vortec heads

[bulldawg1081]

i have a newer gm goodwrench 350 in my '77 c10 and i was first wondering what kindof heads they put on these goodwrench 350's? my 2nd question is how big of a difference do the late 90's vortec heads do for these carbuerated engines and if its worth the swap and what are the pros and cons of doing this thankyou...

[Layne]

Theres at least a 50 horse benefit. You'll need a vortec style intake and bolts I believe. The motor guys will chime in with expert advise

[VileZambonie]

You'll have to pull the valve covers to see the casting #'s. The vortec heads are a good improvement. The only cons are the cost of the upgrades.

[bulldawg1081]

what do you think the cost for upgrades should be for this little adventure and whatall besides heads,bolts and an intake designed for this setup would i need?  thankyou guys for the fast responses

[87OldYeller]

I had these heads on my engine Grant it, it was a 305 but I went with the Edelbrock Intake made for those heads. I liked it had good power. Not a whole lot of nice looking valve covers for those heads though cause there Center Bolt for the covers. But they are good heads. Attached is a picture of mine, right as i was pulling it out so there are some loose wires and water build up.

[Layne]

Isn't there a center bolt to perimeter midplate deal for the rocker covers? Or is it the other way around

[bulldawg1081]

old yeller i guess im kinda wierd but i like the look of the bolt-on-top look better than the old style,to me it just looks cleaner and i happen to have a set of valve covers off an old tbi engine and i can paint up to look pretty nice,im not into all the chrome accessories anyways...this engine i have its pretty darn powerful now,will these heads make a noticeable amount of difference?

[87OldYeller]

The OEM covers are the only ones i liked. I could not find any nice after market ones I liked.

[eventhorizon66]

http://www.chevyhiperformance.com/techarticles/46364_gm_350_crate_engine_build_iv/index.html

Vortec heads would be a worthwhile upgrade in my opinion.  They are superior in terms of flow, swirl, and combustion efficiency.  They will also increase your compression by about one full point.  This may or may not require you to run more than 87 octane.  '96-'99 L31 engines were running 9.4:1 on 87 octane.

Cost is determined by how cheaply you can score a set of used heads and how much machine work is required.  Check local salvage yards, Craigslist, eBay, etc.  If you plan to buy new, I'd look into a set of aftermarket iron heads.

[69byrd]

I have vortec heads on my truck and I like them.  Also I had no problem finding valve covers, here are mine.


Here are some more.

[Donut]

As far as the heads on yours, like VZ mentioned, pull the valve cover off and get the casting number.  Either post it up or check http://www.mortec.com/.

They are  a worthwhile upgrade, you get about a full point of compression, and better flow characteristics.  Downfall "could" be getting them ready for use.  You more than likely will need a new intake manifold (Mine came off e-bay, dual plane, spread-bore)  Self-aligning rockers or guideplates and hardened pushrods, and in stock form, they are lift limited (about .450)

On a relatively stock motor, that hardly sees more than 3500 rpm, I like mine.  I don't see swapping them back for the old "882's" anytime soon.
Valve covers- I found a set in the junkyard and painted them up.  Works for me. 

Another good read (but long) http://www.nastyz28.com/forum/showthread.php?t=56505

[bulldawg1081]

it appears that you have to do some head grinding prior to installing these heads even with the new ones you but from scoggin dickey according to the last article posted..im beginning to wonder if its really worth all the effort and a 1 thousand dollar bill just to gain 50 ponies...is all of this true?

[VileZambonie]

What do you mean head grinding?

[eventhorizon66]

No grinding needed and you should be able to do it for closer to $500-600, if you play your cards right.  If you can't find a way to make the swap for less than $1000 look into some aftermarket heads.

[bulldawg1081]

the article was talking about this.....Another method is the infamous Vortec retainer "ghetto grind". If the camshaft being used only requires a stock 1.25" diameter single-wound valvespring, it is possible to only need to grind off approximately 3/32" off the bottoms of the stock Vortec retainers with a grinder or on a grinding wheel to achieve enough R-G clearance to run up to approximately .530" -.540" safely. I must caution here that R-G clearance must ALWAYS be checked to verify that there is in fact enough clearance - also include allowing for coil bind. One other thing - you must remove the dampner in this modification. Don't worry -- the stock Vortec valveguide being much larger in diameter than other SB heads will act as sort of a dampner and I never noticed any RPM issues related to lack of running one when I did this mod. Although myself and others who have done it this way have had no problems, I must caution this basically for those on a strict budget and cutting down the guides either with the Comp tool or at a machine shop is the best way to go. However, I'm of the opinion that since it works well within the noted constraints, then you're really only out your time to grind down the retainers. The choice is yours.