I recently did a swap to a 350 TPI. The guy I bought the motor from included some aluminum heads along with the heads that were already on the motor. I plan to let the car sit for a while since it's having some problems. What could I do to these heads to get the most out of them?

As of now my budget is like 600, but it will increase from paycheck to paycheck so I have time since I plan to let the car sit for a while.

 

you can start by giving us the casting numbers on the heads so we know what you have, and we can tell you if its even worth your time to work them.

 

10088113

 

Those are corvette heads. 87-89 if I remember right. Also I believe they are 58 cc heads. They are not a bad head, but not much different than stock (Aside from being aluminum, of course.)

 

Oh alright. What could I do with them?

And what gains can I expect?

 

minimal. Not sure what you're trying to accomplish, but maybe you'd do better with a set of bowl blended vortec heads and proper intake base.

 

thats great advice IMO. put some vortecs on the 350 and sell the aluminum heads to a guy with a 305. Great head for a 305.

 

Personally Id use them, but again.. back to Justin & Z on how they
asked what your goals are. Those heads can support good power
with some work invested!

at least he included some usable heads!

 

did he inslude the bypass to the manifold for the egr?

 

I'm not trying to get too crazy, want to add some horsepower for the street not really looking to take it to the track yet.

 

How much would it cost to have those vette/113/ZZ4 heads ported? ...You already HAVE the heads right? ...I'd imagine the cost of vortec heads and an intake would be more than porting what he's already got, no?

I could be wrong.

 

I do already have the heads. Would porting them be the best thing to do?

 

I would, but the real question is...

Can you afford a set of vortec heads and the expensive vortec TPI
manifold base? That right there would be a nice street/strip combo
like Z & Formy said.

If not, get those heads worked on, then port match the 113's to a
aftermarket base, get some LTR/SLP's or superram? cam/tune that
sucker, a few suspension mods and you'll be flirting with mid-low 13's.

 

Guess a lot depends on your long term goals.

In the long run, porting those vette heads is the way to go I think. Sure, out of the box, they're only "OK" heads, but porting is a whole 'nother ball game. TONS of performance to be had. Again, there's no "right" answer, but since you ALREADY have them, that'd be my suggestion.

 

Well getting another set of heads is something I don't have the money for right now. So I have to work with these heads for now.

 

figure out how much the machine work will cost for your vette heads. Vortec heads can be had in useable condition for $300 for an assembled pair, and a little money for bowl blending, and bam....MAYBE $500 into a set of heads that will get you into the 11s with the right combo. I bet $500 into your vette heads wont do that. Keep an eye out for a used vortec tpi base and you're good to go.

http://www.chevyhiperformance.com/te...ead/index.html

 

In Lingenfelter's small block book (pub 1996), he really likes the performance of ported corvette heads. But that was early/mid 90's work.

I've read a comparison of the ported corvette heads vs ported vortec heads on a 350 and the engine is down a few pounds of torque/hp with the vortec heads until about 3800rpm, then the vortec heads catch up and are up 51hp by 5800rpm.

Your stats indicate you are in Los Angeles. Will you be able to pass CA emmisions inspection with corvette heads? Corvette heads require specific external EGR connections to the exhaust manifold/header.

 

I have a set of Lingenfelter ported 113s on my 383. The engine works great with them. But by the time you port and rework them, you might as well just go with a set of vortecs and be done with it. All they need is the spring perches cut and some exhaust work.

 

you cant get a better answer than one from someone running the parts in question lol

 

I was just about to say that!

 

i'd be pretty interested in buying those heads off you if you decide to sell them, let me know first.

personally if i had a 350 i'd go with vortec heads as well. sure the 113s work great ported ,but ported they still flow less than an unported set of vortecs, unless you do a massive ammount of port work to them.

anyways beyond that even, you'd be going from a reasonable around 9.5 to 1 compression ratio to much higher if you went with those. it would not be a streetable setup without major tuning!

your factory heads are 64cc, the 113 casting head you have is 58cc. if you google compression ratio you could find the ewhat compression a 58cc head would have you sitting at. im guessing close to 10.5 to 1.

10.5 to 1 is streetable but not with out a lot of tuning, which it sounds like you wont be doing.

 

you will probably need to do some tuning regardless, if you want the car to run its peak.

10.5:1 is totally streetable once tuned. My car is running 10.5:1 now and its not tuned and drives fine.

 

I can pass emmisions with the Corvette heads, but I'm gonna keep an eye out for some vortec heads since they will be better in the long run.

 

Go with the vortecs. Keep your eye peeled for good deals. I found my set used for 200 bucks locally.

 

I agree, though I am not using 113's. I am using the 081 58cc 305 iron counterpart.
She did need a tune after it got cammed, but I do drive the car everyday.

Id love to find a set of vortecs for 200 bucks!

 

If you are selling those Corvette heads, PM me..

 

LOL well here is the deal. I have the recipts form the previous owner of the engine. It was originally a Lingenfelter 383, but since I've rebuilt it, I don't really call it that anymore. The recipts say "full race port work" Anyway, the heads are ported to the max as you can imagine, they are incredible. But they were ported by an artist that spent a ton of time on these castings in general. Lingenfelter used ported versions of these heads exclusively on many of his performance engine packages. With his porting they are fantastic heads. But I certainly don't expect anyone else to be able to re-create Lingenfelters results with these heads, and if someone did, you'd have so much money wrapped up in them you might as well have purchased a set of AFR 195 eliminators.

My point is, unless you are a porting wizard, the vortecs will flow better out of the box and they are cheap. Just a much easier solution to reach the goal discussed in this thread.

 

I'm good. I have a set of the Eliminators already

but yeah I hear what you're saying.

 

Thanks for all the responses. I'm definitely going to get the vortec heads when the right price comes around. What would be a good cam to go with these heads keeping in mind I need to pass emmisions in California?

 

What do you guys think about these?

http://inlandempire.craigslist.org/pts/1143570222.html

 

ask him for the casting number under the rocker arms. The casting number you want is 12558062.

According to Mortec.com the following info is for the 062 heads:

12558062...98......350..........L31 Vortec, truck, 64cc chambers, 1.94/1.5, 170cc intake port


They're a vortec truck head from 1998 and newer. If those are 062 heads, BUY BUY BUY!

 

I will get on that today and if all goes well buy them by this weekend.

 

go out there and pick them up today dont wait one second.

 

I'm waiting on the casting number, the sooner I get those the sooner you can get the aluminum ones. lol

 

They were sold already so I couldn't get em.

What would be a good cam to go with the vortec heads?

 

what do you want to do with the car?

 

It's my daily driver, I just want to have some power on the streets and it get decent gas mileage, and I need to be able to pass smog.

 

ok, I'm out. I don't know anything about that smog crap.

 

haha thanks for your other responses

 

Kevin91Z has done many writeups on L98 aluminum heads and the EGR
crossover for F-bodies. if you choose to go that route, That'll get you on
the street and still provide a nice ride.

Sounds to me like using the 113's is the best route for you, only
because you seek a nice daily driver and the fact you have them
already.

 

I think I'm going to stick with the 113's since I already have them. I have met Kevin before he removed the VATS system of the computer for the 350 I put in. If he can do the work for me I'll definitely have him do it.

Is a ZZ4 cam a good choice with the 113's?

 

Yes, it's a great cam.

The 113 heads, also known as the aluminum L98/Corvette heads....also just happen to be the same heads that come on the ......wait for it.....

....ZZ4 Crate motor....which of course uses the ZZ4 cam.

...and for what THAT's worth...I run a ZZ4 cam with my Iron L98 heads, which are VERY similar to those 113 heads, and with NO tune, and NO emissions, I passed a smog test at my buddies garage. Obviously, per the letter of the law, without the smog crap it would fail, but it still ran nice and clean. Idle is smooth with just a hint of lope. Power is a good bit better as well. Nothing insane, but certainly an upgrade.

 

Damn thanks for the great info, I'll definitely be using the zz4 since I've heard good things about it.

 

theres so many other cams out there though...I just had a GM High Tech mag (I think) where they really spiced up a zz4 motor to over 400 hp with a different cam.

Oh well, zz4 motor is a good (dated) motor. It will work good

 

I think the ZZ4 cam will be good for now, in the future when I upgrade the heads I'll get a better cam as well.

 

Yeah, don't get me wrong, I'm not suggesting that the ZZ4 cam/113 heads is what anyone SHOULD do. I'm just saying that the combo works well. By design, and per my personal experience.

...now I did that work about 5 years ago, and I built it around Iron L98 heads and a stock TPI. I knew that cam would work.

...if the OP has a TPI, and the 113 heads, the ZZ4 cam is a good choice. Best choice? Maybe. Maybe not. Bah, there's no right answer. ...but for driveability, computer friendly, cost effective cams for the given intake/head combo....the ZZ4 cam is tough to beat.

....now swap on a carb or HSR.....

....or go with Vortec heads or have the 113 heads ported....

...and all that changes.

 

Vortec heads are in the future, just wanna wake up the engine for now. I wanna get some slp runners and siamese them and match the plenum and intake to the runners.

Will that be a good street combo?

 

With a killer exhaust and maybe a minor tune for good measure, Id say definitely.
Of course there is always room for improvement, but I wouldnt mind having that
setup haul me around town!

 

I'm satisfied with my flowmaster exhaust right now, I'll just add some of Dyno Don's headers and I'll be good. I'll keep everyone posted on the progress.

 

Dyno don headers certainly qualify as a killer exhaust, regardless of muffler choice!