Restoring Rusty

[Gregski]

quick update, just heard back from the Machine Shop, one of the spare heads I brought in to them is cracked, good thing I have 2 more spare ones so they want me to bring both of those in

again the crack is in the spare head not one on the truck (we have not autopsied those yet)

[Gregski]

sorry double post from my cell phone

[daddyjeep]

We heard you the first time. there is really no need to repeat yourself.

Ill these troubles with vortec heads. Maybe you would be better off just getting a new set from summit.

https://www.summitracing.com/parts/nal-12558060

[Gregski]

Originally Posted by daddyjeep

We heard you the first time. there is really no need to repeat yourself.

Ill these troubles with vortec heads. Maybe you would be better off just getting a new set from summit.

https://www.summitracing.com/parts/nal-12558060

did not mean to do that, I blame my phone, thanks for the advice, I am looking at some ProMAXX aluminum heads, about the same price for a pair as these cast iron ones

[daddyjeep]

We heard you the first time. there is really no need to repeat yourself.

All these troubles with vortec heads. Maybe you would be better off just getting a new set from summit.

https://www.summitracing.com/parts/nal-12558060

[Gregski]

so took the '99 Suburban L31 Vortec cylinder heads off my truck and took them in to the machine shop on this lovely Sunday morning

Here are some action shots for you so you can see how they iron powder coat them and use a huge electric magnet to test them, pretty cool

Nichols is the best machine shop ever!

[Gregski]

now for the bad news, both of my cylinder heads had cracks at the center bolt holes into the water jackets, now this is something I did not look for when I inspected them myself cause I was too focused on the chambers, live and learn

not sure how well you can see the small cracks in the pics but I was trying my best to point them out

[Gregski]

and here is the other side, now that crack right in the middle of the hole in the lower part of the hole in the pick also runs down the head so as the head heats up I assume it opens up and is just enough to slow leak that coolant, my thoughts anyway

[Gregski]

so I scored some brand new Edelbrock E-Street aluminum cylinder heads, a new Edelbrock Torker II Series single plane intake manifold, and a set of new ARP bolts. All for $850, not bad

not sure how the single plane intake is going to respond in a street application, but I've always wanted to try a single plane intake, so here we go

[RDrancher]

That manifold will move your powerband up and you'll lose a bit of torque, but the symptom is easily cured...https://www.summitracing.com/experta...ive/answer/485

[pontgta]

For a minute there I though I was watching "wheeler dealers"....Great stuff really cool that you are taking the effort to walk us through all the good and bad.

[Gregski]

Originally Posted by pontgta

For a minute there I though I was watching "wheeler dealers"....Great stuff really cool that you are taking the effort to walk us through all the good and bad.

yup, they are a huge influence, and I believe I've learned way more from my mistakes than my successes

[MikeB]

Make sure the head bolts are long enough to go AT LEAST 6 threads into the block, and preferably 8. Worst case, you may have to ditch the hardened washers.

I don't know if that's a problem with the Edelbrock heads, but I have experienced it with Dart Iron Eagle and Brodix IK heads, even with ARP bolts which, as I recall, are a shade longer than stock bolts.

Ditto on the idea to use a plenum divider, assuming there's one available for your manifold. I suspect a Performer, Performer EPS, and Performer RPM would have a much more street-friendly power band. But, hey, have fun experimenting! Next up, tunnel ram.

[Gregski]

Originally Posted by RDrancher

That manifold will move your powerband up and you'll lose a bit of torque, but the symptom is easily cured...https://www.summitracing.com/experta...ive/answer/485

thank you for the suggestion I did not know they made those plenum dividers, though if I don't like the single I think I am just gonna splurge for the Edelbrock Performer Air Gap RPM

[rusty76]

Good score on the heads and stuff.

[MikeB]

I was reading through your posts and saw where you had radiator problems, so wanted to tell you about the aluminum rad with plastic tanks that I bought about 3 years ago. It's a Murray brand (same as Spectra and probably a half dozen other brands). It cost $120-something at my local O'Reilly Auto Parts store. And get this: It has a lifetime warranty!

But heck, even though it's the basic radiator for 250 and 305, it keeps the 350's coolant temp in the 180-190 range, even down here in the Texas summer heat. However, I'm sure the OE-type fan shroud, clutch fan, and brand new GM water pump have something to do with that.

[Gregski]

so the one thing I just had to do before starting the re assembly with the new shiny bits was to pull the oil pan and take a looksie, I mean with the heads as milk shaky as they are how in the world can the oil I drain out of the pan be nice and black(ish)

strange I tell ya, strange!

[Gregski]

alright we commence with the re assembly

Step 1. Move the shinny bits from the living room to the garage, place them on the work bench and allow them to acclimate to their new habitat (think goldfish in a plastic bag)

[Gregski]

I swear a Top End Swap (heads, intake, etc.) will run you $150 in gaskets and materials alone... good times (I paused my mental calculator...)

Head gaskets - $52

I didn't have the time to order and wait on the proper Edelbrock gaskets to so went with these Fel Pro 7733 PT-2 instead, (then I spoke to Edelbrock Tech Support and they recommended Fel Pro part # 1003, oh well) the important spec was to match to how tight they smash down to once torqued...

[Gregski]

Intake Gasket - $20

same verse as the first, I went with Fel Pro MS90314-2 and then tech support recommended Fel Pro part #1205, hey their tech support was closed on Sunday, what was I supposed to do, twirl my thumbs, lol and the gasket matched the ports really well and seemed like a quality piece

and I did the unthinkable, instead of using the gray or black gasket sealer to run a bead on the Chian walls I used their rubber gaskets and only gooped some sealant in the corner, will it work, or will I live to regret it, ha ha?

[Gregski]

Header Gasket - $27

I actually wanted to the one Edelbrock Tech Support recommended part #1405 but no one had it in stock, so I went with this Cometic C15189HTS from Oh Really's and it looks alright

[Gregski]

since this upgrade [ahem] repair is going to run me just north of $1,000 I was trying to keep costs down where ever I could, I decided to run my self aligning rockers off the Vortec heads and also use their push rods, I also decided to for now just run the stock '74 valve covers, so

Valve Cover gaskets - $17

I specifically asked for the cheap cork ones (I have gotten great results with those) and the dude behind the counter gave me these Fel Pro VS12869 rubber ones, didn't notice till I got home

[Gregski]

and finally since we are going from a dual plane to a single plane intake manifold I had to get a open gasket for the carb

carb gasekt - $8.00

again a Cometic brand part # C5263FC, it's actually nice and thick I like it, way heaftier than those Holley ones

[Gregski]

the third generation machinist (darn it I forget his name, sorry) gave me a tour of the shop on Sunday and showed me what they use as thread sealant, and so if it is good enough for them it is what I will be using

it's that purple stuff, Permatex HIGH TACK Gasket Sealant #80062 from O'Reilly's 4 oz for $10 bucks

[Gregski]

alright I think those heads sat on the work bench long enough, what do you say we put them on?

notice how I start to remove the push rod guides since you shouldn't run these guide plates and use self aligning rockers, hey I read it on the InterWebs so it's gotta be true, right?

I used washers as spacers instead of those plates