Here is the thing, I would like to switch the heads on the 5.7 but not sure what to go with. The motor is a fresh crate from a friend of mine who slammed his 91 FireBird in to a pole. The motor is good but would like to get better heads for it, any ideas.

 

what budget? Also, what cam is in the motor, or more importantly, what cam do you want to put in the motor? Other motor mods done or planned on being done? And finally, what induction is/will top it off?

 

Budget is around 2 grand and as for the cam i'm not sure at this moment. I might stick with what it has for now and i'm not even sure what cam is in a crate motor. All i know is that I would just like to switch the heads and put headers on it, that the other question, what type of header. The car has 3 inch Flow master from the cat back so what ever could accommodate the exhaust would work for me.
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And intake will stay stock for now unless it causes problems with the heads.

 

Hooker 2055s are a popular choice for headers. Supposedly one of the best flowing headers for our cars.

 

Again, what induction are we talking about here? TPI? TBI? Carb? Makes a big difference. What's a "stock intake"?

Assuming you're talking about carb, one of the best bang-for-buck deals out there is sdpc2000.com upgraded Vortec head kit. The "roller" kit includes assembled Vortec heads, head gaskets, GM head bolts, GM stamped steel rocker arms, RPM intake manifold, intake gaskets, 12 point intake bolts. They'll handle .575" lift. $1029 plus shipping.

The latest Hot Rod magazine (unfortunately I don't have it in front of me) has an article on 8 different heads that they dyno'd on a 383 with Comp XE274 cam. The best power came from Trick Flows, 2nd best was Edelbrock RPM, then these Vortecs. The Vortecs were the least expensive of the bunch (except they take a special intake manifold - the rest of the heads tested all used the same one).

 

Sorry for the late reply and the car is a TPI. And I will be more clearer on what I want to do. The motor is a 91 crate motor out of my friends 91 firebird and has 1,100 miles on it. What I would like to do is just put new better quality heads on it along with headers and if need be a bigger cam. The plenum/ intake or what ever you call it will stay until I have extra cash to play with. I figure just by putting new heads a cam and headers I should increase the HP a decent amount. So if anyone has a any good ideas on what would be quality heads,headers and a cam I would be grateful for the help.

And I apologize for not being very clear on what I want, 8 hours a day in school and another 8 at work, it's wearing my brain down.


Thanks for any advice that you can give.

 

Well, that's a lot more to start with.

It would still be nice to know what heads are on the engine. Get casting #'s if possible (pull a valve cover).

About the best 350 TPI heads out there are factory L98 083 castings. With basic porting & better valve springs, they'll work fine with cam & exhaust upgrades and later TPI upgrades. Of course, many people have done other things, including the Vortecs (but you'll need a special $400 Vortec base), but they have also done a lot more to the TPI (including PROM tuning) to take advantage of the upgrades. It doesn't sound like you're looking for head-slamming acceleration, just a little more power. So, 083's are probably what you should be looking for.

 

Thanks, and as for head slamming acceleration thats not where I want to go with this car, I have a 67 Shelby GT 500 thats been in my family since I was 2 that I drive and gives me all the major get up and go I need. All I want for this car is just a little bit more get up and go since it's my daily driver. Also when I have the chance I will look in to the casting # and let you know.



And yes I know it's a ford product and I dislike ford but this Shelby is a real head turner and one hell of a car to drive.