450sl cylinder head question

[ckeefer]

I've got a US 1980 450sl with a 117-985 engine. I need to get 2 heads for it and I'm wondering what the interchange is between the 450sl and the 450sel. I've spoken to a few people and they "think" that a 450 sel head will be fine but I want to be sure.

Is there any difference between the heads? I know that I'll basically be looking at getting them from a CIS engine from around 79-80, but I can't seem to find anything on the web that says one way or another.

Thanks

[Tomguy]

Any heads from a 3.5 or 4.5 between 1976 and 1980 will fit.
I'd suggest 3.5 heads for higher compression - an easy performance upgrade.

Any reason you need new heads? I have never seen one from an m116 or m117 crack - usually they're ruined when people try planing them flat, which does not need to be done.

[ckeefer]

My old heads were not craked but had an extreme amount of corrosion. I went to the j-yard today and found a set of heads that had a valve job at least within the last two years.

Thanks for the compatibility info, looks like I just saved myself about $800 on this issue.