'56 PP heads on a '57 283?

I'm putting together a '57 283 short block for a project and I have a pair of '60 power pack heads that I was going to throw on it. Ulitimately, I would really rather have a pair with staggered vc bolt heads that would better match the era of the short block. I have found a pair of '56 265 PP (4bbl.) heads for sale, but I need to know if they would be a good match for the 283. I know some of the 265 stuff had tiny ports and such. Are the '56 heads the same as '57 or are they a different animal. Sorry I don't have the casting numbers on hand at the moment. Thanks in advance!

 

They'll work just fine.

 

Are they the same PP head as used on the '57 motors?

 

Looks like the casting is 3725306 on the '56 heads

 

The '56 heads all have smaller ports than the '57 heads, a ported set of '56 heads are about as good as a stock pair of '57 heads generally speaking.

For a mild street 283 the '56 heads will work fine.

 

Thanks for the info! It does look as though these heads will have smaller ports than the later ones that I have. Will I have any trouble with the intake manifold matching up? This motor is getting an edelbrock tripower manifold.

 

You might be better off using the '60 heads with the Edelbrock intake.

I've read about difficulty sealing intakes up to the 265 heads when using the later intakes with larger ports.

 

Ya, I'm thinking that it is a big backwards step just to have staggered vc bolts. Guess I'll have to keep an eye out for some affordable 57-59 283 PP heads.

 

62-64 single hump 283-327 250 hp heads will work.60 cc chamber,the smaller valves like the other PP heads,no bolt holes on the end.It's an #896 casting number. I just scrapped a nice set,no one wants them.