Fellows, I will agree, yes, there were some "other" higher compression heads made and used by Chevrolet throughout the 53-62 run. Not all were "848" heads, some had other casting numbers, BUT for the sake of walking thru a bone yard and looking for a high compression head, you will never go wrong if you pull a head with the casting number ending in "848". If you want to look for others, fine, but considering we know the "848" head is the one we want and considering that the "848" head was a replacement head, maybe the only replacement head used by Chevrolet, I think that the "848" head is the animal you want to hunt. If it sez "848" on it, what else could you want? To go a step further, when I was last at the local bone yard, just walking thru, I saw about three or four of them on engines with the hoods raised up. They are easy to find and quick to recognize.
Regarding the 261 cam, yes it is the same cam used in the 53-54 Corvette 235 engine. The cam fits and works fine, BUT that cam is not the best choice out there, considering the fact that they are not that easy to come by without a partial engine tear down. Even in a 261, you can do better with several other aftermarket cams that will help your engine breathe even better and also give you a good rump-rump sound. I'm runing an Isky track cam in my engine. It sounds good and moves along nicely, especially with some higher RPM's. It's a good in town on the street cam because there is good low end power on it. It works very well on the road,also. There are some others out there that I don't have personal experience with, but Patrick sells them. Another I do like is a McGurk cam. True they don't make them any more, but the specs are available to have your stock 235 cam or 261 cam reground to match the McGurk specs. Very good performance and great rump-rump.
I'm sorry - I didn't mean to ramble, and I am just trying to help. I'll shut up now!
Joe
