vortec head question?

[meyer4589]

Ok I need your guys opinion. Would I be better off buying a new set of vortec heads off of summit or jegs, or going to a local junk yard and pulling a set and have them rebuilt?

[mr48chev]

New as you will end up spending half the new price on a good valve job.

Check prices though. Check with these guys http://www.sallee-chevrolet.com/Cyli...ads/Vortec.cfm to see what one of the best straight from the performance dealership prices is. They also have the correct parts numbers so you can walk into your Chevrolet dealers parts counter and see what they will sell them for. They are a good source for prices on factory GM parts and they will ship anywhere and have the stuff in stock. Their dealership is about 50 miles past the end of the world sign but they sell a lot of parts.
Sometimes they beat Summit and sometimes Summit beats them so check prices.

[jim zag]

New, it is not uncommon for used ones to be cracked.

[clay68c10]

New. They are prone to cracking if they've been overheated. Good chance something in the bone yard would have gotten hot and that's why it's there.

[Average Joe]

Have you considered RHS castings? I believe they are much stronger than OEM. If you are stuck on GM castings you might want to look at what Scoggin Dickey offers. If memory serves they offer a pair of Vortec heads drilled to accept an early style manifold as well as later style. They also machine down the guides and have stiffer springs for .490 lift. Seems like they may also install screw in studs although I may be mistaken.

[americanmusc1e]

I bought mine from a wrecking yard and they ended up costing me more by the time I was done at the machine shop.............

[67-C10]

Average Joe is right Scoggin Dickey does have some nice ones. If i believe right they also make another set with even smaller combustion chambers get the compression up. Also you got to look at what your doing with the rest of the engine. see here (http://www.chevyhiperformance.com/ho...458/index.html)for a writeup on a set. for 1.6 rockers you have to drill out the push rod hole more and also for anything over .420 lift you need to machine down the spring seat and guide boss to get more. Scoggin Dikey sells a set that this is all done. They sell an intake as well as edelbrock and a few others to bolt to the heads not really an issue. I do hear stock 1.94 heads to these are about 40hp gain. Theres plenty of articles out there just google it up.

[67ss&99ss]

Buy a new set for sure. I would also have a set of screw in studs installed so you don't have to run those self aligning rockers. My uncle has a set on a 9.5:1 350 with a XE268 hydraulic flat tappet cam, performer intake, 670 street avenger and it has a ton of torque from 1500-5000 rpm. Its a perfect combo for a truck.

[420am]

or be patient, take a gamble and watch craigslist.. I bought a set of used vortecs that had been decked, had new seals and new springs for $450. They were off of a boat and look brand new for the most part.




To answer your question though.. buy the new ones if they're in your budget. I'm gambling on my entire build. lol. Used heads, cam, lifters. lol

[420am]

Originally Posted by 67ss&99ss

Buy a new set for sure. I would also have a set of screw in studs installed so you don't have to run those self aligning rockers. My uncle has a set on a 9.5:1 350 with a XE268 hydraulic flat tappet cam, performer intake, 670 street avenger and it has a ton of torque from 1500-5000 rpm. Its a perfect combo for a truck.

If you run the self-aligning rockers it's a sure fire way to make sure that they're not too wide for the centerbolt valve cover studs. Comp Cams makes a nice set.