http://i159.photobucket.com/albums/t130/leejoy1/nova/pdrm2903.jpghttp://i159.photobucket.com/albums/t130/leejoy1/nova/PDRM2904.jpghttp://http://i159.photobucket.com/albums/t130/leejoy1/nova/PDRM2904.jpgan earlier thread I started about BBC head gaskets lead me to this new thread. One of you guys educated me about series vs parallel water flow from the block to the heads and here are some pics of what I've got going on.

It appears to me that both my block (454) and my heads (from late 60's passenger car) are setup for "parallel" cooling. You can see the water jackets along the intake and exhaust sides of the heads, and on both sides of the block. There are also water jackets at the ends of the block and heads.

Having seen these pictures, am I correct to assume that I should buy head gaskets setup for parallel cooling? My previous head gaskets (Felpro 8180-PT2) were for "series" cooling only. That might explain why my BBC ran a little hot all the time (about 200 deg). There are 3 photos shown. You may have to move around a bit to see all 3 of them.
http://i159.photobucket.com/albums/t130/leejoy1/nova/PDRM2906.jpg

Heads are parallel, block is series. You can drill holes in the block and convert it to parallel. Parallel cooling blocks have holes in the deck near the outside edge like the 3/4" hole directly below the space between cylinders #2 and #4. Get 'em in the right spot and there's no reason to drill 'em any bigger than the adjacent holes in the gasket. You'll need to get a gasket set from the late '80's engines. Every one of the casting number 14015445 have been parallel. I have one in the shop, PM me and I'll see if I can get a pic for you.

I thought that was just the difference in a 2 bolt vs 4 bolt. The 2 bolt blocks had 1 hole in the deck and the 4 bolts had 3 holes in the deck. I had a 2 bolt block in my car and marked it with the gasket and drilled 2 7/16" holes. We did that to all of the hi-perf 2 bolt engines that came through the shop. Either way they used the same head gaskets, the fel pro 1017 gasket.

Heads are parallel, block is series. You can drill holes in the block and convert it to parallel. Parallel cooling blocks have holes in the deck near the outside edge like the 3/4" hole directly below the space between cylinders #2 and #4. Get 'em in the right spot and there's no reason to drill 'em any bigger than the adjacent holes in the gasket. You'll need to get a gasket set from the late '80's engines. Every one of the casting number 14015445 have been parallel. I have one in the shop, PM me and I'll see if I can get a pic for you.

Don't mean to be a jerk and step all over you but I am currently rebuilding a 14015445 block 468 for my chevelle and it's definitely not a parallel cooling setup. Most of the 14015445 blocks I've seen do have 4 bolt mains. My point is, don't believe it till you see it.

http://reviews.ebay.com/Big-Block-Chevy-quot-Generations-quot-A-primer_W0QQugidZ10000000001563647

read this if you are interested in this cooling issue.

jetblue69, step all over me when I need it, any time ;D
I've run thru probably a dozen of the 5445 blocks, only 2 were 4-bolt and all that I remember were parallel. I sell a lot of block cores, etc., so I was much more interested in the main caps than cooling type.
Looks like Ray has the gasket P/N you'll need to mark 'em.
I've built 'em both ways and never really noticed any difference in cooling. I'm sure someone has done some testing but I've never seen it. Parallel makes good sense, there's no reason not to do the quick drill trick and get on down the road.