Kalway

To fill those of you who probably don't know. Couple of weeks ago my engine overheated on the freeway to ~350F. It seized and blew steam everywhere, when it did. After a bit of digging I finally decided to just go ahead and have it rebuilt, due to cost and availability. I'm having a local shop do it for a good price blah blah. ANYWAYS

So most of you think just probably a blown head gasket? Close but not quite. Try both heads being slightly cracked The cracks weren't too large so the machining shop can actually repair them. The block has been bored out already and it will hopefully be all done tomorrow to be delivered and returned to its comfy home in my '81 Vette. Amazing... in less than 2 months I've spent more than half on the car than what I paid for it.

SanDiegoPaul

Why fix those heads?? Junk 'em! what machine shop is the motor in? They taking good care of you?

Kalway

They're website is www.perfectengine.com and they seem to be pretty prompt. I've been having everything done over the phone, so far. I haven't even seen the mechanic nor the machinist personally, yet. I'll definately put new heads on, when I get the money. For now I'll let them remanufacture mine, since it's part of the deal.

I should probably note that I'm having 2 seperate shops do the work. One to remove and install the motor and the other to do the actual rebuild. A little father & son joint is doing the removal and installation for me because they have the best price and I trust them much better than any of the big shops around here. Most of the big garages will give you the run around then bend you over the counter.

So far the bill is looking like $725 for the rebuild and $500 for removal and installation. I told the machinist to leave my cam and lifters alone because they were brand new, which saved me $50.

Hopefully I'll have it back by Monday. As it is right now we're looking at the engine being finished by tomorrow.

Fevre

Sure it was not the other way around, the eng overheated and cracked the heads? I agree about junking the heads, put the $ toward some better ones.

Kalway

Looks like I'm going to have to buy new heads! They just called me and said they're pretty much junked anyways. I haven't gotten my insurance settlements yet so I'm on a budget. Gimme some advice on heads!

Fevre

Think Page62 got a set of Summit Brand iron heads made by Dart and is very happy with them, less than 600 clams. Vortecs are popular too but needed a Vortec bolt pattern intake.

Kalway

I found a vortec style manifold for ~$110 and a pair L31 Vortec heads for $250 (the shop is going to rebuild them anyways) that sound like a good deal?

LT4Coupe

Sorry to hear you are having to spend more than you were planning to.
However, you really are better off doing the head replacement now.
The head casting you are running (must be 624 or 882) is thin,
and prone to cracking.

flood

Sounds like an ok deal to me. The heads new are like ~400. If they got them from a truck (common) avoid casting number 10239906 because it has a hardened exhaust seat that kills low- and mid-lift flow.

http://chevyhiperformance.com/howto/97458/

COMMANDER370

Is it wonderful owning a Corvette Look on the bright side, you should be able to be on the road again till something else needs fixin'
You are better off getting different heads instead of fixing you old ones.

mandm1200

As long as the intake is aluminum, that sounds like a decent deal. As for the heads, that's a little iffy. New heads are about $450-$500, plus you'll need self-aligning rockers. If the price is $250 including the rebuild, then I would consider them. If they are $250 plus and additional $150 for rebuilding, I would be inclined to get new heads and not take a risk on buying someonelses problems. There is also a chance that the used heads were made for a non-performance application. GM used the same castings for both so there is no guarantee what you will get.

adam

I saw this at summit...

Summit vortec heads (setup for 0.490 lift.) $650
Summit torquer heads $650)

If rebuilding them for the higher lift (which is necessary for regular vortec
heads) is more the $650, don't bother...

Yes, vortec need new intake and centerbolt valve covers...

page62

The Summit "vortec" heads and "torquer" (aka fuelie) heads are actually Dart Iron Eagle SS heads. Both of them have Vortec-style combustion chambers, good for a few HP. These heads will take about .520 lift.

What differentiates them are the intake ports/bolt patterns. The "vortec" heads are for Vortec engines, and the "torquer" heads are for the classic Chevy small block...intake and all.

Kalway

The machinist found a rebuildable head with the same casting number as mine and got it for me. It was only one of the heads that was pretty screwed. So the rebuild is still on track, thank god.