I'm in the process of building up my 305 TBI to make some pretty decent power on the cheap (and it's worked out pretty well so far and no I'm not going to build a 350) I've already addressed pretty much every issue with the exception of the heads. For this I'm looking into the 059 castings of the Vortec heads.

I'm using an LT1 cam (.450 int, .460 exh) and have heard that I might have to adjust the spring seats to make the springs fit. Are there any suggested parts for this- including valvesprings?
I'm also considering using 1.6 rockers- worth it or unnecessary?

PS: Merry Christmas! hope everybody's was good

 

ttt- anyone? I'd like to go junkyard crawling this week

 

to use the vortec heads youll have to replace your intake with a vortec specific intake. also stock vortecs cant handle much lift. some run into contact issues with around .470" of lift, some can take more, some less. a lot of people switch to a behive spring to get a lil more clearance without any maching work. the other option is to have the velve guides machined for more lift. the 1.6 rockers are just gonna push that lift up even more. if you have them already run them. if not just go with a 1.5 rr.

easiest way to keep the tbi and go vortec heads is to get a carbed vortec intake and mount a carb to tbi adapter plate on it. gives you much more choice in some better flowing intakes.

since youre using the lt1 cam, be sure to either shorten the front dowel pin, or just press it in further. lt1s use that dowel to drive the optispack and if you leave it sticking out that far itll grind itself into your timing cover.

 

I'll look into the beehives, and I haven't bought anything for the heads yet so I'll just go with the 1.5's.

LT1 dowel pin is accounted for and I already got my TBI Plate. I have almost everything for the engine ready except for the heads. I'd like to get all this stuff done within the next two weeks so my car doesn't smell like (and leak) gas due to the missing fuel system components lol.

I don't intend on getting heads with more lift than the LT1's so I'll get the beehives- any specific recommendations or spring rate suggestions?

 

Plan on doing some major work to get the TV cable bracket to work since it isn't made for Vortec heads.

 

Time to apply my learning had in physics and trig- thanks for the heads up. I'll find some metal I can use to fabricate my own TV cable bracket

 

I used my stock throttle cable bracket with the edel performer intake. Theres also the GM vortec TBI intake as well. Both will (or at least should) have provisions for mounting the cable bracket. The only things I had to do was use a stud and spacer in place of one of the intake bolts, and bend it a bit to preserve the correct alignment. Other than that, its not a major issue IMO.

 

the bracket bolts to the intake, not the heads. there are vortec carb intakes that have the provision to mount the stock cable bracket.

 

Yikes, forget beehive springs. Turns out I was looking at the wrong thing the last time I looked. And I'll need new retainers- that would be extremely cost-prohibitive for me.

Right now I'm reading on nastyz28.com about "ghetto grinding" the stock retainers. This certainly looks doable, but what I'm wondering is if I could run the Vortec heads without any kind of modification- they say that about .460" lift is the maximum safe lift and some heads even go to .480". I've read on other sites though (including this one) that about .450" is the max safe lift.

Bottom line: Can I use an unmodified Vortec heads with an LT1 cam? That's .450" intake, .460" exhaust

 

max lift is right around .470 before contact. lt1 cam should be fine. youll still need to upgrade the springs though.

 

Thanks, that's good to know. I was offered a set for $200 shipped so I'm pretty amped to hear that I won't have to spend another $2-300 to make it work. What are the recommended valvesprings for this application? I've heard of people using a Z/28 spring but I don't know where to find them or what specs it should have

Edit: Did some more searching and here's what I found
http://www.summitracing.com/parts/MAN-22410-16/
http://www.jegs.com/i/Lunati/638/73943/10002/-1

The Manleys are a few bucks more but to me they look like the better spring

Edit II: What these?
http://www.summitracing.com/parts/MAN-22409-16/ - these look to be almost the same as the other Manleys (last post) but are 40 bucks cheaper- and they say that the compcam below is roughly the same thing
http://www.summitracing.com/parts/CCA-981-16/

 

Bump, what should I do for valvesprings?

 

ttt- spring rate advice, anyone?

Hydraulic roller setup with an LT1 cam and I'm looking to upgrade my cam in a few months

 

I'm currently building a vortec motor with an LT1 cam and my heads had a max of .470 with stock retainers. I installed LS1 springs and 787-16 comp retainers and it measured out to .535 max lift. I left the stock valve seals. If I had known I would have gained that much lift potential I would have gone with an LT4 cam but oh well.

 

http://www.alexsparts.com/valve-spri...rf-hyd-roller/

 

Thanks for the recommendations, and I'll look into those springs if I don't find anything cheaper. My plan is to get a set of cheaper valvesprings and grind the stock retainers down- easy and cheap.

From those recommendations I'll guess that around 410 lbs/in is too heavy so I'll shoot for some in the ballpark of 355 lbs/in. I just want to make sure I'll be getting something that'll be ok for .450 lift (now) and .525 when I buy a new cam.

 

I doubt you'll find cheaper than Alex's parts. He's got good deals on Ford parts as well (which is how I found him).

 

He's definitely cheap and it looks like a good product but it's a valvespring and retainer kit, and I just need the valvesprings.

 

Sorry about all my double-posts here but I really want to make the right decision.

I did some more research and found that for my needs I'll probably be good with a set of these: http://www.summitracing.com/parts/HRS-98212/
Hydraulic/Mechanical Flat Tappet
Style: Single with Damper
Outer O.D.: 1.260
Outer I.D.: .876
Closed Pressure: 115 @ 1.780
Open Pressure: 340 @ 1.250
Rate: 425
Max Lift: .570
Coil Bind: 1.150