Fellas, i have an 89 iroc with a 305 tbi. I was able to get a 89 formula 350 as a donor car and am preparing to do a swap. my question is i have access to aluminum heads off an 89 vette for very cheap. These heads should work fine and be a better option than cast iron ones right?

 

first the vette heads do not have a bypass for the egr valve - if you are using a tpi or tbi intake system.
im not sure but they might be bigger than the 58cc you need. but there is also a chance you could get the 54cc ones. if they are the 64 cc ones they are too big and you will lose compression.
someone else jump in here about the cc of the heads, becaue im not sure.
and for your information anything is better than swirl port heads as i have been told a number of times.
now look to the red line at the top of the screen. there is a word there, and the word is SEARCH. use it - it works well. if you are lucky you will only find 10 pages of links to this topic.
good luck and welcome to 3rd gen.

 

I think my friend tony is confused. As I understand you, you have an '89 Formula, that currently has a complete, iron-headed 350, in it, and you want to put the vette heads on that 350, and put that 350 in your IROC. No difficulty there. The aluminum 'vette heads were only made with 58cc chambers, which is fine. The '89 350 has about 9.1:1, NOT the 9.3:1 GM claimed, with iron 64cc heads. Going to the 'vette heads will give you about 9.7:1. If you need your EGR working correctly, you'll need the complete EGR system from the 'vette, as the aluminum heads don't have the necessary pssages. This is fine, because the 'vette heads also need you to either change the lower intake manifold, or modify the one you have. If you do pull the heads off the 350, verify how far in the hole the pistons are, at TDC. If they're down more than .020", use FelPro steelshim head gaskets.

 

I do not have the complete egr setup off the vette, just the aluminum heads. Since the car doesnt need emmissions, Is there a blockoff plate to eliminate the egr?

 

Yes there is. A few places make them, but go to custombilletworks.com, they make one for a decent price. But you also need to have the EGR system removed from your ECM otherwise you will get a code and the car wont run right.

 

so it seems to me by reviewing all the topics on this swap, I have everything needed off the 89 firebird donor car to make this swap work. I have the complete motor and harness and ecm. The only thing i need is the fuel pump for a tpi 350 and a computer reflash if i am going to block off the egr. Is anything missing?

 

HOW DARE YOU SAY I AM CONFUSED. I AM NEVER CONFUSED - but i have been known to be wrong on one occasion, ok maybe more than one, ok at least once a day i am wrong, as i am in this case. darn that means two times that day.
i did not read it correctly about the swap. sorry.

 

Its ok to be confused. I always am!

 

Don't mind tony, he just has a great sense of humor.

 

I just started on third gen and i think you guys are great!

 

Thanks, and welcome!

 

In keeping my 350 to a low budget stock rebuild, is there a mild cam that you guys reccomend and possibly 1/6 rockers

 

for a mild TPI I believe I'd like a Comp XE252HR10. If you want 1.6:1, be sure to have the heads machined for pushrod and retainer-to-guide clearance before assembly.