to my vortec heads this morning! i started around 9:30 and it's about 4:30 right now. been working most of the day. the first pic is where my engine is as of now. the second pic is all of my old parts, then the new vortecs in the front. last night i replaced the springs on them so i could achieve a higher lift. everything is now stripped...now there's just cleaning then reinstallation.

by the way this is my first time doing this! i have a neighbor who helps me if i need it, but i wanted to say i did it myself!

ok, here we go:

 

Great job so far, keep up the good work. Nice to see another proud Vette owner doing the work themselves.

 

keep the pics coming.....................

 

thanks! i've been looking forward to it for so long, and my patience finally ran out

 

Do you have new valve covers already? Great work so far. I see the manifold there on the floor...I'm guessing that's the old manifold?

 

I will be curious how the performace change is when you are done. I have thought about doing the same thing.

A couple of questions, sorry so many, but I figure if it is your first time it will give a great perspective for me:

Where did you buy the heads from?
What parts were already on the heads?
What parts do you have to put on the valve train.
How are you getting the rod length correct?
How are you adjusting the valves?
What head gasket size are you using?
What head bolts are you using?

 

i got some used barmilled valve covers on ebay for like $30 bucks...i have a new p/p polished cyclone and all the new parts are in the corner out of the pic. i also got some chromed block hugger headers and roller rockers.

 

i got the heads new from jegs for a total of $571 shipped to my door! it was like $279 each plus $10 handling, and free shipping!

the heads were completely assembled and ready to bolt on. the max lift on them are .475" and i needed .483", so i replaced the springs.

you need to use self-aligning rockers (roller preferably) and you will get a lot more power from those too! i can use the same rods as far as i know.

do you mean adjust the valves or the rockers?!? i will use a feeler gauge to adjust the rockers...i'm not there yet tho, so not quite sure how to do it

i'm using a felpro 1094 head gasket for the vortecs. it's thin, so i will get a little more compression.

as far as head bolts, i found a set for a good deal on ebay for $35 or so.

take your time to shop, and you will get great deals. i got a new polished edelbrock clone vortec intake manifold on ebay and sent to my house for $135! i also got used valve covers and buffed them up. i will eventually get new ones though. fyi - autozone sells gaskets REALLY CHEAP!! and things that autozone doesn't have, buy from advance auto on the internet and pick up in the store. you save 10%.

with my old setup, i was putting out probably 220 hp to the wheels on a good day because my car was not tuned, and it had 8:1 compression. with the new setup, i am going to have 9.5:1 compression and about a hundred more horsepower (atleast 40 hp from vortecs, ~30 hp from roller rockers, and probably 10 from headers, and then tuning it correctly). i should have around 350-360 hp at the flywheel.

let me know if you need anything else. i will also post more pics. i'm going to reinstall the heads late tonight and get ready to adjust the rockers in the morning.

 

Who told you that?

 

There's nothing like installing a new set of heads. I expect you will like the results.

What modifications had you previously done to get to 220 rear wheel horsepower?

 

Just a thought for you. I believe the reason vortech heads are limited to .480 valve lift is because of interference with the valve guide, not spring bind. You should check retainer to valve guide distance to insure your .483 cam will not be a problem. Someone else jump in if this info is incorrect
but that is what I did with my vortech setup.
Good luck

 

I normally dont read all the replies, but this one I did. You picked up on a most important clearance and its still not adequate by merely changing springs. The guide to retainer clearance has to be checked as it appears to be negative already and will lead to a cam destroyed in minutes if not addressed by him. A cam change is not always a simple repair and this measurement is very critical.

 

it's what they advertise...

 

it had a 250 hp crate in it when i got it, then i added sidepipes, an edelbrock intake, 650 cfm carb and summit 1105 224/234 cam.

 

so what should i do to find out? the max lift for gmpp vortecs is .475". my exhaust is .483", and the intake is lower. as far as i knew i thought it was a spring issue (vortec springs weren't intended for high-performance cams anyway). i don't need that much more clearance with my cam.

 

I used 1.250" Crane H-!! tool steel spring listed for the LT1. These install at 1.750. I used stock retainers and +.050 keepers to increase the installed height from the stock 1.700. This mod gives an additional .050 of clearance between retainer and valve seal (from .475 to .525).
I also lightly dressed (.020) the rails on the stock self aligning rocker arms to assure clearance between the rails and the retainer, though this may not have been necessary.

 

Hmm. Roller lifters get you an HP increase but I never have heard of that kind of an increase from roller rockers. I may do a little bit of asking around.

 

To check the retainer to valve guide clearance you may pull the spring and use a digital vernier caliper to measure from the bottom of the retainer to the top of the valve guide or seal. Be sure your seals are fully seated ( mine were not). This will give you the distance the retainer can move.
Hope thats clear. It's early in the morning here.
Good luck

 

i hope u will post before & after cranking compression

 

thanks for all your input. i'm ready to adjust the rockers right now and install the headers.
DB - i saw 30 hp increase somewhere on the internet...i had an engine builder help me choose parts and he said with everything expect around 100 hp. i just broke it up like what i found on the net.