Aftermarket Product ReviewProvide questions and answers about aftermarket parts for the Third Generation F-Body.
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What's going on ppl! I have a stock 350 motor that I want to rebuild. I have been looking into purchasing some vortec heads. I have looked at their specs and wow, they have the same head flow rate as the heads in the LT1 motor (170cc). The only draw back is the modifications that you have to do to your motor. I was wondering would it be worth it or should i just purchase some more expensive heads? Thanks !
__________________ Tried to tell the police that my TH-350 trans doesn't work with my speedometer. They didn't buy it. But I bought a $355 speeding ticket.
dont just buy the heads from scoggin dickey or you will be doing things twice. Ask me how i know. match valve springs and cams together. they maybe good for whatever lift, but will they work with the high intensity of the newest cam designs? I had terrible luck doing just that. 276hr cam with the heads good for .600 lift 10000 miles and 2 broken springs.
Best thing you could do is find a machine shop in your area. if there is a good one near you. they may already have a set of vortecs there, they are popular, and modifying a set of factory heads for the higher lift springs is very easy and inexpensive. one of the best things you can have as a hot rodder is a friend at the machine shop for the future.
That being said if you get a set of vortecs that's workable. they are well worth it. even on a stock motor they will give you more power, but you need the intake to go with it.
Well not trying to be rude but... if you think your intake has ANYTHING to do with valve lift ability of the heads maybe just maybe you should take your car to somebody with a handful of money & just say "Make it go fast" Or you can start over from the begining and read a children's book titled "The Way Things Work" then build up from there reading every automotive magazine you see and maybe buy a junk motor & tear it apart in your garage to see what they're made of... Of course my reply is a bit extreme but... yea that's how I am..
I will second the DO NOT BUY THEM FROM SCOGGIN DICKEY I bought a set for a 383 motor I put together for a friends truck with a mild hyd roller around .505 lift the heads had about 10 miles on them and the damn locks were pulling thru the retainers. I had to buy all new hardware for the heads.
Will, if you buy them, and change the springs, will they hold more lift? I want to eventually get a set of vortecs, maybe this summer. But I have no good machine shop to go to.
__________________ -Adam
1990 Firebird Formula
Bone Stock 305TBI, T5 tranny, 62k Origional
UMI subframe Connectors
This book has a lot of good info on Vortec heads. Something to keep in mind about your standard low-budget Vortecs is valve springs and rocker studs. You want the correct valve springs for the cam you choose, but also, those heads have push-in rocker studs, and if you plan on going with a higher lift cam, those "push-in" studs will "pull-out" down the road. I would let a machine shop set them up for screw-in rocker studs, if you're really considering them. I bought mine from Summit Racing (ARP brand, part #ARP-134-7101). While I was at it, I'd throw on a set of ARP perma-loc adjusters, too, since that's what those studs are designed to work with. (Summit PN#ARP-300-8241 are what I used) I wouldn't re-use your old stud nuts anyway, so I'd go with those.
Summit does carry larger-port Vortecs as well as ones that come already set-up for screw-in rocker studs. That might be a better option, but I'm not sure on what they cost. I used the SDPC heads as a starting point because I had them leftover from a crate motor.
Def. do your homework before you start buying your parts. Know what your goals are and go from there. It gets expensive when you change plans down the road and have to re-buy a ton of parts. Do it right the first time.
RHS™ Pro Torker™ Cylinder Heads, check them out they are drilled for both old and new stile manifold and come setup for 2.02 vlaves, I purchased a set for mt 355 in my truck and will be putting it together and then on a dyno. I will post the results. The best part is $650.00 complete for the pair, they only sell them bare so you have to purchase the parts and have them setup but still the total cost $650.00. 67cc 167 runner straight plug either manifold. http://www.racingheadservice.com/Inf...rtec-Heads.asp
John
I would go for the rhs 2.02 1.6 vortec heads. I know a member from another board who had them cleaned up and went 11.89@111 in the quarter in a light 3000lb car with a 355 and 3.55 gears. Definatley bang for the buck heads.
If I were to choose heads for the best value then you could always get these and not have to worry about changing over to vortec. The best thing is they are aluminum.
91TTOPZ, I am not sure, but I don't think the heads in the ebay link are not vortecs. The combustion chamber looks like a plain old cast head; correct me if I am wrong. If this is a thread about budget heads I would check out a pair of Patriot heads. They're aluminum heads with all the goodies, i.e. screw in studs, guide plates, lift up to .550, and even blended cnc bowl blending. A good pair can be had on ebay for $770. Not a bad price for aluminum heads considering you'll spend that much to have a set of cast iron vortecs machined to the same specs. CarCraft did a dyno test on them and they performed the same as a set of vortecs. Something to keep in mind.
Dont know if the ones pictured are the vortecs but I talked witht the company thats is selling them and they stated that they were the vortec that is for sale. Also RHS only lists one head with the 67cc camber. i dont know if there is a big differance in vortec vs early intakes making a big differance if so the cost differance isnt much. I am have an engine built right now an I am leaning real hard toward the RHS, the only concern is the compression ratio may be getting a bit higher then I had planned. Although you can also get them in 76 cc.
Quote:
Originally Posted by RAD5
91TTOPZ, I am not sure, but I don't think the heads in the ebay link are not vortecs. The combustion chamber looks like a plain old cast head; correct me if I am wrong. If this is a thread about budget heads I would check out a pair of Patriot heads. They're aluminum heads with all the goodies, i.e. screw in studs, guide plates, lift up to .550, and even blended cnc bowl blending. A good pair can be had on ebay for $770. Not a bad price for aluminum heads considering you'll spend that much to have a set of cast iron vortecs machined to the same specs. CarCraft did a dyno test on them and they performed the same as a set of vortecs. Something to keep in mind.
I would go for the rhs 2.02 1.6 vortec heads. I know a member from another board who had them cleaned up and went 11.89@111 in the quarter in a light 3000lb car with a 355 and 3.55 gears. Definatley bang for the buck heads.
If I were to choose heads for the best value then you could always get these and not have to worry about changing over to vortec. The best thing is they are aluminum.
Put it on the dyno 330hp 365 trq, very happy!! 9.8-1 compresson used the RHS 67cc camber with the 167 cc runner 2.02 1.6 valves, 350 bored 30 over weiand stealth dual plane, flow tech headers, edelbrock 1406 600cfm, GM performace HEI, stage 2 rv cam 214/224 at 50. 443/465 – 107/117 – 112.
Now time to hit the street and see how she runs. I built this one for my 72 GMC pickup that is why I shot for the high torque.
John