Cylinder heads

[Edmond]

Okay, I need to figure out what I'm going to do with my cylinder heads. What I do know is that my car won't see any of the track and it won't see any racing. It'll just be a driver.

That being so, I don't know if I want to spend $1200 on a set of heads. I don't need bigger valves and I'm not going to do a radical cam. I may even stick with the stock cam if there isn't anything wrong with it but I'll get a little more lift with 1.6 roller rockers.

I've got some new injectors on the way from Five O. and I want to redo the heads as well.

I read an article on porting your own heads. It didn't look that difficult but I don't know if that's something I'm ready to undertake at this point.

Another thing I'd like to do is port match the intake manifold with the heads. Then I'll port the plenum and get some large tube runners.

What I want is a street machine, not something to run the 1/4 mile with.

Any suggestions?

What I'm thinking right now is to rebuild the heads to stock specs. I would like everything in there fresh so there won't be any problems. I see that Scoggins Dickey sells cylinder head kits for about $120 each head.

 

[vetteboy86]

Honestly, you could pay someone labor to do the work to your heads. I think the charge for my heads was like 450 bucks, that was pocket porting them, installing the bigger valves, and doing a three angle valve job. I didn't pay that offcourse, but that was the price. Well worth it if you ask me.

I would get a different cam. You dont need something lopy, just go with a cam with 114 lobe seperation(Like stock) with a little more duration to take advantage of the better breathing heads.

I know what you mean by having a street machine, but I thought I was going pretty radical with the stroker, and intake crap with the new cam. It is faster, but is it fast enough, that is always the question. I think a set of headers is next for me, which would be a pretty good bang for you buck. WIth the engine breathing better, it has to exhale more also. Should be a pretty nice difference. Heck while you are at it(how many miles on your motor) throw a rotating assembly in there, and increase the cubes.

All I have to say is just have piece of mind about what you are doing, that way there are no second guesses, to beat you up down the road.

 

[Edmond]

The biggest factor we have here in IL are emissions.:eyerole If it weren't for that, I would've gone crazy already!:L

 

[vetteboy86]

Honestly I dont think you would hurt emissions. If you still keep the air pump, cats, and the EGR. Just run good gas, and put a good ignition on the car.

 

[Edmond]

Honestly I dont think you would hurt emissions. If you still keep the air pump, cats, and the EGR. Just run good gas, and put a good ignition on the car.

I was going to go with headers and the big cat. I have a set of new injectors coming in next week. I think they should make a big difference because the car is running very rich. Rich to the point where you can smell the unburned fuel at the end of the driveway.

 

[vetteboy86]

Could be a number of things. I would keep them, maybe have them cleaned down the road when money permits. You could always use a back up of just about anything.

 

[Moonunit 451]

Edmond, since you are not interested in racing, let me throw this out for consideration as weight shouldn't be a big issue. I have a set proffesionally P&P cast L98 heads that I bought for a rebuild before I found and decided on the prebuilt 383 with the AFR 195 Alu heads that I ended up buying.

I paid $500 + shipping for them and I think I could put you in touch with the guy I got them from for more details. You could get in the range of $400 for your heads and only have $100 or so into some high end performance.

 

[Edmond]

Moon,

Please let me know the specs on those heads!

 

[Moonunit 451]

Replied to your PM. I'll be on it. Tomorrow at the latest I'll have some info.

 

[Moonunit 451]

Besides the photo's, this is the only description I currently have "The valve springs, retainers, and locks all have less than 2,000 mi. on them. I used the valve springs for my flat tappit cam, but the springs are good to .600 lift. The valves are stock for an 85 Vette. These just have come back from my machinist who pulled a vacuum on them, they are clean and ready to install"

I have called and left a message for the guy I bought them from and sent him an e-mail. We'll have to see if he gets back to me and can recall further details.

I could probably take them to someone locally and have them flow tested, and get more info, but I have no idea what the cost for that might be.

 

[Moonunit 451]

No response yet. Still interested? Reading the e-mail, I think they were like $75 cheaper than I originally stated, forgot I got some other small things as well from him. That's about what it would cost to ship them.

 

[Edmond]

Definitely still interested. I'm trying to weigh all my options here. Looks like I'm going to stick with the stock runner size, I'll open them up as much as I can along with the intake and the plenum.

Like I said before, what I'm trying to do is build torque. I'm weighing all the options I have and then I'll go from there.

I do know that Harland Sharp 1.6 roller rockers will be going in there as well as new pushrods. As for the lifters, I'm not sure yet. I'd like to see what kind of shape my lifters are in before I do anything. They are roller lifters so I don't think there should be too much of a problem.

 

[Moonunit 451]

Sounds good. I'll update you when I get more info. I look around and see what it'll take to get them flow tested.