Putting Vortec heads on stock L82

[page62]

I have an opportunity to buy a pair of Vortec heads at a good price. But I'm wondering what kind of bang for the buck I'm gonna get...

Is it worth the money?

 

[Tom Bryant]

There have been many articles written on the Vortec heads and they are, without a doubt, the best cast iron head Chevy has ever made. Hot Rod did a test just changing the heads a year ago or so and they showed remarkable gains. I would have to look up the article for the exact numbers but they were substantial. I'm sure you will see enough gain to really feel it in the seat of your pants even against he L82 heads. One big advantage with the Vortec is the fast burn heart shaped combustion chamber. It promotes a much smoother and more even burn and is much more tolerant of low octane fuels. That means you can bump up the timing without fear of detonation for a power increase.

The big thing to remember is that the Vortec uses a different intake bolt angle and requires an Edelbrock Vortec (or equilivent) intake manifold. All of the rest of your parts should interchange and the L82 cam should perform well with it too.

Tom

p.s. Reading your specs I would go to a performance exhaust system at the same time to gain full advantage of the improvement in engine breathing.

 

[sscam69]

Page search for my post

"Vortech Heads not all there cracked up to be" or something along those lines.

They are the best cast iron heads right out of the box BUT in the end they are not as cheap as some people claim they are. In the post I give a break down of the prices for the heads and the HIDDEN costs.

This should help you make your decision.

Frank

 

[page62]

Not to worry. This is a VERY appealing package deal from a guy who bought all this stuff...then bought a ZZ4!

He also has a Comp Cams XE262 he would like to sell me. But I've heard there isn't much difference between it and the original L82 cam. Opinions, anyone?

 

[Blue82]

I am running the Vortec heads with the Edlebrock Performer RPM 7116 hi-rise intake and the CompCam XE262-4 Cam and self-aliagning roller tip rockers. If you are already planning to change the heads, intake, and rockers then the Vortec heads are a good deal. I f all you want to do is change the heads then you are in for a lot more than you thought you were.

In my case I already planned to do all that so it was an easy decision. I am using a 454 TBI setup and it is on an 82 Vette. You will see a definite improvement over the stock engine. I can't give you solid numbers because I still need to switch to the 7747 ECM and to tune it, but even with the 82 ECM running the setup, it has alot more power than the stock L83 and there is more in there waiting to come out. I am pulling hard enough in third gear changes with an automatic to get scratches at will.

I went with a 114 LSA to keep my vacuum up for the MAP sensor so the engine is not peaky. It has a smooth power band and gets stronger and stronger and the RPMs come up.

I think you will like the setup.

 

[82RL]

Blue 82, I have a 82 also and I am very interested in your set up. Now for the dumb questions. What is 114 LSA. and 454 TBI. If I read this right the 454 TBI takes the place of the crossfire,is that correct? If this is true what did it come off of, brand name etc. I may be mistaken. Any help or information would be appreciated.

 

[Blue82]

82RL, don't let me fool you into thinking I know what I'm doing with this cause I am just learning as fast as I can. The 114 LSA is the lobe seperation angle ground into the cam. When you hear those real nice sounding cams in cars, they have less seperation of the lobes and more overlap. This allows air to travel backwards through the intaks manifold which in turn lowers your vacuum that is needed by the MAP sensor. I probably could have gotten away with a 110 or 112 LSA, but I wanted to make sure it worked. From what I have read using the larger seperation angle gives you a smoother power curve instead of a spike.

The setup I used replaced the X-fire intake and throttle bodies (TBI), but used the original wiring harness and is still a throttle body injected system. I used the Vortec heads, an Edlebrock Vortec hi-rise Performer RPM intake manifold (7116) with a Holley adapter plate (17-45). The Performer intake is a carburetor intake so the adapter plate switches it to the TBI. You will need self-aliagning rocker arms and the recommended GMPP part is $13 each so you might as well buy the CompCam self aliagning roller tip rockers.

The throttle body came from an 1987 GMC 454 pickup truck and it is a direct bolt on and will plug into the original wiring harness. You could probably use anything GM or GMC from 87 to 91 and get away with it. You also may need to buy a connector pigtail for the throttle position sensor and the idle air control valve at the parts store and splice them.

I haven't done it yet, but I plan to buy the harness from from the firewall to the engine and clean up the connectors for a better look.

Look up th Vortec heads at Sallee Chevrolet in Oregon to get prices for the heads and a lot of accessories. That's where I got some of my parts.

 

[Blue82]

Page62, I don't know how the XE262 stacks up against the L82 cam, but it doesn't take too much cam to make good power with the Vortec heads. If you step up to the XE268 they recommend a 3000 stall converter because it is sluggish below that.

Also, CompCams recommends a spring upgrads for the XE262 and above that has a little inner spring so the heads will need a little work. I had the pins pulled and tapped with ARP studs installed while they had the heads apart. The pins were probably overkill, but I didn't want to chance it.

 

[page62]

I don't have to buy the cam...and the L82 is a pretty decent cam in its own right.

The package I'm looking at includes stock L31 heads, Edelbrock intake, rockers, cheesy-looking valve covers, head bolts and assorted gaskets. The only thing I would need up front on top of all this is 1 head gasket.

The rockers are the stock 1.5 units, but I could step up to steel roller-tip rockers if I was in the mood.

Finally, it would cost hundreds of dollars less than sscam69 was suggesting for a package like this.

One more question: will the A/C compressor brackets bolt properly to this setup?

 

[80convertible]

For me the most difficult part of installing the vortec heads was the temp sending unit. The vortec heads use a smaller threaded hole than my factory 441 heads, so I had to make an adapter out of parts from the hardware store. If you find your temp sending unit not fitting the hole fear not, head to your local hardware store and dig in.

One thing many folks don't consider is rebuilt vortec heads. I paid $400.00/pair for rebuilt heads using better than factory parts such as springs and seals. This price also included the factory rocker arms and valve covers. All I had to buy was the intake which I was going to replace anyway. Part of the fun of owning a project car is searching for the deals.

 

[82RL]

Thanks to all for the information.

 

[Blue82]

I had no problems attaching the accessories. The heads have the standard GM mounting holes. I also didn't have any problems with my sensors.

 

[Hijinx]

I'm interested in the Vortec head as well. I am about ready to start building the 383 I have been talking about for a year now. However, I cant decide on which head I want. I would like to build the 383 for around $2000. I already have the block, but I cant decide between built 441, Vortec or some form of Alunimum heads. Aside from the intake change, will everything else bolt up. Headers, distributer, etc...? I'm not too concerned about swapping manifolds. I have an Edelbrock Performer (EGR) now and want to go with a non-EGR manifold. What other cost considerations are there? I know the new Vortec heads are cheap, but I would rather buy a rebuilt set with better parts if I can get a good deal on them. Thoughts?

 

[page62]

That's gonna be a pretty tight budget!

Your idea to go with rebuilt heads is probably a good one, because the stock springs can't handle much more than the Xe262 cam.

Right now, I'm thinking about doing something similar to you. I had two ideas. Get an L31 short block and slap the Vortecs on there. Or get an LM1 Goodwrench engine, pull the heads and cam (sell them) and put the Vortecs and cam in it. Even Edelbrock uses this block as the base for some of its crate engines!

 

[Hijinx]

I am off-setting some of the cost. I already have a ready-to-go 4 bolt main block (still in the crate) and a 400 crank. I have seen 383 rotating kits for under $1000. I figure around $500 for the heads and another $500 or so on machine work. If I end up spending an additional $500 or so, that would be fine. I guess where I get into a quandryon spending $2500 on a build up or just droping in a crate engine. That would be $4000 at best for what I want (425-450 hp).

I have some camel hump heads that are race prepped that I could sell, and a few other items that I need to get on to Ebay and get rid of. I wish the forged TRW pistons and rods I took out of a 400 I had would work. If you know anyone who needs almost new 400 piston's, let me know.