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Which Aluminum heads?

N

nsxxtreme

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I've been debating on if I should buy new heads for my blazer which has the crappy 183 casting heads.

I've been kicking around the idea of picking up a set of vortec heads or a set of aluminum heads. I need the extra power.

I don't know what all needs to be changed to swap on a different set of heads and still make things work. New intake manifold?

The motor currently in my blazer is a 350.

Comments, suggestions?
 
Vortec heads work well , but you are limited to how much lift your cam can have , and you have to run the vortec intake . And then you have a lightweight crack prone stock head and hundreds of dollars worth of intake .

I would run aftermarket heads and have heavy casting heads , the ability to run any cam you want with a simple spring change , and your style intake .

Something around 64cc chambers , and 170-185cc intake ports will be fine , you don't need really big port heads unless your racing .
 
I agree...

What are your plans for this? That would help a bit with what advice we give.

BTW, I would stick with cast iron heads, but thats just me
 
If I was going to buy a set of aluminum heads Id go with Air Flow Research heads.
 
79rustyk10 said:
I agree...

What are your plans for this? That would help a bit with what advice we give.

BTW, I would stick with cast iron heads, but thats just me
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Towing a boat, as is I have to stay in 2nd in order to make it up a hill at 55mph.

From what I have read Vortec heads will give you about 50hp.

I currently have headers, a chip from brian at TBIchips, flat top pistons, and a mild cam.
I dont want to spend a huge amount of money hoping to pick up a used set of heads somewhere $500-600 is about my limit.
 
they make aluminum vortecs that have center & perimeter valve cover boltholes and regular intake boltholes and vortec intake boltholes

lets see if i can find a link

i believe these are them...boasting another 30hp over the 50hp of the regular iron version:
http://www.jegs.com/i/GM+Performance/809/12464298/10002/-1

if you ever play in the water deep enuff to get on heads or sprayed by fan, i would steer clear of aluminum for fear of warping them

i run these...

http://www.jegs.com/i/GM+Performance/809/25534446/10002/-1

motor has low end and will scream...they have 2'' hollow stem int /1.55'' sodium filled exh valves and i have a gmpp intake, 2'' phenolic spacer, a carter afb, & the tall k&n tunnel filter...requires hole in hood

i have a pic of my induction..lets see:

DSC00494.jpg


DSC00495.jpg


DSC00313.jpg
 
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I was going to suggest you buy AFR 180cc head but with the budget you have planned that wont work. The AFR heads will run you 1500.00 new. They will make more power than any other head you can buy though.
 
4X4HIGH said:
I was going to suggest you buy AFR 180cc head but with the budget you have planned that wont work. The AFR heads will run you 1500.00 new. They will make more power than any other head you can buy though.
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$1500 is way to much. Hoping to find a used set on craigslist or ebay or junk yard.


blazin_blazer said:
if you ever play in the water deep enuff to get on heads or sprayed by fan, i would steer clear of aluminum for fear of warping them
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Nope never.
 
An option for aluminum heads are the AL Vette heads (L98's) from the TPI era, although IMO the only benefit to those is weight savings, especially when compared with how far even the Vortec heads are from the L98's.

Bit of a writeup here http://www.trickflow.com/articles/dynoduel/23_degree_heads_vs_l98_heads.asp

I never looked into getting a set, so no idea if they are as equally overpriced as most stuff Corvette is.
 
For the money your best bet would probably be the vortecs, but that does require the matching intake.

Would the world products sportsman II's have the 180cc intake ports or are they 200cc's I cant remember, they miht be an option.

Ive heard some of the old camelbacks (461x if I remember right) flow as well as the vortecs, problem there is theyre all 40+ years old and the collectors want them.
 
Sportsman II's have the 200's , got them on my engine. with the Performer intake, Truck Avenger 670, Voodoo cam , Hedman Elites...... they Rock!
 
By the sounds of it you have a tbi engine with a chip already. Talk to Brian about it but $600 is not going to be enough if you want heads and everything needed to get the most out of them.
 
If you don't have a set of headers or at least bigger exhaust manifolds, you might try those. I swapped some of the larger vette manifolds on mine and noticed a huge difference in performance under large loads. I didn't even need Brian to mod my chip.
 
Just be VERY careful buying used heads. Small cracks (especially in vortecs) can be hard to detect and are usually found after purchase.When you add magnafluxing,new valves and seats to the price of old used heads most of the time you are better off $$ and time wise to search for deals on new heads. I had vortecs on 383 and a 400 and loved them! Summit has the GMPP vortecs for 620. a pair.
 
blueblazes44 said:
Just be VERY careful buying used heads. Small cracks (especially in vortecs) can be hard to detect and are usually found after purchase.When you add magnafluxing,new valves and seats to the price of old used heads most of the time you are better off $$ and time wise to search for deals on new heads. I had vortecs on 383 and a 400 and loved them! Summit has the GMPP vortecs for 620. a pair.
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The junk yard around here will allow you to return thins if they are junk.
 
Yes, but if the problem isn't caught within their timeline (most I've seen are 30 days) you eat the cost. As mentioned earlier, a GOOD head rebuild will get you pretty darn close to a new pair anyways.

Vortecs are pretty darn prone to cracking. Enough so I wouldn't buy a used set unless I had an ironclad guarantee they weren't.
 
dyeager535 said:
Yes, but if the problem isn't caught within their timeline (most I've seen are 30 days) you eat the cost. As mentioned earlier, a GOOD head rebuild will get you pretty darn close to a new pair anyways.

Vortecs are pretty darn prone to cracking. Enough so I wouldn't buy a used set unless I had an ironclad guarantee they weren't.
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That was the idea buy a used set and rebuild them before throwing them on the truck. What year truck came with vortecs so I know what to look for in the junk yard?

What do you guys think of procomp heads?
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/350-...ptZMotorsQ5fCarQ5fTruckQ5fPartsQ5fAccessories

Keep in mind this isn't a show truck its driven maybe 500-1000 miles per year. Its main duty is to tow my boat and dirtbikes. Occasional wheeling fun. Or would a set of 4.88 gears be more useful? I've got the stock axles under my truck with 4.56 gears and 35" tires.
 
I can't get to the link, but is procomp the one that used to be RHS or whatever? One head company who seems to have a very affordable head has changed names a couple of times, and I can never remember what their latest name is.

1st gen SBC's had Vortec heads from 1996 to 2000 in trucks, and 2002 in some type of van/box truck/utility rig.

Gears would make a large difference as well, as long as it was within a useable RPM range for your towing conditions.
 
dyeager535 said:
I can't get to the link, but is procomp the one that used to be RHS or whatever? One head company who seems to have a very affordable head has changed names a couple of times, and I can never remember what their latest name is.
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Are you thinking of Pro-Topline? Australian made.
 
Yeah that was it, not procomp. Pro-Toplines/RHS are/were very affordable, and SEEMED to be pretty good deals for what you get. Not sure that anyone here is running them though.
 
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