Hooray! Vortec heads and 700r4 done!

[stknrdr]

Finally got together a little cash, time and ambition and got some projects done ive been wanting to get done for a loooong time....

Got the 700r4/208 combo in about 3 weeks ago, but wasnt able to enjoy it due to the fact that I had 2 burnt valves and the old girl would hardly drag herself out of the driveway.

So, over the last few days I have been installing new vortec heads - heres how it went, for those who might be thinking about doing this yourself.

Tuesday-
Went to the local salvage yard and bought a pair of vortecs off of a nice wreck that had a whopping 16,000 miles on it.....when we got em off the heads looked real good, so I snatched em up for 300 bucks for the pair.

Made a quick order to Summit and ordered an edelbrock Performer Vortec manifold, paid the extra 10 bucks for 2 day air so I could get it done this week.

Went to the parts store and got all the necessary crap, new head and manifold gaskets, new header gaskets, etc.

Limped my truck to my uncle's nice warm shop and proceeded to disassemble! yanked everything off down to the block, (wow yup, burnt exhaust valves) - noticed that I have dished pistons instead of flattops like I thought, oh well, that will work ok with the vortecs, keep the c/r down around 9.5:1. spent an hour or so cleaning my block and the new heads, and laid the heads on and bolted em down, didnt they look pretty. Got the headers back on and cinched down, finished everything I could without the intake

Wednesday-

waited for my intake, played around with desktop dyno to see what Id end up with, sure enough big jims numbers check out, should see right around 330hp/405 ft/lb of torque, up from about 300/380 with my old 882 heads. Started toying with the possibilities of roller cams......wow 350+hp/450 ft/lb of torque in the same 2500-3000 rpm range, started to drool and plan my next project. Also , looked at small roots blower numbers, holy cow! - blower with roller cam and vortecs looks like 400hp/500 ft/lbs of torque - started scheming on how to hide a couple grand from the wife. Gotta look into this whole compression ratio thing and see if my bottom end will take it heheheh.

Thursday

Intake showed up right on time, but, had to go to christmas parties and couldnt sneak away to finish the project - bah!

Friday

Finally, some free time! Ran to the shop and installed the manifold, reinstalled the HEI and performer 600 cfm carb and all the other various and sundry goodies, spend a half hour adjusting the rockers, and turned the key. she started right up, and idled nice and smoothly, better than in months! Had a rocker clattering so shut down and readjusted, (I thought I had em all perfect, what the hell?) Fired up again just to be sure, all was well finally. Shut down and installed the valve covers (by the way, centerbolt valve covers are the best thing since sliced bread, or the self locating intake manifold gasket the vortecs use).
Now, time for some the final timing adjustments, and were off.

My uncle has a traditon that when you use his shop for an upgrade like this you have to open the doors wide and squeal out of the shop (hey his shop, his rules). So, who am I to argue, check all clear, foot firmly on the brake, gas to the floor, release brake and whammo! 2 10" wide by 20' long marks on the floor to celebrate - (truck has auburn limited slips, and I managed to spin both 35's quite nicely, its never managed that before).

So, the results, I am more than pleased with the vortecs. not bad for a 500 buck upgrade. I had to drive it 50 miles home, over a canyon road, and it pulled grades in overdrive that I was sure it would have to downshift on. It seems to be a lot smoother running now, and the bottom end torque is quite a bit stronger, dont notice much of a difference above 4000 rpm, where i run out of cam anyway.

As far as problems with the install, didnt really have any, other than my temp sender from my old heads wouldnt fit, and im not sure how compatible the vortech one is with my guage, ill have to look into it

I did look into upgrading the springs on the vortec heads, and decided against it, as my cam lifts .440-.450 ish. Decided to try it and see. So far so good, no indication whatever of problems. I do have my heart set on that roller cam, and when I do that Ill fix the vortecs, and maybe add some roller rockers too heheh, id really like to reach that 350hp/450ft/lb mark!

Now, who wants to tell me about blowers?