305PhoenixAm

For a while I have been looking to top my new 383 with a fabbed LT1 intake. At first I wanted to go for vortec heads to top the short block, but recently it seems to be that the combo wouldn't work because of the way the ports are, etc..
With the displacement of the motor in mind, and the type of intake, what do you guys think would be the best pair of heads to put in between? I'm not even out of high school yet and I'm trying to stay on a pretty small budget to accomodate for college so I can't go for AFRs or anything like that. The main reasons I was looking into Vortecs was because of the price. It seems like the next cheapest set of heads I could buy are darts off of ebay for around 700 (ouch). From what I hear I don't want to go anything around 081 castings or such components because of the breathing needs for the engine. Any suggestions or other input? I may just be missing something here.
Also, has anyone written a list or chart of some sort showing what sorts of heads are compatible with what sort of intakes, etc?

Streetiron85

Let me get this right... You fabbed an intake, and it's similar in design to the LT1??
What heads did you design the intake to fit?
Can you post a pic?

Stekman

I think what he is saying is he did the LT1 intake conversion, much like lt1intake.com.

Streetiron85

Unfortunately the factory never made a set of iron heads with the sbc1 coolant flow and non-vortec port location that have flow characteristics that are on par with the iron LT1 or vortec heads.
You could possibly find some earlier 64cc heads, but those wouldn't be as good as the Dart.
I think the most budget minded approach might be some Dart SS heads, they're about $650.

http://www.dartheads.com/csbhiron.htm

I think Protopline offers something similar in the same price range. Maybe with some smaller chambers too.

Or possibly some iron or alum L98 heads with some porting done to them.
It would be interesting to know how the L98 heads compare with the 165cc Dart or Protopline.

And then there's always a set of used LT1 alum heads modded to fit sbc1, as seen on John Millicans LT1 intake site, as long as you have the intake already.

305PhoenixAm

Thanks. I can't figure out why they never put formal prices on these sites. Oh well. I found the SS heads on ebay for a constant price of around 650 including shipping. Not bad, but 1.94/1.50 valves seem a bit small to me for the breathing needs of a 383. I need the 72cc chambers too in order to get anything close to a useable cr for the pistons I have. I suppose if nothing else I can go with those. Maybe a little port work will do some good. Does anyone know how much a machinist usually charges to machine heads for larger valves?
The LT1 heads sound like a good idea too. Wouldn't that pretty much get rid of the need to use a modified intake though? It should bolt right up, I'd think. Does John do the fabbing on those? I'll check the site later tonight. I'm not sure what kind of cr I'd be looking at with those, though.

Morley

Well, it would "bolt up" but there's a little more to it than that. John also puts the hole in the intake for the distributor..LT1's used the optispark, remember. But you wouldn't need to have the center bolt holes elongated if you used LT1 heads.

Streetiron85

Also if the 72cc chamber is the min size you need, the 58cc chamber of the LT1s would be way too tight.

Damon

Good heads for cheap? Cast Iron will be your cheapest alternative. I have had good results with Dart Iron Eagles many times. Available in 64 and 72cc chambers and many different intake runner sizes. I've heard of them going for as cheap as $700-750 new, assembled, if you look around.

However, you can get a set of Trick Flow 23* aluminum heads for only a few bucks more.

305PhoenixAm

lol..thanks, I meant the bolt holes though. I overlooked that for a second. Wasn't referring to the distributor hole or the coolant tap.
I can find the assembled iron eagle SS ones for about 580-something on ebay, but I've just been a bit hesitant about the 1.94/1.50" valve sizes. Nobody else thinks this is a bit small for the breathing needs of a 383? I understand that it would make some decent numbers but I don't want anything to become a restriction. I may end up looking for the Iron Eagle SS ones, then. They seem to be the most attainable for the price range I'm lookin for.

Morley

At 6k+ RPM's the valves may become a hinderance...As mentioned, for a few hundred more $ you could get TrickFlow heads. These have several advantages over the heads you mentioned. First 2.02/1.60 valves & 195cc runners for good flow. Second and third.. Made of aluminum for a weight savings and better heat rejection so you can run higher compression. Fourth, 72cc chambers, which is what you are looking for or 64cc (which you should be able to run) Fifth, price $1025.95 at Summit.

Streetiron85

The Trick Flows would clearly be the choice that gives the better performance. But for less than $600 the Dart SS could prove itself nicely.
The SS heads with 1.94/1.6 valves are the same size used in the Vortecs and the LT1 heads. And the runner vol is within the same range as well. It almost seems like it might be futile to put bigger valves in those, because for the added cost, you could move up to some 180cc or 200cc runners.
The Dart SS head is a "low end" head, that would give you "low end" performance. And with some home porting, could possibly be the equivalent of the factory LT1s.
The potential of your intake would exceed the heads and cam, but with the factory LT1s that's how it is, and it works for a lot of folks.

What is the rest of your combo, BTW

305PhoenixAm

anything over 1000 is way too much for my budget. It'd be pretty sweet to have, but like I said I'm just in high school with a low paying job. I want to have this done by this summer, too (preferably by mid-february) so that its done when I go off to college. Those other heads sound great but the SS sounds at least decent. Right now that's all I can afford. And actually now that I look closer I can go into 64cc heads with little problems. I just want to keep under 10.5 cr.

As to our combo question:
scat crank
claimer series 5cc flat top pistons
PBM hydraulic flat cam 224/234 .465/.488
I have all the misc stuff like the oil pump, bearings and junk like that already, but these are really the only major parts I have right now. I might actually be selling the cam for whatever I can get, too, so that I can get a roller one that would compliment the intake. I have to find the best operating range for the LT1 plenum first, though.
Anyway as you can see I still have a lot to get. I have about 1,200 lined up right now for the build, and every pay period I get something like 120 bucks. I have to take the cheapest route I can to getting this finished while not grenading the whole thing.

Streetiron85

If you're still there
I was searching and I ran across this page that has some flow data on those Dart SS heads

http://www.kendrick-auto.com/head_flow_figures.htm