I have several options right now that are in my price range but I'm having a hard time deciding. The car is a 99' vette, A4 with 3.42 gears and 2500 stall (soon to be 3600 stall) I have a CAI, LS6 intake, long tube headers and corsa exhaust right now. I am planning on a cam in the near future but thought it would be best to get some heads first. It's not a daily driver but I like to drive it as much as I can, might see the track eventually but I want useable street power and lots of torque. Here are the options I have come up with so far..

#1 stock 243s and a zo6 cam with 72k miles for $550, leaving more $ for other mods but uncertainty on lifespan using old parts.

#2 243s with PAC 918s freshly inspected and cleaned up for $550, or I can haves them milled and ported to my liking for $900 hesitant cause I don't know the guy doing the port work and the single 918 springs, he seems to know his stuff and works for a performance engine shop said it will take him 2 weeks to do all the work, and they should flow over 320cfm.. I'm thinking portwork and milling them down .015-.020...?

#3 243s livernois stage 3 port (larger valves) used for 7-8k miles, 25-30 passes on them also have manley valves, retainers & dual springs for $1125 I am only hesitant on these because they are used and I am not sure if I should have them checked out and potentially spend more $ on them, they are 2 years old and were used with a torqued v2 cam. With the bigger valves will I have any PTV issues? Will they work well with my stock bottom end and current mods?
http://www.livernoismotorsports.com/...der-Heads.html

I am planning a cam as soon as funds allow prob around a 228/232 on a 112 or 114 lsa. Am I wrong to do heads then cam, should I do the cam first with stock 241s? Then I will have to buy springs,and pushrods and again after I do heads.
I want lots of torque under the curve, reliable fun to drive power
Any guidance would be greatly appreciated as I'm still a noob to the LS motor

 

Your '99 has 806 or 241 heads? If they are 806 then look in to get them milled and ported. You can get gains similar to the 243 and you won't have to mess with your valve covers and coil pack brackets and whatnot.

 

Heads on there now are 241. For some reason the casting number on the front passenger side is milled off. I'm not sure if someone has worked on them before but they do have factory valvesprings

 

I have a similar setup on my 99.
I went with TSP PRC stage one heads and a 228R cam. The heads came with PAC 1218 springs. They are 243 or 799 CNC machined GM cores. You will need the new springs and pushrods when you do the cam. Wouldn't hurt to replace the lifters too.

I would definitely do the heads and cam at the same time. You will need a tune after doing the cam, and then another when you swap the heads - so that's another expense of $400+ right there if you do them separately.

 

Plus it's cheaper, and allows you to buy a better cam than the mild Z06 one.

 

Your casting number on the passenger side is on the rear, since the heads are the same casting, no left or right, just one casting.

 

Yes 241 shows on passenger rear/driverside front. But for whatever reason the #s on the opposite end are milled off..
I decided to go with #1 without the cam they are the only ones out of the three with sodium valves and $450 shipped seems like a good price, that way I have $ for a cam and all the things needed to go with it. I assume if i just bolted them up a spring upgrade is a must have? I am also thinking about sending the heads to AI or TSP for milling and porting..not sure yet. Now I need to decide on what cam to go with I've been reading alot of good things about EPS. I want torque and power down low even if it means sacrificing high rpm power as the car gets driven alot more than it gets raced

 

I decided to go with some stock 03' Z06 243s.
called Geoff at ESP and ordered a "baby cam kit" he spec'd it out at 226/230 5.99/.602 lift 113 lsa. Can't wait to beat on it!

 

send your heads to AI and have them cnc the exhaust posts and clean up the bowls and do a nice 5 angle valve job. They can also cut them for more compression while they are at it. With that cam it will produce great torque and the work will run @ $700.

 

I called TSP and they said $750 to do a stage 1, $950 for a stage 2 +return shipping,
I will give AI a call
Thanks

 

I would wait until you have enough money for both. You will be paying for some duplicate labor and the tuning twice. The cam choice may affect the push rod length so you should really get everything together.

 

Chase, I agree, that's why I opted to just buy stock 243s
and the cam kit now. I can always have the heads ported before I do the install so its not such a big hit to my wallet all at once for the other head options +cam+ all the other things I will be replacing while I'm in there.
I'm doing all the work, -the tuning myself
I don't even trust jiffy lube to change the oil in my DD.Let alone pay someone to wrench on my vette.
I called AI and left a detailed message as requested by the recording. Said I was interested in getting my heads ported and had questions regarding prices (was thinking about ordering other stuff I need with it). Instead of a call back they sent me a text with a link to their website.That's awesome thanks...the check is in the mail

 

here is some flow numbers Phil at AI gave me from my heads after they did the valves, bowls and exhaust ports.

 

according to their website the package is $795

 

Those are some nice gains, it's nice to see a reputable shop posting realistic flow #s. everyone that uses them seems to be happy with their results. I'm curious how much throttle response is sacrificed comparing their 216 to the 228 port on a street friendly motor. Did u happen to before and after the porting was done?