Edelbrock performer heads? (60859)
07-27-2017, 12:13 PM
#1
Edelbrock performer heads? (60859)
Hey all,
Long time since I've posted in the engine forum. Gotta love keeping projects on hold, lol.
I am in the midst of getting my Firebird back into reliably driveable condition (It has needed a motor replacement/rebuild). For a long time, my plan was to simply drop in a used, running L31/vortec engine, and convert it to TBI w/EBL Flash, but I'm having second thoughts for the following reasons.
- The word is out on Vortecs. It's a case of low supply and high demand for used motors in my area. Sellers want way too much money for used stuff, and a remanufactured/new motor is out of budget for now.
- Retrofitting smog gear. It's not needed where I currently live, but I'm possibly relocating to CA next year, and I'd rather not deal w/the hassle of trying to pass a visual w/a TBI smog setup modified to work with vortec heads.
Plan B is find a good 350 TBI (Plentiful and cheap near me), and do a rebuild/upgrade the heads later on, and I was curious about Edelbrock's 60859 heads? They look good on paper, and I see several reasons this route might work better for me
- Can get my car back on the road much sooner (Time/funds are limited atm. I might have to use it as a daily temporarily).
- No special Vortec intake required
- Emissions gear will bolt back on w/out mods (Can pass CA smog)
- Aluminum!
- No mods required to accept higher lift cams (Whereas Vortecs must be modded).
Curious for some opinions on this idea/these heads, or other possible center-bolt, non Vortec head options? The 60859's have 60cc combustion chambers, so I'm curious about how it will affect compression ratio/octane of fuel required too.
More than likely, I will have to use a 350 TBI temporarily anyways, in order to salvage this project (Limited time on my storage for it to sit), so it'd be nice to keep using it for my long term goals w/this car (Hopefully I can find one w/roller cam provisions!).
Long time since I've posted in the engine forum. Gotta love keeping projects on hold, lol.
I am in the midst of getting my Firebird back into reliably driveable condition (It has needed a motor replacement/rebuild). For a long time, my plan was to simply drop in a used, running L31/vortec engine, and convert it to TBI w/EBL Flash, but I'm having second thoughts for the following reasons.
- The word is out on Vortecs. It's a case of low supply and high demand for used motors in my area. Sellers want way too much money for used stuff, and a remanufactured/new motor is out of budget for now.
- Retrofitting smog gear. It's not needed where I currently live, but I'm possibly relocating to CA next year, and I'd rather not deal w/the hassle of trying to pass a visual w/a TBI smog setup modified to work with vortec heads.
Plan B is find a good 350 TBI (Plentiful and cheap near me), and do a rebuild/upgrade the heads later on, and I was curious about Edelbrock's 60859 heads? They look good on paper, and I see several reasons this route might work better for me
- Can get my car back on the road much sooner (Time/funds are limited atm. I might have to use it as a daily temporarily).
- No special Vortec intake required
- Emissions gear will bolt back on w/out mods (Can pass CA smog)
- Aluminum!
- No mods required to accept higher lift cams (Whereas Vortecs must be modded).
Curious for some opinions on this idea/these heads, or other possible center-bolt, non Vortec head options? The 60859's have 60cc combustion chambers, so I'm curious about how it will affect compression ratio/octane of fuel required too.
More than likely, I will have to use a 350 TBI temporarily anyways, in order to salvage this project (Limited time on my storage for it to sit), so it'd be nice to keep using it for my long term goals w/this car (Hopefully I can find one w/roller cam provisions!).
07-28-2017, 02:33 PM
#2
Member
Re: Edelbrock performer heads? (60859)
Your budget will kill your product. To be honest there are always unexpected contingency costs you can't predict. A budget reman gonna be much more reliable than a used motor unless you hear/see it run before removal. $1700 for a ATK reman 305. Those Edelbrock heads are close to that price. Edelbrock heads are great quality and should be bolt on and go.
If it was mine with that tight buget I would check compression and leakdown then go from there. If heads need valve job pull heads and rebuild for less than $300. If rings are bad then yes you need a new motor/rebuild. Only you can know what resources you have to save the car.
One more thing is California is merciless on smog requirements. Save your $$$ for that event. Get there and get to pass smog before throwing more money at it.
Sorry for the negative views but you need to be ready for them if you want to keep the car in California.
Good luck.
If it was mine with that tight buget I would check compression and leakdown then go from there. If heads need valve job pull heads and rebuild for less than $300. If rings are bad then yes you need a new motor/rebuild. Only you can know what resources you have to save the car.
One more thing is California is merciless on smog requirements. Save your $$$ for that event. Get there and get to pass smog before throwing more money at it.
Sorry for the negative views but you need to be ready for them if you want to keep the car in California.
Good luck.
07-28-2017, 03:36 PM
#3
Re: Edelbrock performer heads? (60859)
Good to hear about the Edelbrock heads.
I wouldn't buy a used motor without seeing/hearing it run, and preferably with a comp/leakdown test. The rest of the car is ok, but the 305 currently in it is toast. 3 of the cylinders have bad rings, and one of the head gaskets was bad (it was drivable for short trips, but did burn off coolant).
You can usually find a healthy, used 350 TBI in my area for around $500 (sometimes even $400), that you will get to hear run and such before buying. Lots of people try to sell their used Vortec 350s for closer to 1K near me (on the rare occasion they pop up for sale), and I wouldn't want to drop that kind of cash on somethimg used anyways.
Based on your CA advice, it sounds like it would be best to keep the car stock until after moving there if I did. I'm not planning to throw a bunch of go fast goodies on it right away anyway (I'd rather mod a car to handle power before adding it), I just figured I'd ask about these heads, to see if there are indeed good center-bolt head options that aren't vortecs, and can pass smog. Thankfully, it sounds like there is w/these heads.
I wouldn't buy a used motor without seeing/hearing it run, and preferably with a comp/leakdown test. The rest of the car is ok, but the 305 currently in it is toast. 3 of the cylinders have bad rings, and one of the head gaskets was bad (it was drivable for short trips, but did burn off coolant).
You can usually find a healthy, used 350 TBI in my area for around $500 (sometimes even $400), that you will get to hear run and such before buying. Lots of people try to sell their used Vortec 350s for closer to 1K near me (on the rare occasion they pop up for sale), and I wouldn't want to drop that kind of cash on somethimg used anyways.
Based on your CA advice, it sounds like it would be best to keep the car stock until after moving there if I did. I'm not planning to throw a bunch of go fast goodies on it right away anyway (I'd rather mod a car to handle power before adding it), I just figured I'd ask about these heads, to see if there are indeed good center-bolt head options that aren't vortecs, and can pass smog. Thankfully, it sounds like there is w/these heads.