Vortec heads on earlier 350.

[DavidD]

I have a 89 C1500 with a 350 engine. Has anyone replaced their heads with the 1996 and later vortec heads. Is there an intake manifold that will work with these heads, and still be compatible with the throttle body injection. Would this be compatible with the stock computer. Thanks for any input.

 

[PlayingWithTBI]

There's a bunch of write ups about this - @Erik the Awful has a great one showing the differences between them.

Edit: having said that, Summit Racing has aluminum heads for the TBI - another option

Summit Racing SUM-162108 Summit Racing™ 62cc Aluminum Cylinder Heads for Small Chevy | Summit Racing

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[Schurkey]

LOTS of folks have done this. SOME of them did it right.

1. Vortec heads don't have an exhaust crossover passage. That means the EGR won't work unless you bring exhaust gas over from an exhaust manifold, just like GM did with the actual "Vortec" engines.

2. Vortec heads don't have a drilled passage to allow coolant flow through the built-in coolant bypass system. You'll have to drill one hole in at least one head to make the bypass functional; and I would drill both heads so that if the engine comes apart later, you can't screw-up and put the "wrong" head on the passenger side of the block.

3. The Vortec water pump isn't the same as the TBI water pump, use the TBI pump and accessory system.

4. The only folks making a genuine TBI injection system-to-Vortec head intake manifold...is GM. And it's fantastically expensive. $500, maybe more by now.

5. Therefore, most folks use a carb intake for Vortec heads, plus a TBI adapter plate. Downside is that you won't have the provisions for all the TBI stuff like the cast bolt-boss for the brace on the A/C compressor; EGR, a place to mount the EGR solenoid/ignition electronics package. You'll have to get creative for the heater-core supply fitting, brake booster vacuum hose, ignition coil mounting, throttle/cruise/trans TV cable bracket. This is all NOT for the faint-of-heart. Getting a functional EGR is probably the worst part--at least, it was for me, using a different carbed intake manifold.

6. OR you can bolt-on a set of Summit or Edelbrock (Eddys are now discontinued, you'd have to get 'em as NOS or used) aluminum TBI cylinder heads, and everything else falls into place with no fabricating. I'd have bought the Summit heads if I didn't already own a pair of aluminum heads.
www.summitracing.com/parts/sum-162108

Summit Racing SUM-162108 Summit Racing™ 62cc Aluminum Cylinder Heads for Small Chevy | Summit Racing

Free Shipping - Summit Racing™ 62cc Aluminum Cylinder Heads for Small Chevy with qualifying orders of $109. Shop Cylinder Heads at Summit Racing.

www.summitracing.com

 

[Erik the Awful]

How to Put a Vortec Motor in a TBI Truck

"Can I swap a Vortec motor in place of my TBI motor and does it just bolt in place?" Yes, you can swap a Vortec motor in place of a TBI motor, but no, it doesn't bolt in place. So, what does it take? Head and Intake Differences: The Vortec manifold has eight bolts, two on each corner, drilled...

www.gmt400.com

If you don't drill the coolant passage in the head, you'll need to run the Vortec water pump. If you do drill it, you can keep your TBI pump.

If you go with a bigger cam, your TBI likely won't be able to keep up. Mine couldn't.

For intake manifolds, get a carbureted Vortec manifold and put a TBI adapter on it. The problem you'll face is outlined in the thread I put above. The TBI bores are wider than the opening of a square-bore manifold. You can get a spreadbore-to-squarebore adapter and put a flat-plate TBI adapter on top of that, or you might be able to find a TBI-to-squarebore adapter. I used the Summit 226018 - it appears to be an off-brand Weiand manifold, and painted black like the rest of the engine, it looks stock.

 

[Gramps]

I used a set of iron engine quest heads - vortec chambers mated to tbi intake manifold pattern. Added comp roller cam in a tbi roller block. Modified the tbi with 454 injectors and fuel pressure set to 14psi. Stock tbi intake. Pulled 300hp/385 ft-lbs on the dyno running the stock ecm.

 

[Jerrys1990]

I used a set of iron engine quest heads - vortec chambers mated to tbi intake manifold pattern. Added comp roller cam in a tbi roller block. Modified the tbi with 454 injectors and fuel pressure set to 14psi. Stock tbi intake. Pulled 300hp/385 ft-lbs on the dyno running the stock ecm.

Sorry to reply to an older thread....but, I'm researching. How would those EQ heads do on a stock TBI? I don't see much about those particular heads on here....

 

[Drunkcanuk]

If I remember correctly, and that's a big if. The consensus was the castings were "ok" but the valves, springs etc were "suspect".
Someone with a better memory or more info will likely be along to correct me.

 

[Schurkey]

I bought the EngineQuest TBI/Vortec heads.

The valve tips were uneven between intake and exhaust. I sent 'em back. Maybe that was premature. Perhaps I should have kept them.

Center two exhaust valve tips compared to rule laid across two intake valve tips.

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I'm thinking these heads are discontinued, and have been for a year or three. Perhaps I'm wrong. Haven't looked into them since these went back.

 

[Gramps]

Get them as bare castings, I made the mistake of buying them loaded. Loaded with cheap **** Chinese parts. The castings themselves are Aussie or New Zealand made and are fine.
Stock applications will react like popping an actual vortec head on 30-40hp and similar tq numbers. Benefit is you don’t need a funky intake or adapters to work.

 

[Gramps]

Edit: seems the tbi/vortec heads have been discontinued for a year or 2. That sucks but then I can see why with nobody messing with that stuff anymore and swapping ls based motors instead.