I absolutely hate craigslist.
906 casting vortec heads, still assembled, 75 bucks.
Buy first, ask questions later?
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Nov. 13, 2011 7:04 p.m. BoostedBrandon HalfDork
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Nov. 13, 2011 7:27 p.m. TIGMOTORSPORTS Reader
Vortec heads were cheap to start out with, then mass reproduction, then used motors - now the thing to have is a LS1 - so used Vortecs are cheap - they make great power - and torque.
Depending out what year motor you use - will require what else you need different.
75 bucks is a steal - I've seen them dropping used for 200 bucks a pair complete.
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Nov. 13, 2011 7:48 p.m. novaderrik Dork
that's a good deal if they aren't cracked- which they like to do- in which case they are $75 paper weights/wall art..
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Nov. 13, 2011 8:17 p.m. patgizz SuperDork
i'd buy first/ask questions later.
i run them on my mild 350. better than most aftermarket iron sbc heads.
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Nov. 14, 2011 2:46 p.m. BoostedBrandon HalfDork
http://louisville.craigslist.org/pts/2671374026.html
There's the ad. Any way to check for cracks besides with the naked eye? Magnifying glass? Take a portable magnaflux machine?
Salem is about two hours away.
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Nov. 14, 2011 2:51 p.m. cwh SuperDork
How many projects get started like this. Find a great set of heads, need an engine. Got the engine, now what to put it in. Got the engine in, it handles like crud. Handles great now, but those 75.00 heads cost you 5000.00. But worth it.
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Nov. 14, 2011 2:52 p.m. itsarebuild HalfDork
i dont know the casting numbers involved, but there are truck deck vortec heads, and there are passenger car vortec heads. they have different casting numbers and the truck ones are only slightly better than regular passenger car heads. see if you can find out what they were installed on first.
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Nov. 14, 2011 2:59 p.m. itsarebuild HalfDork
ok. little research. vortex heads with the 906 number are less desirable according to chevy high performance magazine. article below.... still probably better than most pre vortex castings.....
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Nov. 14, 2011 3:01 p.m. patgizz SuperDork
itsarebuild wrote:
i dont know the casting numbers involved, but there are truck deck vortec heads, and there are passenger car vortec heads. they have different casting numbers and the truck ones are only slightly better than regular passenger car heads. see if you can find out what they were installed on first.
um, no.
no vortec 5.7 came in anything but a truck. L31 vortec heads are L31 vortec heads, however they have been available through GMPP new for years.
you do want to stay away from 5.0(305) heads as they have smaller valves, unless of course you're building a 305.
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Nov. 14, 2011 3:07 p.m. patgizz SuperDork
theres a bit of misinformation in the chp article too, probably to sell valve guide cutting tools...
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Nov. 14, 2011 3:22 p.m. fasted58 SuperDork
cwh wrote:
How many projects get started like this. Find a great set of heads, need an engine. Got the engine, now what to put it in. Got the engine in, it handles like crud. Handles great now, but those 75.00 heads cost you 5000.00. But worth it.
like building an entire car around a set of cheap heads
I found some cool door handles on a car out in the woods when I was a kid, I kept 'em for years determined to build a car around them.
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Nov. 14, 2011 5:06 p.m. itsarebuild HalfDork
hmmm. i guess i was mistaken. but i thought the introduction of the vortec heads were what boosted the 5.7 liter LT-1 in the F bodies to to 335 HP when it was about 235 a few years before.
even if they all came from truck motors it still seems that CHP specifically doesnt like the 906 casting. is there something about this casting that the article got wrong?
i have a 350 on the rack that would love to know!
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Nov. 14, 2011 5:08 p.m. itsarebuild HalfDork
oops 285 hp. my bad. but still 50 new ponies in a few years....
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Nov. 14, 2011 6:55 p.m. novaderrik Dork
"Vortec" is a GM marketing term that means "truck engine". they started that in either the last year of the "classic" trucks in 87 or the first year of the redesigned and all new 88 model year and it still holds true to the current models in showrooms.
the "good" vortec truck heads are actually based off the iron LT1 heads that were put in Caprices and Impalas and Roadsmashers and what not, except with the water jackets set up for an old school small block instead of the reverse cooled LT1. some people also think that the center bolt heads are all "vortecs" but that's not even close to true.. if it has 6 3/8" intake manifold bolts, then it's not the "good" head- the 96 and up vortec ehads have 4 5/16" intake bolts on each head that pint straight up on either side of the front and rear water jackets.
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Nov. 14, 2011 8:12 p.m. patgizz SuperDork
never heard of any pre 96 being referred to as vortec except the 4.3 cfi engines.
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Nov. 14, 2011 8:29 p.m. RexSeven SuperDork
BoostedBrandon wrote:
Any way to check for cracks besides with the naked eye? Magnifying glass? Take a portable magnaflux machine?
There's this stuff called dye penetrant that you can spray onto parts to check for cracks. It's available in both eye-visible and UV backlit versions. Only problem is it costs about $55/kit, so it may not be practical unless you build a lot of engines. A racing or machine shop might have some.
https://www.pegasusautoracing.com/group.asp?GroupID=CRACKTEST
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Nov. 14, 2011 8:30 p.m. novaderrik Dork
patgizz wrote:
they were called vortec, but they only really advertised the 4.3 as a "vortec" for whatever reason. i know the owner's manual for a 92 GMC k1500 lists every engine as a "Vortec", and a 95 Suburban has a couple of "Vortec" logos under the hood.never heard of any pre 96 being referred to as vortec except the 4.3 cfi engines.
