the setup:

350 .030 over
flat top speed pros w/ 4 valve reliefs
near 0 deck (measured .006)
fel pro head gaskets 4.100 bore, .039 compressed thickness
comp cams xe262h .218/.224 @ .050 .460/.470 lift 110 lsa
700r4 no stall

like everyone else, this is a budget build going into a 90 rs/700r4/2.73 gear car. motor is not being built for all out race, but as a cruiser with a slight attitude. it will see a little track time but i have NO illusions of 10,11, or even 12 seconds. IF i break into the 13's i'll be happy. what i want is good low and mid hp/tq mainly but still a little at the top. highest rpm will probably be 4500-5000. so here's the issue:

heads. yea, i know. vortecs vortecs vortecs. where i live tho, not so easy. and can't justify the cost to buy online with shipping costs. but that's not the issue really. CR is. i'm not new to engines, but not fully up to speed on todays heads. i'm not aiming for 10:1 or higher. i'm actually shooting for 9.5:1 or so. not really less. i've used a hundred CR calculators with results from 8.9:1-11.21:1. as you can guess, this HAS to run on pump gas and be street/highway friendly.

so--- heads? thoughts? suggestions? i have been stuck on 64cc but now i'm not so sure. with the block decked i'm afraid my CR will be beyond 11:1. but i'm also afraid 76cc will drop CR hard. the calculators don't help. and everyone saying go vortec doesn't help. (really do not like centerbolt VC's) so any help and suggestions would be appreciated. again, this is not gonna be a street terror or tire shredding, ***** to the wall, kick your a$$ bruiser. just a good running show car that will see a little track time just for fun.

oh yea.somewhere around the $400 mark. or less.

 

How so? Kentucky's not a very big state. Usually when I'm in Kentucky I see LOTS of 96 - 200 Chevy & GMC trucks; surely they get wrecked from time to time; maybe the parts of it I see are different from the rest somehow?

If I was where you are, I'd put on my big boy pants and go VISIT some junkyards where there's TRUCKS.

 

yes, there's lots of vortec heads, but there isn't alot of shops that will touch them. and the few that i found that will want $250 or more just for a basic rebuild. if i want the guides cut, 3 angle valve job, and such then the cost goes up. cheapest i've been able to put together so far is almost $600 for stock rebuild, $700 or more for modified. but again, these shops have stated they do not like the heads, and would rather not touch them.

 

Scuze me??? I haven't heard that one before. Mostly, what I hear happening, is the local shops try to scam people out of em; offer to trade em a set of "almost as good" "pre-Vortecs" (meaning swirlies usually) so they can gank em for their own motors.

That's about what a set of ANY stock heads will cost for yerbasic freshen-up.

As said, Kentucky isn't a very big state, and there's several others nearby... TN, OH, IN, WV, come immediately to mind, and there's others... might want to consider broadening your horizons a bit if your local people are dorks. Or, go hang out at your local round track (NOT drag strip), and spend some time in the pits, and find out where the guys THAT WIN get their heads built, and talk to THEM instead of parts stores or whatever.

 

not sure what shop you use, but for basic refresh/rebuild i've never paid more than $175. as far as broadening horizons, there is a point where the gas or shipping expense outweighs the savings. trust me. i've been calling and talking to shops, to drag racers, circle track racers, engine builders. i am not new to this. i am simply trying to figure out alternatives to the vortecs since the cost is not worth it. people around my area and within reasonable distance don't use vortecs, don't work on vortecs. they don't like them. so rather than bash, which seems to be what people on this site do, i was asking for positive input. so 'SCUSE ME for wanting information. jackass!!!

 

Junkyard Vortecs with anything less than 200k miles on them are gonna be better WITHOUT ANY MACHINE WORK ON THEM than any other heads at $400. Just go get a set, clean them up yourself, and install new valve seals and a $100 set of springs/retainers for your cam.
I just cleaned up a set I ran for 248k and they really need nothing more than a set of valve seals. The guides are tight and the valvejob/seats still look as good as a budget machine shop job; they're not hammered out as one might expect.

 

Doesn't sound like there's much we can do to help.

Good luck!

 

Jason, you're trying to play in big boy territory but you don't want to throw the money down to do it. It doesn't work that way, and you should know this if what you're saying is true about you "being around for awhile".

People don't bash vortec heads on this site. They're highly praised for what they are. They are a true BUDGET performance head with some overcoming limitations compared to aftermarket cylinder heads... but at literally 1/4 the price, what's the hang-up?? They're the only head for the price that offers those kind of returns.

You have three options:

1. buy vortec heads. No, they aren't expensive.
2. buy aftermarket heads. Yes, these are expensive.
3. buy smogger heads.. watch your money go down the toilet.

You're relying on someone else's word of mouth without any solid foundation for reasoning. There are LOTS of track cars here that are using them pushing great numbers. You're talking to the wrong people if you're calling shops (keyword: shops) that specialize in aftermarket parts.. and at the end of the day - of course a $2000 set of heads is going to be better than a set of Vortecs. That's like you going to a Lamborghini dealership and asking "are Camaro's nice?" What do you honestly think they're going to say?

 

Order new vortecs already machined from scoggin dicky

 

Oh, with 64cc chambers, you'll be about 10.2:1 CR. Sounds about perfect for that cam.