I will do to maximize the effect. Im itching to rebuild it now. Shame it has to wait until next year. 

If you go for the aluminum heads go for the Mummert intake to go with them.

You should probably also get yourself a CD box to go with the ignition.

Great choice to go with Mummert heads.

That ECZ-A manifold is a teapot flanged intake and while it will suffice in normal driving, it’s way down the list as a power producing intake manifold.  Dyno testing those intakes finds them unresponsive to power production as a result of installing larger carbs.  Part of that has to do with the restrictive size of the throttle bores and ports and requires an adapter to use any of the modern carb designs.
 
The 1957-up ECZ-B manifold would be the logical choice for any of the modern carburetors and these outflow the earlier 'A' intakes by a bunch.  But even these intakes in stock form do respond nicely to enlarging the carb throttle bores and some work in the plenum area in which to free up some additional flow.  If the budget permits it, then the Blue Thunder and Mummert intake manifolds are the next step up in increasing the performance.

Lorena, Texas (South of Waco)

After spending hours last night trawling through the forum reading and learning..I will definitely be going for some Aluminium heads. The benefits are hugely worth it. At the moment for this year I just want tune it up and get it looking tidy. The plan is to rebuild it completely next year.

I really appreciate the input, the knowledge base available here is phenomenal.

The reason I suggest domed pistons is because milling alone will not get compression up to where it really needs to be, particularly if a bigger than stock aftermarket cam is used.  Best case on a .060 over 292 with the ECL-C heads should be about 8.3:1 without dome pistons.  Dome pistons  will also allow only a clean up cut to be made to the heads, helping to ensure the integrity of the deck surface.



Lawrenceville, GA

What distributor is in the engine?  There's the up to 1956 & then 57 & later. The up to1956 is designed to match the original carbs & is vacuum advance only. It won't work properly with those 57 & later carbs!. (this issue has been on going for years!)  Might explain the back firing etc?. And the reason you got the wrong points maybe?. The early one is easily I.D. by having the advance springs easily seen on "top" of the advance plate.. Those heads have the same intake valves & the same compression approx as 1956 passenger "C" heads. Not the best, but for a truck engine, with proper tune will be o.k.   U could also have them milled some, rather than expensive domed pistons. A ''B" intake for the later carbs would be good, but it's not necessary.  Depends on what you want to do? Just spruce it up some or do U intend to rebuild it completely, with some mods? .. If the engine seems good, with limited funds, best go with it.. A complete redo with mods, unfortunately, can not come cheap..   


Paul

It currently has an adapter and is running a Holley 4160 600cfm.  Im removing this at the moment for a few reasons;

1. I feel its too big for the motor in its current state of tune, so i have just bought a brand new 500cfm Edelbrock.  
2. It came fitted but seems in poor condition, the vacuum tube was missing for the secondary's (i have only realised and connected this back up today), it had electric choke but it wasnt/isnt connected and appears to be missing parts.
3. The float bowls were sticking, which i have sorted but it is in need of a rebuild etc.  I have a kit for it, i may rebuild it to help to learn more about carbs and then store it.

At the moment the engine seems to run relatively well in that it pulls well early on and sounds fine but it definitely isn't right. It doesnt seem to want to rev above 3600rpm and i am having issues with occasional hesitation and backfiring. It quickly clears and then proceeds to pull fine, this usually occurs on gear change.

I had the distributor looked at recently, the points and timing were adjusted as it was very hard to start when hot (it now starts fine).  I was told then at the time the points are corroded and need changing, I did order new points, condenser, a rotor arm and cap but when the parts arrived they didn't fit. 

Instead of sticking with it, I have ordere'd one of these electronic kits
 

Full Details EBAY

Not sure if this was a bad idea or not?

I have also order'd a bunch of new gaskets, water pump and various other bits that will allow me to tear into it a little and see what is what and gauge what overall condition it is in right now.  I did consider de-coking the engine but on second thoughts I am worried that it is quite worn and de-coking will kill the compression etc. 

The B intake has all the points you mention, plus require 57 on distributor.



  AussieBill            YYYY    Forever Y Block     YYYY

 Down Under, Australia

Your engine is a great starting point.

The parts you choose depend on your goal.  Since it is a runner, you know how it is now and can develop some idea about how much more you want out of it.

The heads certainly are not ideal for the most performance but you can do very basic gasket matching and port clean up at home for very little cost.
The intake is a good one.  You can do the same gasket match and cleanup on it.  If you want to use a newer carb, adapter plates are readily available. The B intake is better all around but at the price they tend to go for now, maybe not worth the money for your goals.

Use domed pistons to get the compression up.  Don't worry about premium fuel cost.  The increase in efficiency should negate that additional cost at the pump.
Get an aftermarket cam.  Which one will depend on your goals.
No matter what type of carb you use, get a rebuilt '57 and newer distributor.  If you use a '57 or newer carb (square bore) there should be no issues at all. If you use a '56 or older carb, just don't use the vacuum advance.

Last but not least, tune it.  If you don't know how, learn.  Ask questions and youtube is your friend.  There is no such thing as a ready to run carburetor.  I know they like to say so but it is not true.  And the distributor most likely will not be ideal out of the box.

All of that together should produce a nice, noticeable improvement over what it is now.




Lawrenceville, GA