heads and cam

[coco524]

Been doing alot of research on the web site and just cant
figure out what the best heads and cam are for a 96 vortec.
looking for a good runing street truck

any help would be great
james

 

[shortchevy]

You have an infinite selection of head/cam combos. whats good for you is determined by what your doing with the truck... street only, track only, 50:50.... and honestly if you have a 350 you have vortec heads which are nothing to sneeze at. If you have a 305 you have basically a tbi swirl port head which is garbage. Im building a 350 for a project of mine the motor is a 75 and Im using stock vortec heads. they flow well and with a little machining they can take a good amount of lift for a street motor. if the budget is infinite you can get yourself a set of nice aftermarket heads but they can run 600-1200 PER head and the gains arnt as substantial. once you get the heads figured out I would call comp or whichever brand you choose and let them pick it for you. that way you dont overcam or undercam it, if you do that you can loose all the power you gained with the heads and have the same power as stock.

 

[coco524]

It is just going to be a weekend truck for the street. No track.
yes it I ls a 350 vortec motor I was reading and seen alot of
people talking about the lt4 hot cam.
If the heads I have are good I will just just them and
up grade the valve springs and go with some different
rockers?

 

[shortchevy]

Big lift is a problem on vortecs you dont really want to go past .460 without checking clearances, the issue is the higher valve guide where the positive lock seals go. you can have them machined down and use better springs and get up to ~.550. Im no engine builder but if I were you I would have your heads gone through (valve job, and a little machining on those valve guides). I would go with this kit.

http://www.summitracing.com/parts/nal-12480002/overview/

Its always best to get the whole valve train from one company then you know everything works together. you can also get a valve guide cutter and cut them down yourself but I would recommend sending the heads out.

 

[coco524]

If I go with that set up. Do I still need to take the headd
and get some work done to them or jyst put those spring on them.
that wss the kit I was looking at

 

[Horns]

What's your budget? Vortec heads are the best factory produced heads hands down. But you can still do better with the aftermarket.

 

[coco524]

I got about 3000 to spend. Wanting to do heads cam exhaust and tune

 

[shortchevy]

If I go with that set up. Do I still need to take the headd
and get some work done to them or jyst put those spring on them.
that wss the kit I was looking at

still have to have valve guide machined down. vortec heads are limited by the guide not the spring.

I got about 3000 to spend. Wanting to do heads cam exhaust and tune

thats a healthy budget you could build a whole motor with that. You prolly have the budget to get some aftermarket heads but I would stick with vortecs...

 

[coco524]

So would the e-170 and a lt4 hot cam be a good combo.
then get a tune and my exhaust?
Thinking about use lt and a x pipe.

 

[shortchevy]

e-170s are decent heads but wont get you much over some properly machined vortecs... maybe 15-20hp with that cam.... not worth it in my opinion.
You are going to make good gains with headers for sure either 1 5/8" primaries... go cat-less if you can. if you do duals an x-pipe would be great. I would run 2 1/2" pipes if your estimating 350hp or under. any higher you should go bigger, up to 3".

I would do the cam/heads/exhaust/ect. and then have the tune done last, especially if you ditch your cat then you get the most out of it. Its not cheap but paying a reputable company to make you a custom tune would not be a mistake.