Heads

[Utah]

As i posted last week, i blew the head gasket on my 89. now that we finally got it pulled apart today, the heads are done as well. am i better off to try and repair them/buy used ones or put in performance heads? will there be any gains by doing just performance heads or does it need others to go with it to make it worth while?

utah

 

[Ken]

Oh boy! You've opened a can of worms here.

It's never as easy as just bolting on a part and going; things are designed to work in concert with each other. For example, if the heads are to do their job, they need help in the intake area including the throttle body, as well as the exhaust (including downstream - meaning cats and mufflers), and then you will really need a cam to go along with those changes. But then, changing the cam alone is not recommended, so you will need new lifters and maybe pushrods, and you then you might want to upgrade to a different ratio on your rocker arms...

The heads are a good area to start, but there are cheaper ways to go if you're on a budget as most of us are.

 

[Utah]

i figured that from reading other treads, and going with headers and a cam change is a good way to go with the performance heads.

what i guess i really want to know is that since i have to put on new heads, is it in my best interest to go with good ones since i plan on keeping the car for a while and doing more to it in the future?

just the per. heads alone, will it hurt the car in any way or loose anything, or will i come out with any extra power... im not counting on a lot, but i figure if it wont hurt it, why not change it for the better now, instead of later after i put money into it to get it on the road now.

UtAh

 

[Ken]

Nothing wrong with Edelbrock's as a relatively inexpensive way to go, you only go up from there. Have you looked through the GM Performance catalog at their offerings. Pick a dealer near you to see the pricing.

_ken

Oh, and as far as de-valuing a C4, I doubt that our years ('87 & '89) will ever really be worth anything to a restorer; there's nothing special about 'em.

 

[sothpaw]

Utah,
You might gain a little something from the ported heads alone. I have a book with a series of tests on an LT1 (not your motor but mine) that showed a set of ported heads alone adding 27hp.

However, when I moded my car, I wasn't so confident in this claim, so I did the TB, and a cam, and pushrods and rockers had to be done because of the head gasket and the new springs I used.

Anyway, I don't think you have anything to lose by putting in a perf. set of heads. However, there is the matter that it's easier to do the cam, headers, etc. once you have the heads off, so if you were going to do those mods later, you have increased your labor cost enormously.

 

[steve1ph]

a good head job

i guess you know for sure the heads are toast. did you have them pressure tested? if they are history check out either the jegs or summit catalogs. you can go online and they will send you a free mag. iv read where people will have their 58cc heads ported and polished for around 700 to 1k when you can buy twice the flowing heads for a few more bucks. good luck.

 

[steve1ph]

your for ever biggest gains will be from heads alone.

 

[Utah]

should i redo the bottom end since i am doing the top? i have heard that i may have problems again later on if i dont....