vortec heads

[flintdawg]

i was wondering what all you have to do to make the infamous vortec heads....correct me if i am wrong but you start w/'98 or newer stock vortec heads....but from there i dunno....what needs to be machined and what parts do you put in them? also in addition to this...what other mods do you have to do....will they work w/kb headers and an aftermarket turbo....any help is greatly appreciated...thanks

 

[nick041881]

they are a pain in the ass!! you need to plug the stock holes for the intake manifold and then you need you drill and tap new holes to fit our intake manifolds. then you need to port match the intake manifold to the heads.(requires aluminum welding on the manifold.) John waller did all of this for me and he did a kick ass job!
depending on the type of rocker arms you use , you might have valve cover clearance issues ,not to mention its expensive to replace all of the gaskets. oh ya...taking the heads off isnt fun either.

they will work with atr headers and i believe kb headers as well......
i didnt know what i was getting into when i started with the vortec heads.would i do it again ?? hell ya!!
peace,
nick

 

[7dhamper]

We all know that iron heads will make more power than alluminum heads. Ask any old timer. So, is it really worth it? Or, would it be just as benifitiary to port and polish the stock iron heads? I would think it a more significant power to weight ratio gain to build an alluminum block with iron heads than to modify alluminum heads to work on our stock iron blocks? i am not the smartest machinest so don't bag on me if I'm dead wrong. Just my $0.02.

 

[BillC]

We all know that iron heads will make more power than alluminum heads

Umm, like total non sequitur, dude.... Vortec heads are cast iron, just like the stockers and the L35s. So, aluminum vs iron is not the issue here. People like the later Vortec heads because they flow better and have a more knock-resistant chamber design. If these heads were direct bolt-ons, like the L35s, most likely no one would ever bother with the L35s at all.

 

[MR_MNZTR_SY]

is the difference between L35 heads to vortech heads worth the trouble you have to go through to get the vortechs on rather than just swapping over th the L35?

 

[jwaller]

the differance is definatly wirth the trouble. your talking about increadable knock resitance and the ability to run 10deg more timing right off the bat. not to mention huge gains in port flow for both int and exh.

 

[flintdawg]

here is my hold up....i bought a new syclone....here is a list of the mods that i have discovered...i know that it has:

KB headers
Big aftermarket turbo
custom downpipe
custom 4" exhaust the whole way back
forged pistons
kb afpr
9/11 torque converter w/lockup switch
built transmission
external wastegate
ported and polished STOCK HEADS

i was wondering with this setup if it would be beneficial to do the vortec heads....i have the capability to flow after the heads....but i wanted to be able to flow before as well...i will also be looking into air-air intercooler....and pos. larger injectors.....what do you think i should do....the new heads or not

 

[TheObiJuan]

vortec heads are always a must. they flow awesome. talk to john waller about it.

 

[hvychy]

vortec heads

Does anybody know a website that details exactly what a machine shop has to do to the intake manifold to adapt them to vortec heads ? I found a set for $300.00 and I want to jump on them but I dont know what to tell the machine shop what to do. My engine has 180,000 miles on it now , and im starting to hear some engine knock at start up. I'm going to do a stock rebuild MAYBE bigger pistons. but I REALLY REALLY want to put those heads on there. Please any help would be awsome. THANX

 

[dourtyb]

Try this:

http://www.got-boost.net/engine/intake.shtml

These are some picks of my intake manifold and the work that was done. I really don't think the conversion to the 96' heads was that hard. The machine shop drilled and tapped the heads to match my intake and welded up the intake to match the ports on the Vortecs as well. I spent less than $500 on it, including the purchase of the heads. This figure doesn't include any port work to the heads. I did the port matching so that the intake manifold matched the heads.

Enjoy,