i was wondering what heads by gm are readilly avaliable and could you put on a small block chevy that are good for performance (besides duble hump) also what are good after market heads? i was looking to stay under 800$? gm under 400$ any ideas? i have 882 heads currently they are ok but would kie really good heads for a 400 ( to steam port) and also just port out!i thought about vortec heads, but the springs are weak (which could be fixed but how do you get by extra tall vale guides in them? and the need for a vortec intake? i have no emissions what so ever and a carburator?

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1989 firebird formula

Mods: converted from T.B.I. to a carburator 305 to a 350. Flowmater exhaust,hedman shortie hedders,202 heads,350 horse cam,bored.40 over, Edlebrock torker2 intake.

Future mods 400 performer rpm intake (polished) and 600 edlebrock carb, comp roller cam, and way better heads. orpossibly a 383 stroker?

 

There are no heads made by GM that come close to the performance of Vortec Heads for under $800. The camel humps maybe OK but you would lose about 20-25HP over Vortecs. Get some Dart Iron Eage 180cc Intake 64cc chambered Iron Eagles. Summit sells them for about $850 a pair. They flow even better than Vortecs, probably a 10HP gain over Vortecs. 30-35HP over Double Humps and about 50HP over those 882's If you have a decent cam (OVER 210 Degrees Duration and .450" lift)

 

Burnout,

GM sells a bowtie head (Gen 2) that's available from PAW in California for $679. These heads are cast iron and will need porting and polishing, but can be opened up to fit a FelPro 1206 intake gasket - and that's fairly big. The entire exhaust port must be polished for them to flow. Look for 240-250 CFM intake flow and 180CFM exhaust flow when finished.

Alternatively, TFS makes an aluminum 23* head, 195cc intake that flows like gangbusters right out of the box - available thru Summit racing for $850. They make more power and torque than Dart's Pro 1 series in 180cc or 215cc form. This head has been subjected to many dyno pulls and magazine buildups in the last 6 months, and everyone raves about them. Out of the box they flow 250CFM intake and 196CFM exhaust. Port & Polish and they make serious power.

I'd say they're the best value performance head for the $$ on the market, other than Vortecs. Going to higher flow with AFR heads will cost big $$.

The problem with Vortecs is in finding manifolds that work with them - especially if you have an L-98 application. Edelbrock has one due out in March - but they said that LAST March too.

Good luck.

BOR



[This message has been edited by Box of Rocks (edited January 16, 2001).]

 

I to agree that the 23* Trick Flow heads are one of the best deals n the market today. We just built a engine for a freind of mine and used these heads and they kick a$$ right out of the box. For the price you pay and the peformance you get out f these heads I don't think they can be beat.