I want some new heads for my carbed 350. Does it matter if they come off of a tpi car or not. Heads are heads right? They can go from a vortec 350 to my set-up, right?

I have seen some camel hump heads in a local classified paper, but I don't know what those are.

Are 2.02 heads the best to get, or are those camel hump better. Or what about vortec?

I am thinking about porting mine. I have a friend that says I need to take them off, and port them in comparison to a gasket. He says that I can just use a dremel tool to do the work. Should I do this, or should I just buy some other heads?

Has anyone else ported their own heads?

Yeah, there are a lot of questions, but this is a lot of money I am speaking of. I have to do plenty of research before I buy anything. Thanks guys.

 

buy modern heads and not some wore out heads from the 60s with no accessory holes, like the double humps. make sure the intake bolt pattern is the same for the middle bolt holes, either angled or straight down other than the intake bolt holes any head will work.

 

All depends on your budget and what you want to do with the car.

The only factory heads worth looking for are the 292 angle plug castings ( good luck finding these ), the alum Vette L98 heads, and the Vortec heads..

The Vortec heads didn't start until 95-96. TONS of these heads on Chevy trucks, suburbans, Tahoe's etc.

IF you get Vortec heads you WILL NEED a Vortec specific intake manifold, as the mounting / bolt holes on the heads are totally different from an older Chevy cylinder head.

You'll centerbolt valve covers, self guided rocker arms as well.


For the money, go HERE

$675 gets you an AWESOME flowing set of heads that will work fine up to 450 HP or so.....

Best advice is to use the SEARCH button above and start digging through the tons of posts on cylinder heads and start doing your homework. Your engine, and checkbook, will thank you.

HTH

 

Do a set of 305 heads! Just grab a decent set from the wrecker, usually 083 and 416 castings, although 601s will work too.

They can be made to flow better than Vortecs but save you $300 - $400 dollars because you won't need a Vortec specific intake manifold.

Go to the link at the end of my sig and let your happy times on inexpensive heads begin

 

Choosing the cylinder head is the first and most important part
that will qualify the power output of any hi perf motor you want to build.
You should spend as much money as you can on buying the right
heads as you can afford. And then select other motor parts that complement the power potential of your heads.
You'll always end up with a more powerfully efficient street friendly motor overall by selecting good heads over say an expensive camshaft.

Take your time and research what is available within your budget and design plans. As mentioned above there is lots of info
on selecting and or modifying cylinder heads in the past posts.
Don't be afraid to ask questions, either on this forum or at the different manufactures' tech lines. There are no dumb questions.




If you decide to port your own heads, don't bother with a dremel tool. You'll give up long before they're done. You can buy a electric
die grinder from Sears for the same cost of a Dremel tool.
The common 1/4" shank carbide cutters that are used to port heads will not fit a Dremel.