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vortec heads?

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Little Bill

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Discussion starter · #1 ·
I am thinking of building a stroker motor(small block) for my '67 Camaro. Is there an advantage performance wise to using vortec heads/ manifold over my stock heads/ alum. intake assuming you port, polish, etc. heads?
 
#2 ·
Vortec heads are a good replacement over stock heads they flow as well if not better then the 034 bow tie heads.

They do requirer some work if using a cam. The springs are not like any other small block valve spring so the bosses would have to be cut for regular sbc springs. At that point i would up grade to studs and plates and clean up the bowels a little with a good 3 angle valve job. You will need a vortec intake because bolt holes are different.

Of coarse if using a stock cam you would not have to do anything.
Their are also aftermarket versions of these heads made buy EQLighting and RHS that are better then stock factory.

Stock o62 and 906 are prone to cracking so it would be a good ideal to send them to a machine shop for a magna- flux.
 
#3 ·
I would consider using a lift limited roundy-round hy-po cam to save money here so that the heads other than better springs can be used as is.

Of course, I'm che--, er, eh -- "frugal" is all!! He, He!!

Please go over to SGCOG and look into their Vortec Head Sticky for one heck of a lot more info on them!!!!!!!!! Dirt R. over there has a very good tried deal too here!!!

Here is the link over to SGCOG..

http://www.nastyz28.com/forum/showthread.php?t=56505

Good reading!!

pdq67

PS., and I think Elgins stock type Z- 28 .500" lift and their .600" lift Z-28 type springs just may fit fine stock, but I would definately check to make sure..
 
#5 ·
I'm with pdq. Money is best spent on vortecs with back-cuts on valves, bowl blending and a good 3-angle valve job. They're not the greatest flowing heads at high lift but are outstanding in the lower-lift range which is ideal for a street engine. Run a cam with lift about .475 lift and do the above mods and you'll have a plenty strong runner.
 
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#6 ·
#8 ·
If you're looking at heads, and vortec's to be exact, you're looking at putting a lot of work into them to get them to flow as MyBoTy pointed out. So take that cost into account along with the vortec intake and center bolt valve covers, then look at other heads that flow better box stock and use maybe what you already have (unless you have the vortec stuff already).
 
#9 ·
I run vortecs with a lunati 268 cam, in a 350 ho motor it has around 375 horse now. They're a good stock head. I used crane 10309 valve springs and retasiners to get the extra lift, they're good to about 550 lift. Most people say vortecs aren't worth porting, if you do they're weak on the exhaust side.
 
#10 ·
Vortecs are outstanding heads and make tremendous power and torque. They already come with a 3-angle grind on both intake and exhausts and back-cut valves from the factory. If you check the link pdq posted, there's a ton of info on them over at SGCOG. I ran them in a budget 400 and weighing almost 3800# race-ready went a 12.15 @ 110.52 on an old set of worn-out drag radials, launching off idle. I also used a cheap Crane 'Blazer' hyd FT cam 234/244 @ 0.050", stock Vortec stamped-steel rockers, RPM intake and 750 vaccum secondary Holley. My only mods to the Vortecs were to grind the bottoms of the retainers for retainer to guide clearance (about 20 minutes on a bench grinder) and I did some home porting work on the intake and exhausts. The Performer RPM intake manifold was left unported.

With further tuning and a harder launch I'm sure I could have ran an 11.90 - 11.80 with that same combo. If the car was lighter by a few hundred lbs I'm sure it would have ran mid-11s but late 70s Camaros are heavy cars. I think that's pretty good performance for steel truck heads. :cool:
 
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Discussion starter · #12 ·
Thanks for all the input, Guys, I appreciate it. Not trying to begin a war here but am searching for best heads to spend money on - what would be a better head or alternative to the vortec? Assuming you compare cost to cost or simply want to go with the best but probably avoid aluminum.
 
#13 ·
I ran stock vortecs on a 9.5 comp. 350 with a comp 280 cam. All that was needed was a spring/retainer swap and they were good to go. Never ran it in the 1/4 but it felt really REALLY good with 4.10's and a tremec in an '81 z/28.

Better heads out there but vortecs are the ......BEST BANG FOR THE BUCK !!!!


bob
 
#14 ·
gm performance parts has low $$ vortec heads in 200cc version that will accept both intake bolt patterns, and I believe have higher lift capability than production truck heads. I dont have all the specs for you, but I would definately look into them as they are great deals for the money. get the 200cc versions if your building a larger CI motor
 
#15 ·
It really depends on what parts you have on hand right now.

If you have a standard pattern intake, valve covers, etc. you will spend about $1100 for the heads, new intake, new valve covers, new self-aligning rockers, etc. You can get Dart Iron Eagle 180 heads that will accept all your current parts and can be ported if you desire. You could also go with the Edelbrock e-tech heads and the only thing extra you would need is a vortec style intake so the runners will match up to the intakes on the head. Your current rockers, valve covers, etc will bolt up. The E-tech heads are reported to be quite strong and have a better exhaust port than the gm heads.

If you are starting from scratch and don't have any parts yet, take your pick.
 
#17 ·
I bought my heads through http://www.tristatecylinderhead.com/catalog/ and they are Protopline Iron Lightnings 200cc,2.05/1.6 valves. I am a full second (1.0 faster) than my stock home ported and polished 400 heads with 1.94/1.6 valves.
$637 and change to my door, bolted on out of the box. There are deals to be had.(end of year inventory clearance)

Also TexasPerfProd
Image
(member here) might have something you like too.
 
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Little Bill
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