280sl late head and early block

[Pagoda@TCW]

Hi, wanted to check if the early block (130.983) and late head (casting# 130 016 11 01 - 280SE) can be matched, provided the correct oval head gasket it used. The engine currently has a Euro spec hot cam (code 02).

[ja17]

The early block and late cylinder head cannot be used together and vice versa. With such an arrangement, some coolant passages will allow coolant into the combustion chamber. Use our "cylinder head chart" to see which combinations work. Use only the matched "oval combustion chamber" or "square combustion chamber" types together.

[Pagoda@TCW]

Thanks for the info, Joe. Yes I did check the chart which shows the gasket that matches the head casting numbers. But strange that the car has been running with this combination of late head and early block without any major issues or overheating. Just opened it up now to check loss of compression in one of the cylinders.

[ja17]

If it corresponds to the correct match-up on the chart and it worked before, then it should work and you have a different issue. If you get it wrong the result is immediate and dramatic!