffer) springs. The stock spring is 1.250 outside diameter ( OD ) Just putting a stiffer spring on a regular cam can break rocker arms and wear the lobe right off the cam.

Camel humps are OLD tech. Its odd how many camel backs are out there now days. Seams like people are selling anything as camel humps. Truth is most people couldn't identify one if it was on there kitchen table. If I had nothing else than you bet your but I'd run them. But this particular set of heads sound like they need more money to make them useable for you. Stick with yours or save for the right deal to come along.

 

I agree with Damon. If you don't know what a proper port job looks like, it's best to pass, or get a head guy to check them first. Some people relieve too much around the valve stem guides and if too much of the hump is removed for flow you'll end up with poor valve stem support and premature failure.
A little clean up and polishing wont hurt a thing, if they just match ports and clean the runners. I've done that on every head I owned, and it always works well. Just no reason to do more unless you've got a flow bench to test your results.