M&A Heads

[Renato Velati]

I have a couple of questions about M&A aluminum heads:
How many different castings were there?
How to tell the difference between castings?
What size valves did these heads come with?
Whats the general consensus on these heads?

Thanks.

 

[tta1240]

i think m&a had 3 stages of heads.
i have a set of stage 3 on my gn and love them.i have been told they are prone to cracking but have had no trouble with mine.

 

[Renato Velati]

Do you know how to tell the difference with the three different castings. Is there a casting # on yours to show that its a stage 3?
Thanks.

 

[tta1240]

mine have a stageIII stamped on them.

 

[Renato Velati]

Where exactly is the Stage III casted or stamped?

 

[Team Banana]

There is a pic of the where the stage 3 is marked in this post.http://www.turbobuick.com/forums/parts-sale/272612-m-heads-sale.html

 

[Renato Velati]

Thanks for the info.

 

[cruzn57]

upside down

but look it the intake side of the head

 

[xrunner123]

On bottom left it's stamped stage III AL

 

[Renato Velati]

Thanks to everyone who replied.

 

[1QWIK6]

i think m&a had 3 stages of heads.
i have a set of stage 3 on my gn and love them.i have been told they are prone to cracking but have had no trouble with mine.

Same here. Love em- never leaked or cracked.

 

[Alky V6]

There aren't 3 stages. All M&A heads are designated Stage III. I have a first generation set. It has the same Stage III marking.

 

[xrunner123]

There aren't 3 stages. All M&A heads are designated Stage III. I have a first generation set. It has the same Stage III marking.

So how do you tell?

 

[Alky V6]

So how do you tell?

I'm not sure what you're asking. How do I tell if it's marked with Stage III? It looks identical to the pictures that have already been posted.

 

[xrunner123]

I'm not sure what you're asking. How do I tell if it's marked with Stage III? It looks identical to the pictures that have already been posted.

I'm maybe confused. Correct me if I'm wrong. So all M&A heads are Stage III? No stage I and II? And there were 3 castings? With the third supposedly being the best. What's the difference with the terminology? . The original poster asked how many castings then someone said there were 3 stages made (implying castings).

So if there were 3 castings, how do you know what casting you have if the StageIII stamp is meaningless?

 

[Alky V6]

I'm maybe confused. Correct me if I'm wrong. So all M&A heads are Stage III? No stage I and II? And there were 3 castings? With the third supposedly being the best. What's the difference with the terminology? . The original poster asked how many castings then someone said there were 3 stages made (implying castings).

So if there were 3 castings, how do you know what casting you have if the StageIII stamp is meaningless?

You're thinking of production runs. I don't know how many production runs were done with these heads. When I bought mine brand new, I was told they were from the first production run. Buick has already used the term Stage I and Stage II for their heads. I think M&A just came up with Stage III for theirs. I don't know if there is anyway of telling which production run the different sets of heads are from.

 

[Underboost]

Remember with M&A Heads

1-You will need to grind the push rod holes so the new push rod doesn't rub on the head.
2-Get a good T&D or Jessel rocker arm setup. The stock rocker geometry is all screwed up.
3- $50 dollar gaskets or cut some chevy small block 0 ring gaskets to fit the valve covers.
4- you may need to machine 3 thou off the valve covers so the rocker arms don't click on them.

Or buy some champions and be done.

I love my M&A's now but damn what a "pita" getting them to work.

 

[Renato Velati]

Donnie, do you remember what year you bought them?

 

[Alky V6]

Donnie, do you remember what year you bought them?

It's been a long time. I'm not quite sure, but I believe the early to mid 90s. They sat in the box a long time before I got around to putting the first engine together.

 

[Renato Velati]

Donnie, did you run into any of the problems that Brent had with his heads, or any other problems.