with the Al heads, can you run these with a carb?

if i have choice of AL heads 96LT1 from TA or 96ish LT1 w/ Cast Iron heads form a caprice. which should i go for? I understand TA engine is 275hp and caprice is 265. but which is better in the long run?

vortec heads and LT1s worth it?

thanks

 

the cappy and f-bod used the same heads but a different cam...any LT1 head will work with a carbed intake

 

your both right and wrong... they did not use the same heads.... f-body/corvette had aluminum heads caprice/ buick roadmaster/cadillac fleetwood etc had iron heads i believe only the vett had a different cam the rest had the same cam but i could be wrong on that part, and yes either head will work with carb, you will have to buy a special intake (around $250 i think from GMPP) the aluminum heads are definately better so if you can get em for the same price as the irons get the aluminum, but if they cost more, and you not doing a high HP build up the irons should be fine

 

well actually, the f-bods shared the iron heads with the cars u listed, and also had aluminum heads...all the vettes were aluminum

damn near every year the cam changed for the LT1 motors...the hottest LT1 cam was the 94 z28...the LT4 cam was the same but with 1.6 rockers

the intake from scoggin dickey was 239 shipped
(same price for the LT1 intake but different part#)
i have a carbed LT4 motor

 

I've never seen an f-body LT1 with iron heads. I've worked on 100+ 4th gens over the years and they all had Aluminum heads.

B-body LT1's had a milder cam, but had more torque down low.

The LT4 cams are different than the LT1 cam.

Here is great info site about the LT1's
http://www.automotiverebuilder.com/ar/ar99928.htm

 

there is about $100 in the diff from the iron to Al. im thinking, i can bolt a carb up to the lt1, with a different intake of course and i'd be off to the races so to speak.. cheap.

 

And do some more LT1 research. You'll find that the iron heads actually flow better than the aluminum ones (at least on the intake side), so you can save a few bucks, have better flow, and will be able to enlarge the valves without having to install seat inserts (as you would with aluminum heads).

 

You can go up to 2.00/1.55 valve size (stock is 1.94/1.5) on the stock seat rings on the aluminum heads, anything larger and they will need replaced. The aluminum ones flow very good with the 2.00/1.55 valves and full porting.

 

Does the increased flow outweigh the 50lbs in weight? Those iron heads are heavy, I need 2 hands to carry one, I can almost juggle a pair of aluminum ones.

When I got my LT4 heads in the mail, I thought the boxes were empty since I didn't realize they weighed so little.
They do look pretty though,

The LT4 intake is red, not pink like in the picture. You can blame my camera for the color shift.

 

manny...what is the casting number on that set?...

 

I don't remember, but they are stock LT4 castings. I checked to make sure they were LT4 heads.

 

thanks all.. I purchaseda 96 LT1 out of a TA. ie Al heads.

 

My bare iron LT1 heads weighed out at just over 39 pounds each after porting and machining. That's a whopping 18 pounds each more per pair than bare aluminum castings, according to GMPP. Unless you're using aluminum bolts, springs, valves, studs, that's not a 50 pound difference. I even used titanium retainers and locks, and lightweight Manley SS valves, so I'm thinking my iron heads (assembled) are a lot closer to stock aluminum than you might think. The 2.02/1.60 valves and 196CC ports are probably worth that extra 35 or so pounds, yes. I could have gone over the top and installed 2.10/1.74 valves in those iron heads, but it still has to be street reliable. Gaining 80HP on a car that already weighs 4,400 pounds with no driver is better than shaving 35 pounds for no power gain. I can take out my spare tire and do better than that. I took a serious look at LT4 heads, but couldn't justify the cost for the negligible gain over ported oron heads.

 

My Iron LT1 heads with stock springs and stock rockers weighed 50lbs each, 105lbs total when I was shipping them in the same box, 52lbs when I boxed them separate.

I'll weigh a set of LT1 aluminum heads with springs and rockers on them tomorrow to see what each complete head weighs exactly.
How much weight does porting take off the heads since those will be the ones I will be weighing.

 

i think your ride needs a diet lol....think about it this way vader,...ported LT1 heads will flow almost the same as LT4's correct?....do the same port job on the LT4's and you maay change your mind? =)

theres a local CNC shop not to far from me and its mearly coincidence that when i took my heads there to see what he could do with them, he had a set of freshly CNC'd LT4's sitting there..after he showed me they flowed 29x some odd CFM and 230 exhaust, i was happy i bought these...granted its a 800 dollar port job, but those type of numbers will support what? 600 ponies N/A....