TBI with vortec heads or straight vortec motor?(carburated)

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rwc44

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Ok guys, so my current project is a 94 crew cab srw, transmission needs rebuilt when I bought it, figured I'd LS swap it(it's my tow truck, I have several projects and usually get a new one every year) ... bought a 93 suburban for the interior (power windows and locks, and almost almost unbroken dash) looking at a 99 Tahoe for seats, but has a vortec motor..... this is just the pre info before my question....haha

Anyway, one of my other projects is a 50s Willy's wagon body I'm building into a 30s style hotrod...and since I have a couple TBI 5.7s and possibly a vortec... trying to figure out if it would be better to:
-Carburate one of the TBI motors and be done
-carburate TBI motor with vortec heads
-or just Carburate the vortec motor

Not necessarily concerned about big HP numbers...but want decent power with not a huge amount of sensors for an old school appearance...

Yes I'm all over the map...I also have a 52 Ford truck I'm building with an LS swap, and a 53 Ford car (I have 2), either getting a LS swap, or a Lexus swap. I'll make up my mind when the crew cab and F1 get done this year...
 

b454rat

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The Vortec makes the most power, but other than the roller cam, blocks are pretty much the same. Trucks never got roller cams in TBI, but guess some of the later years got a roller block, just no roller cam. I had a 96 Centurian that had a TBI block but Vortec everything else. Dunno what kind of numbers a carb'd Vortec makes, but with good heads, good cam and good compression, should make some good power....
 

Pro439

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So for stock vortec heads they will give you the best bang for the buck under 6-6300 rpm’s and they really fall off after 5000 but are still comparable to stock heads in the upper rpm’s. But below 5000 there really isn’t a better sbc head for the money whether you carb or not. Now if you want to roller cam it the newer blocks have the cross links and hold and some mid year blocks have the spots for the hold bolts but aren’t drilled. You do not have to run a roller cam for the late 5.7’s with the retainer so if you don’t use the retainer you will have to like all the rollers use a cam button correctly shimmed for end play and the old style timing cover
 

Erik the Awful

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If you already have the Vortec heads, get them magnafluxed. If they aren't cracked they're good heads.

If they are cracked, you can go cheap and DIY some porting on some TBI heads and accept the fact they're better cruising heads and not performance heads.

If you want performance, don't even bother with stock heads.

Whatever you build, step up to a roller cam. If your block doesn't have roller cam provisions, put them in yourself with a drill, a tap, and some allthread. Other than that, fuel pump block-offs, and the whether or not all the timing cover holes are drilled, the TBI and Vortec blocks are the same.
 

Erik the Awful

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Doh! Yep. Gotta drill that, too. Keep in mind that if you put Vortec heads on a TBI block and you want to use the TBI water pump, you need to drill the bypass hole in the passenger side head as well.
 

rwc44

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Thanks for the reply guys...I've talked myself out of the Tahoe... therefore, no vortec . think I'm just going to carb the TBI and be done with it... just going to be a cruiser hot rod, point a-b(bar hopper?)... decided I don't need to race it or Burn the tires off.... with gas prices and me being cheap, it'll be better this way...
 
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