Just out of curiosity, what will the L98 heads handle lift wise in stock form? If I'm not mistaken, I've read somewhere it's .500....would it be able to handle .502 or would anything say .490 and up require better rockers?

 

The lifters aren't part of the heads. Not part of the issue at hand.

The thing to watch out for, when looking at the heads, is the HEADS. Specifically, check to see when the valve is pushed down (open), does the bottom of the retainer crash into the top of the guide.

Given that factory stamped-rubber rockers give away around .025 - .040" of lift (highly variable... one of the reasons THEY SUCK) compared to "theoretical" "cam card" "specs", and that the lift of the factory cam is only .420" something IF THAT, and that any improvement in the factory's tolerances above making sure that it makes it through warranty with THAT cam (see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muda_(Japanese_term), scroll down to the list, look at the 5th type) is a WASTE, it's anybody's guess just exactly what you might find on any given valve in any given L98. And considering the consequences of exceeding that limit, whatever it is, it's probably A Good Idea to prep the heads before screwing something up, or at the very least, CHECK IT.

 

Well damn. Thanks for the in depth. I was hoping I might've been able to get away with a stock head for a cam until I have my vortecs finished.

 

Well ya never know for sure, until ya KNOW. It's easy enough to check. You might get lucky.