850-T heads on a Eldorado motor?

[Rafael]

Has anybody replaced eldo heads with the tonti 850 heads? Do the eldo OE exhaust manifolds still work without modification?

thanks for any info.

[Greg Bender]

I've replaced the heads on my Ambassador with heads from a G5 (essentially an identical replacement to what you are asking about). The OE header pipes must be altered to remove the portion that extends past the flange. Then, you adapt or roll-your-own spacer that will fit between the clamp and the flange on the header pipe.

You will also need to consider the rocker arm differences between the Eldorado and 850T heads. IIRC, the heads on the 850T have the push rod holes moved further away from the cylinder bore (looking ahead to larger bores). I think you need to use the rocker arms from the 850T. You would also be wise to carefully check to make sure the push rods do not rub within the push rod tunnels.

In sum, it is all very doable with just a bit of effort and checking.

Hope this helps!

Regards,

Gregory Bender

[Rafael]

Hi Greg,

Yes, that info is helpful. I have the T rockers so so no worries there. Do you remember having to change the push rods? I wonder if going to tonti headers would be easier than modifying the eldo headers - the connection point to the crossover may be different.


thanks again, Rafael

[Greg Bender]

I kept my Ambassador push rods because the bottom tip (where they interface with the tappet buckets) is different. The top cup (where they interface with the adjustment ball on the rocker arm) is the same, IIRC.