okay so hear is my situation.... i fell for the gm 290hp crate motor. runs great beisdes the fact its slow. so i put in the comp cam 12-242-2 its the xe268h-10 grind. now my MPG sucks because of the compression bleed off. so i need new heads

i would like to use my camaro as a daily driver but cant afford 13mpg im shotting for 17-19mpg average would be fine. now since the motor sucks with the 8.0 compression i wanna bump it up to 9.0-9.5 summit said to drop in a 64cc head and should gain quite a bit of power from it

im debating between the edelbrock performer RPM heads 64cc chambers with 185cc intake
(summit said stay close to 180-190cc for intake any bigger then 190 is gunna hurt HP)

now i know people are gunna rip on me about this next one but it seemed like a good deal a machine shop on ebay << yes i no i said it :-/ im tight on cash so
the ebay shop has a set of aluminum heads 64cc chambers and 190cc intake with procomp valve train um both heads are 2.02 intake and 1.60 exhaust the pro comp heads specs i will list also

im trying to keep the price of heads below 650$ for a pair and i would like assembled heads because idk how to nor have i ever assemble a head before. any input and suggestions would be awsome

 

If you go edelcroch get the RPM heads the non rpm heads suck. You cant get the rpm heads for under 650.

 

Edelbrock heads aren't really bad, but it doesn't cost much more to get something much better.

 

the edelbrock RPM heads are at summit for 559 part number 60899 those are the ones im lookin at

and for a how much more what would be a much better head? i would rather save an extra 100$ to get a much better set of heads but i cant be going 1grand on a pair for heads

 

You know that's $559 per head, right?

 

....good point didnt realize that i forgot summit prices per head not the pair

 

They price by the pair when they're sold in pairs. You have to watch.

 

yea thanks i forgot about that... long day still at work but whats a good set of heads i can get for around 6 650 for the pair ?

i keep thinking about getting a set of bear heads and building them but idk how hard they are to do and i have never done that before..

its not as simple as getting valves and springs and installing those right ??

 

Vortecs
$310 ea complete

http://www.summitracing.com/parts/NAL-12558060/

or buy some cheaper from a junkyard and get them rebuilt

 

Have to factor in the cost of a new intake too if you're going to run Vortecs.

 

i no i spoke to the guy at summit about switching to vortec heads he said he wasnt going to be worth it and he said just get a good aluminum regular sbc head .... whats so special about vortecs any ways ?

like lets say i have a regular sbc head and a vortec same chamber size and same intake runner CC ? the only differance i know of is that there chambers are .. "heart shapped" and what would benifit me from switching to them ?

 

Vortecs are a good budget head that don't require insane amounts of porting (or in this case, at all) to serve well while still offering some nice changes from the old SBC heads out there. The problem is, they're also capped at the potential they can provide because of how the casting was designed. You'll also need a matching intake for them as well.

You gotta pay to play. I got lucky and EBAY'd my heads. I got a set of DART Iron Eagles fresh and ready to bolt in for $599. They still needed studs and guide plates, though. There's nothing cheap about cylinder heads unless you want to spend your money twice to do it right one time.

 

Yea that I know but what I'm basically asking is what should I look for in a good a good head I want aluminum ones and 64cc chambers but I might have more plans for the car later on down the road but for now I was a nice 350hp to the wheels and I don't wanna spend money to switch intakes either

Also would it be a good idea to go with a thin head gasket to get some more compression points from my car??

 

Maybe I missed it, but what intake do you have now?

 

I have the edelbrock performer rpm intake wIth edelbrock 600cfm carb and the 290hp crate motor

 

No sh*t
Same Goodwrench budget 350 engine as yours ,same cam,same intake ( Vortec version ) ,750 carb

384 Hp with Vortex heads
http://www.chevyhiperformance.com/te..._iv/index.html

With some mods they got 408Hp from the Vortecs
http://www.chevyhiperformance.com/te...d_v/index.html

Dreaming
As noted above ;Hp costs , how much you prepared to spend?
350Hp @ wheels = 400 ?@ crank

Same engine combo above with TFS 195 heads http://www.summitracing.com/parts/TFS-30400001/
($1050 / Pr )

made 416Hp
http://www.chevyhiperformance.com/te..._vi/index.html

A quality respected alum head ( not some made in China eBay cheapy head)
only picked up 8Hp peak over the Vortecs ( with mods )
Even allowing for the sometimes better than real world results the magazines get in their dyno builds,
still respectable numbers with the el cheapo Vortecs

 

Vettoz thanks for the information on the votecs and also thanks for trying to make like look like an idiot I know hp means money and you didn't fully read my post when I said I wanted to a nice 350 to the wheels "With out spending money FOR ANOTHER INTAKE"

 

Sell your intake: $150
Buy used intake: $200 (tops)
Vortec heads fully machined: $500 (tops, it can be done using junkyard heads)

Total: $550

Or

Buy aftermarket aluminum heads: $1200+

Intake cost shouldnt be the deciding factor when you consider all other things.

You also might really want to reconsider your entire setup if you really expect 350rwhp. I would say 450+ crank. Especially if you have an automatic. At that point you better have a good transmission and rearend.

 

I know exactly what you said;
problem is, you have to work out what you can reasonably get for what you aware prepared to spend

 

Yea I would like a 450hp at but I just wanna get my hp and my compression ratio up I don't wanna be spending 1300$ in parts for it and I don't have time to sell my old intake or anything I'm still running the t5 in the car right now I just want more horse power and was looking at heads but I still don't get why every one is pushing for corrects when one of the magazines did a 400hp build on this motor with regular heads also I still have to get a better radiator and possibility a new clutch so I'm tight on cash and what I can work with I dont mind putting on regulars and boosting the car with turbos or supercharger later on either but for now I need more compression that's it

 

magazines are propaganda in order to sell to you the consumer. IMO - save your pennies. $800 will get you some nice used heads if you look around. I am also on a budget. I barely work part time (if you'de even call it that) but even I know when it's better to save and do it right the first time.

Trust me, I'm in your shoes right now. Maybe we can work something out for my Iron Eagles in a few months if you're still looking and can't find anything. I'm currently looking at new cylinder heads anyways, and I haven't even run the motor yet.

EDIT: Look at these... they'll definitely get your compression up. http://www.ebay.com/itm/Chevy-Smallb...item35ba0bf830

 

Yea let me know I'm looking to purchase heads in about a month I need a new radiator and save up for a transmission also but I want my car for summer And 49cc heads to much compression?? Would t I be battling pinging and detonation ?

 

It's been a long day. Ignore those heads, lol. I wasn't thinking about casting differences. Just wait for a 64cc head if you want to push your compression up a tad.

 

Alright I deff will that's what I was told to go with was 64cc and should be running great

 

Some guys mill them down a bit to get more out of them. I know we do that in the Ford world with their "version" of the vortec head (the GT40/P castings).

 

Okay cool I'll look into getting them milled down and using a thinner head gasket maybe bump it to 9.6 or 9.7 compression