SBC Heads? GOOD ones BAD ones?

im looking at starting a rebuild on my small block. i was wondering if there was a specific casting of heads i should look for, and ones i should stay away from.

got any thoughts?

 

Try & stay away from the "lightweight" castings.They are identified by the scallops that run below all of the lower head bolt holes,the whole length of the head.(late 70s early 80s i think)Where as the "heavy" castings only have one scallop/notch for the dipstick tube.
What are you planning for this engine to do?

 

If you're looking for "out-of-the-box" performance, I'd find a set of Vortecs, but your manifold selection is limited. Although, early manifolds can be modified to fit them with a little elbow grease.

 

get a set of iron sportsman II heads for $480
you can easily spend $300 re-furbishing old heads.
http://store.summitracing.com/partd...WRL-011150-2&N=400240+303790+115&autoview=sku

 

Yep that's what I did.....I easily spent $300 re-furbishing some old power pack heads....but hey, I like it that way.

 

im not 100% looking for out-of-the box performance, id actually like to find some stock heads and have them worked and ported for better performance. im even thinking about doing my own porting, and gasket matching.

does anybody have any pics defining the scallops you're talking about, im not sure what you're saying

im planning on building a 383 long rod set up to put in my 49' something with some higher revs and around 400 hp, no boost.

 

Vortec heads are stock heads on later model 350's...they're also 18° wedge heads...automatic bolt on HP. If you're going to do your own porting and polishing, just get a pneumatic pencil die grinder and some long shanked grinding stones. Go to town....

 

thats for one head right?

 

I've got a few sets of earlier heads sitting here at my house. Pm me if you're interested.

Sorry I missed meeting you guys at Tombstone. Saw your car but missed you.
I was about the only one there in a hawaiian shirt.


jerry

 

Can you use Vortec heads on a 400 if you drill the steam holes?

 

They are not 18 degree heads. They are still 23 degree heads. They have a really good intake port that flows about 220cfm stock. Do not touch the intake port much except around the valve guides and the valve seat - the bowl area. The exhaust port needs work however.

 

Yup - check the bottom - sold individually. Vortechs are under $500.

 

stay away from 882's and 624 factory heads,major crack prone.186 ,041,291,292 ,461,492,441 487 are some desireables depending on compression and valve size.

 

we need to talk.......



Fred

 

there are some modified vortec heads by scoggin ****ey that are really cheap and I have seen a few mild engines make 400hp. definitley the best bang for buck in my opinion.

 

just don't skimp on the heads - they are what make the motor. A few extra dollars spent on good head will get you many smiles in the long run

 

what was the first year for vortec heads?

 

I found them cheaper at midwest motorsport, $750/pr. For the money, they are a great deal. Screw in rocker studs, pushrod guides, big valves, ready to go. angle plug if you want that too. If you ever need sbc parts, look to the circle track shops, MM has a consignment area full of good, used stuff. I got a torker II intake for 75.

 

96 I think. But why go for used because you are going to spend more rebuilding them than they cost from chevy.

 

I got a pair of SBC heads opened up for 2.02's complete for $365 from Aerohead Racing in Indianapolis. Since I was going to port and polish them myself with the kit from Northern Automotive, it was the way to go. I see they're up to $399 now, though. And I found their ad in Circle Track magazine. http://www.aeroheadracing.com/index.html http://www.northernautoparts.com/ProductModelDetail.cfm?ProductModelId=3355

 

In my opinion and I think it's already been said, if your going to want some performance, the heads and camshaft combination are the heartbeat of any engine. I'm very old school and have owned many different factory Chevrolet heads; power pack, double hump, both 1.94 & 2.02s, bowtie angle plug heads, etc. Rebuilding a set of ancient cast iron heads is very costly. If you want bronze wall valve guides, guide plates, screw in studs, hardened seats, etc., you are better off by going to Dart, World Products or Edelbrock. I know engine builders that will buy a set of Air Flow Research heads and take 60 or more hours to port them, it isn't something you expect to be successful at on the first try. I'm not sold on the Vortec or Fastburn heads, there are too many used manifolds out there for the old style heads. Match porting the manifold to the head and the carb spacer will in itself, make some power. The bigger issue is what are you going to do with this engine? The modern day manufacturers offer a wide variety of runner and chamber sizes, you need to know what kind of compression your combination of parts will make? You can be a little more aggressive on compression with aluminum heads and get away with it on today's pump gas. I've seen guys buy a set of Brodix heads, media blast them and paint them Chevy orange. The traditional thing is OK, but how far do you want to take it and still be practical? I'd offer that if you took the valve covers off of one of these traditional purest's cars and find roller rocker arms of any variety, they are out of bouinds! Those are an important part of the valve train, but there were not many of us that could afford them back in the day and availability was limited. Now, they are very commonplace. I have a nice set of Harlan Sharp rollers hiding under my finned aluminum valve covers, works for me. Just my thoughts.

 

Is it true that Vortec heads severely limit how much valve lift you can run?

I've got Trickflow canted valve heads on the 355 in my shoebox, and I really like them. You should be able to find a used set in very good shape for about $500-750.

I've also got a set of ported and polished 492 angle plug LT-1 heads that are destined for a (6-71) blower motor.

 

exactly thats why it was my first question.


"John Copeland" thanks that was a lot of good info

 

I think thats $480 EA. the way I read it ,not a bad price but still over a G b4 you get em home, jm2c,Anyone ever use Speedways cheater heads?

 

Mike,

Your right about the price being decent........................a good set of heads that will do the job for less then a grand is reasonable, although still serious money. What hurts is, a good set of gaskets and 100 plus bucks for a set of ARP head studs! There was another post recently about the Quality and Reliability of MOPAR crate engines. Two completely different schools of thought. I would prefer to build my own engine, but it's awfully difficult to build an engine for the price of a crate engine, the cost of all the hardware kills you. My Brother opted to use a crate motor, after I spent a zillion bucks building mine, it made my heart feel good watching him grind the "Made in Mexico" off of the block!

John C.

 

Summit has their own iron heads, it seems like a copy of the old camelhump heads, the price was pretty good, $292.00 each. Anyone try these? part #SUM-152123, but if I had the money id get some AFR's

 

You can get sportsman II's for 750 a pair from circle track racers supply. I had a 383 with Sport IIs and a 292H mag cam that made 300HP at the rear wheels.

I would be curious to find out about those summit heads.