I would not give up on that head if, as you say it's not cracked. They usually crack between the exhaust port and the intake port up the side of the combustion chamber. I have an 848 head that's been milled a moderate amount to make sure it's flat and the quench area around the intake valve is noticeably diminished. The head is on a 261 which should give 9.2:1 + a little from milling. It runs fine on regular gas. I have a hotter than stock cam and checked the intake valve clearance to be 0.050 at minimum. I don't think your blueing is caused by high compression ratio. Probably lean mixture is the culprit. Cut the valve seats back enough to protect the intake valve and set the seat contact at the outer edge. That helps keep the edges cool. Also make sure the intake valves aren't too thin at the edges. I have cut the edges back a little to eliminate thin edges on motorcycle racing engines with no shrouding and had them survive a whole season's racing.

Measure your valve clearance with one cylinder assembled on a used head gasket. If you get 0.050 I'd say you're good to go.


1951 3800 1-ton
"Earning its keep from the get-go"
In the DITY Gallery
1962 261 (w/cam, Fenton headers, 2 carbs, MSD ign.), SM420 & Brown-Lipe 6231A 3spd aux. trans, stock axles & brakes. Owned since 1971.