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?

[K5KRAZIE]

I did almost the exact same swap!
Heads and trans. like a year ago or more. Awsome is right!
I have like .454 lift on the cam I bought and opted to swap out the springs. The motor just came alive with the heads and cam.
This desktop dyno? What is it all about?

[mikep]

An early 70's Volvo temperature sender will fit the hole and put your temp needle dead center at 180

[bigjimzlll]

its great to have a success when doing a swap...you might have gained a little more in the upper rpm range if you do the spring upgrade. congrats
Jim

[stknrdr]

Early 70's volvo temp sender, coming up!

[Project1970]

I stuck the sensor in the intake manifold...I don't know how well it works there, though. On occasion, it'll creep to being pegged (namely, fast food drivethroughs) and then it'll start going back down...but there's no evidence that it's hot at all (nearly nothing in the puke tank and it's running great).

Can someone get a part number / vehicle reference for the temp sender from a Volvo? I'd rather have the sensor in the head than the intake anyway.

Oh, almost forgot...congrats I did the exact same swap on mine...not intentionally...I started out wanting to do a 700R4 swap and clean the radiator out (it'd been overheating and the radiator is only 4 years old). So I was flushing the coolant while preparing to pull the radiator, and...there's oil in it. So I think 'head gasket'. Pull the heads, the gaskets look more or less fine...but the heads themselves look pretty nasty. My dad and I find a machine shop that would clean them up and do a simple valvejob for $100...I dropped them on the counter, they took one look and said "That's not gonna be a $100 valvejob." The old 441's were toast, needed nearly $500 in parts and labor. They just told me to buy new heads. (On the upside, I now know my truck was built at least after Jan 16, 1970. Anyway.) So a 700R4/radiator job turned into 700R4/radiator job/Vortecs.

And I've never been happier with the truck. I've got flattops, so I'm pushing 10.0:1 compression no problem...I'd like to put a better bumpstick in it (the Comp Cams XE256 looks much better than the 260H I have now) and a set of headers. Right now my estimated horsepower is about 250; with the cam and headers, though, DD2000 claims that number will increase to near 340hp!

[stknrdr]

Hmmm why only 250hp? I guess thats the header thing we were wondering about on desktop dyno. You have more compression than me and mine shows 300+ horsepower with a similar cam. -shrug-

Anyway, if you really want to get excited check out the roller cam xr258 I think it is.....I downloaded the file off of the site that was referenced here on the board, I dont recall the address right off....I need to find the manufacurer of this cam....puts mine over 350 hp and over 400 ft/lb of torque!

[bigjimzlll]

comp makes it

[VDOG]

What did you pull the Vortec Heads off of? What kind of car or truck? If something come to a junkyard out here with that kind of equipment, it will never make it to the yard. The employees will pull it before the customers can.

[stknrdr]

The heads came off a fairly new truck with 16000 miles on it that got sideswiped and totalled. Im not exactly sure of the year, to tell you the truth. It was a newer truck and the heads didnt sit around very long heheh.

[Project1970]

Vortecs (the ones you want) can be found on a 350 V8 under the hood of any C/K style fullsize model year 1996 or later. The newer Silverado/Sierra style trucks use a completely different engine based off of the Corvette's LS1. The heads won't work from those...unless you swap in the rest of the engine, fuel injection, and 4 speed electronic overdrive automatic

[SweetandLong68]

Got a question for you guys with the Vortecs.

I have a 68 C-10, 350. Soon to have a 700r4 and vortecs (eventually). WHich headers will fit the vortecs. Same as the stock ports or different??

Just wondering
CHRIS

[Project1970]

Everything I've read says they're the same as every other production SBC head...

[SweetandLong68]

Originally posted by Project1970
Everything I've read says they're the same as every other production SBC head...

Thanks alot my friend. You dont have headers on your truck? Plan to??

The 700r4 comes before that or anything else! hehehe

lata
CHRIS

[Wasted Income]

That lower first gear on the 700 might have had just a little bit to do with being able to roast your 35s.

I love my 700-R4 to death. She's been through some hard times though and I think it may be time for a rebuild soon. Mmmmmmmmm vortecs..... I know a guy up here who's got a pair with like 30k on them and he wants like $300 for the pair. I just might have to pick them up......

[Project1970]

I don't have headers yet, but they rank quite high on the to-do list. The more I think about it, the more I realize Desktop Dyno 2000 probably isn't so far off in predicting a massive power increase from a new exhaust...given that my engine is now, spec-wise, not terribly far removed from the 330hp 350HO, yet making at least 80hp less.

[stknrdr]

I have a set of Dynomax headers on mine, they fit the vortecs just the same as the stock heads - which was nice. Now I just need to keep those damned headers from leaking! The power is nice, but the leaks drive me nuts.

[SweetandLong68]

Sounds good guys. It is nice that they fit. So I wont have to wait to put some headers on until I get my heads now How nice!!! hehe

Too bad about those Dynomax headers. Live and learn eh??? :p

lata
CHRIS