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Price for new Vortec heads

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heads vortec
4K views 16 replies 6 participants last post by  novaderrik 
#1 ·
I found some 906 vortecs for sale on CL for $400. They're proclaimed to be unused -- guess I'd have to try to confirm that somehow.

Anyway, I see what they go for new on Summit/Jegs ($329 each), so $400 for a pair sounds like a deal. But I was reading an old post somewhere, and it said that you can buy a pair new direct from GM for $409. Can that be right? Seems way too cheap. Would much rather have new ones for 9 bucks more! :yes:
 
#2 ·
Re: price for new Vortec heads

No way, that's probably a price for bare heads.

You'll need to upgrade the springs and keepers to permit more than .430 lift, but it's easy to do.

Just search for Vortec and beehive.
 
#3 · (Edited)
Re: price for new Vortec heads

No way, that's probably a price for bare heads.

You'll need to upgrade the springs and keepers to permit more than .430 lift, but it's easy to do.

Just search for Vortec and beehive.
I thought that was too good to be true.

I was reconsidering the Vortecs after you suggested to me that they might be a good option... But I keep going back and forth as to whether it's going to any cheaper to go with the Vortecs, plus the new intake, plus the valve springs, plus the retainers, plus the self-aligning rockers. Ya know?

But, I guess I could do the "ghetto grind" on the retainers and forgo the upgraded springs, for now -- depending on which cam I opted for. Right?

Btw, I know this topic has been covered, ad nauseum, but just helps to have others think things through with me.
 
#4 ·
prices doe GM parts have gone up in the last few years, and vortecs aren't installed on anything at the factory other than replacement engines any more, so that means they won't make as many of them as they would have 10 years ago when they were pounding out a few hundred thousand new trucks with them every year.

i recall that the lift limit for most stock vortec heads is something like .460, with some heads not needing any work for over .500 lift depending on the retainers used.
 
#9 ·
Great, I think you will be happy with them. I have yet to get my motor back but they are to be great torque heads, as I will be driving to cars shows and little drives, and get on it once and awhile, want all my power at 0-70 mph. For valve covers look at proform polished aluim. they look great and will not flake like cheap chrome. Intake either a Edelbrock performer or performer RPM. Thanks, Jerod
 
#11 ·
At all the pick and pull yards around here, there are people that camp out in front just waiting for a Vortec truck to be drug in. They get the heads off them before the dust even settles.
 
#12 ·
I thought about doing that, actually, but I was worried about not being able to ID cracks or other problems. Then a friend told me he paid $200 for the ones he pick and pulled. So I thought, for an extra $100, buying the reman'd ones with 1 yr warranty was worth it.

In theory, shouldn't I be able to pick and pull an intake, too -- assuming I can find one? I'll have the same issue with not really knowing what to look for as far as defects go, but I presume a junkyard intake will be much cheaper than a set of heads.
 
#15 ·
Look into the new Bowties - they're based on the Vortec design, can use either a dedicated Vortec intake or conventional bolt pattern intake with raised runners, can use either centerbolt or perimeter bolt valve covers and are a lot thicker castings than production vortecs. By the time you get the machine work done to a pair of production castings, you'll probably be close to the cost of these.
The only thing I'm doing to mine is having the metric rocker stud bosses machined for conventional 7/16" base studs...
 
#16 ·
Already bought some reman'd Vortecs.

I'm not building a screamer; just want a little more fun while crusing around town. So, the odds of me having any machine work done are slim. I'll probably do the ghetto grind on the retainers, put a choppy cam in, and be done with it.
 
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