Any advantage to vortec heads on a TBI 350?

[Moparmat2000]

My 94 TBI engine has 160K and has the dreaded oil puff on startup, and uses about 1 quart every 3k. Theres bunches of Vortec 350s hitting my local boneyard. I was considering pulling a set of those, and having my machine shop going thru them. The usual valve job, and have em cut for umbrella seals, i would clean up the bowl and runner areas, and bolting those on. What kind of gains could I see in these over the TBI heads? Or would I be better off just redoing my original TBI heads? I am planning on shorty headers, an edelbrock TBI intake and some port matching.

 

[RawbDidIt]

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[skylark]

About 30 hp up top with a minor torque loss down low.

 

[Allen4rmGromLak]

1 quart every 3k miles. That's child play. Try 1 quart every 150 miles. Might as well be a 2 stroke engine.

But yes. Vortec heads are better. But be prepared for intake and possibly ECM mods.

And the short block is different too. Needs a by pass hole drilled and two timing cover bolt holes drills

 

[PlayingWithTBI]

How about these?
https://www.summitracing.com/parts/sum-162108/overview/make/chevrolet

 

[L31MaxExpress]

1 quart every 3k miles. That's child play. Try 1 quart every 150 miles. Might as well be a 2 stroke engine.

But yes. Vortec heads are better. But be prepared for intake and possibly ECM mods.

And the short block is different too. Needs a by pass hole drilled and two timing cover bolt holes drills

The 5 Vortec blocks I have had, 1 305 and 4 350s have had all the timing cover holes drilled and the bypass drilled. The Vortec heads block the water bypass even if you put them on a TBI engine block.

 

[Allen4rmGromLak]

I got one out of a van, didn't have it. So YMMV.

 

[eshaw]

Aren't the Vortec heads supposed to be more prone to cracking also?

 

[98 Nitro]

There are 87-95 engine quest heads that are supposed to flow like Vortecs are not crack prone, no need for an expensive intake or egr mod. A member here even had a set for sale I believe.

 

[Gramps]

There are 87-95 engine quest heads that are supposed to flow like Vortecs are not crack prone, no need for an expensive intake or egr mod. A member here even had a set for sale I believe.

The EQ heads work well, however if you get them new, order them bare and supply your own valves etc.
Mind you the tbi motor I put together had other things done, but with those EQ heads it pulled 311hp and 385ft-lbs on the dyno.