SBC Heads to look for when junkyard diving...

My $2013 challenge car will be using a 350 SBC (most likely TBI, though I do have a 650 Edelbrock carb already in the budget- it came with the original vehicle- if the TBI annoys me)- but both the heads from the original engine (882s) and the heads on the '89 TBI are apparently widely regarded as better used as doorstops than cylinder heads.

So, I'm planning on trying to find some better heads in the junkyard. Yeah, it's looking for a needle in a haystack- but I love just poking around and looking at stuff in the junkyards, so it's far from a wasted day's effort in my book.

Most everything I've found (I'm not an SBC expert by any stretch, I'm still learning a lot...) has said, "GET THE VORTEC HEADS!" (usally in bold and underlined too). But, largely BECAUSE of that, I'm expecting that I may well not find many of those 061 & 906 casting heads still on engines in the yard- so I'm wondering what other casting heads I should be keeping an eye out for, and what vehicles I should be zeroing in on to try and find them.

(as an aside, I'm also going to be looking for the 454 TBIs to snag a bigger injector unit- but that's another needle in the haystack...)

Couple of things:

The stock TBI for the v8's is big enough.... Unless you are going for massive HP. They flow enough air for most of what people do with them. They can also be ported to flow more air.

Fuel is easy to add by changing injectors or increasing fuel pressure.

Next, the vortec heads require other mods to work. I believe some holes need to be re-drilled in the intake manifold or something. It is NOT a bolt on upgrade. (purty shore).

I couldn't tell you what heads to use. All the ones I had sucked.

Rob R.

I'd almost look for some used circle jerker heads from someone stepping up a class or changing combos in a class.

New ones are so cheap all the stock ones are best used as doorstops honestly. The best not that unusual ones would be from the 350 tpi camaros, or the 487 or 487x heads which I think were mostly on 70s trucks.

In reply to wvumtnbkr:

I'm figuring on needing to grab the intake from the Vortec- either the stock one or finding an aftermarket one, and then making (or finding cheap) an adapter to use the TBI. I've done a good bit of reading on the TBI and modding it, so at the moment I'm planning on sticking with it.

In reply to Ranger50:

Where would I go about finding those?

if your intake will work on them, and you have a yard with older things, the old school double humps would work well.....I think all of those I've seen have 2.02/1.60 valves in them......

Ashyukun wrote: In reply to Ranger50: Where would I go about finding those?

Swap meet.

I remember reading an article in HotRod years ago where they put a set of Camaro 305" heads on a 350". The idea was to increase the compression ratio and get better velocity into the cylinder. It seems to me they made more power and torque down low with only a slight tradeoff in the higher RPMs.

I'm sure you can get a set of those heads for free or close to it. It may be worth experimenting if you have the time.

Travis_K wrote: New ones are so cheap all the stock ones are best used as doorstops honestly. The best not that unusual ones would be from the 350 tpi camaros, or the 487 or 487x heads which I think were mostly on 70s trucks.

The problem is that 'cheap' for normal use amounts to 'half of the total budget' for a Challenge car. :P

I'll add those to my list of things to keep an eye out for, thanks!

I’d stick with the 882’s and save your money for a cam, nitrous, or a pair of Ebay turbo’s. Some head flow numbers for you. The 882’s are not all that bad, you just lose out on the bump up in compression from other heads.

http://instructor.mstc.edu/instructor/candres/studentaccess/Web%20Pages/Cylinder-Head%20Flow-Bench%20Database.htm

Where's the 'embarassed' smiley...

I was mis-remembering... I was right about the 'best used as doorstops or boat anchors' part, but not the casting number- the heads that were on the car's original 350 are 624 castings.

At the moment, I have three sets of heads either already in my budget or for a pittance more:

Pair of 624 heads that came with the car

Pair of TBI heads that are on the '89 TBI 350 that is the engine that I'll be using

Pair of 081 heads from a '87 305

The 624 heads are apparently VERY prone to cracking, the TBI heads supposedly flow terribly, and the 305 heads are supposed to be pretty good, but have rather small valves that may restrict the 350's breathing properly...

Should I stick with one of those, or search for others as I intend? It looks like there's several sets of 882s that can be had for a little more than what one head out of the salvage yard would set me back, if those are what I should be aiming for as a good budget head...s

look on Racing Junk.com always SBC heads for sale there and a wide price range

if no vortecs are to be found- which is probably for the best in this situation, because even if you do find a set of heads on a motor for $50 or something, you still need a $150 intake manifold- then look for some 305HO heads.. casting 601. they are pretty common- just look for "L69" option code on the SPID..

and if you get older standard SBC heads you should be able to find an intake manifold real cheap.... then just use an adapter plate for the TBI

Regarding intake manifolds, I may be wrong, but isn't there a factory TBI manifold that mates to Vortec heads? I thought pickups and vans ran that combination for at least a few years.

There is a factory TBI manifold for Vortec heads... but from what I found in researching it (wiki...) they were only on a limited number of production vans in 1996. You can get the manifold, but it's every bit as expensive if not more than some of the aftermarket ones...

As far as manifolds for older SBC heads, I already have an Edelbrock 2701 that came on the engine with the 624 heads- and making an adapter shouldn't be that hard (no way I'm paying $40 for that when I can make it for next to nothing...).

I did check, and the manifold on my TBI engine is aluminum and not iron as I'd heard some were...

In reply to wheels777:

I'm unfortunately in Lexington, KY (unfortunate at least relative location-wise to you).

I do frequently have to go out to the Allentown area for work, and will probably be out there in a month or so if things go as usual- I may touch base with you closer to then depending on what I come up with before then. Thanks!

wheels777 wrote: Let me know when. There are 5 flea markets coming up and you may want to stay over on a related Saturday

Thanks, I'll keep that in mind!

I'm hoping to hit a swap tomorrow if I have the time... depending on what I end up doing in the morning I may not have the time to make it to Cinci's yards to hunt for parts, and the swap meet may be a better resource overall anyway...

Ashyukun wrote: There is a factory TBI manifold for Vortec heads... but from what I found in researching it (wiki...) they were only on a limited number of production vans in 1996. You can get the manifold, but it's every bit as expensive if not more than some of the aftermarket ones...

Only in the vans, but not the SUVs? There's a 96 Yukon in Cincy's UP&P yard.

In reply to eastsidemav:

According to Wiki (yeah, grain of salt, but...):

TBI L31 applications: -1996 G-Series vans over 8,500 lb (3,856 kg) GVW w/ 4L80E transmission

And that's the only entry... the Yukons are listed along with everything else in the standard L31. The GM performance TBI Vortec manifold is around $400 from most places.

In reply to wheels777:

260 inch small block with a Victor Jr intake and then a 454 TBI on top? Interesting! What heads, compression, etc?

Ashyukun wrote: There is a factory TBI manifold for Vortec heads... but from what I found in researching it (wiki...) they were only on a limited number of production vans in 1996. You can get the manifold, but it's every bit as expensive if not more than some of the aftermarket ones... As far as manifolds for older SBC heads, I already have an Edelbrock 2701 that came on the engine with the 624 heads- and making an adapter shouldn't be that hard (no way I'm paying $40 for that when I can make it for next to nothing...). I did check, and the manifold on my TBI engine is aluminum and not iron as I'd heard some were...

moar info on this mythical TBI intake, please.. as far as i know the only intake like that was developed by Edelbrock for GM to make it easy for customers to upgrade TBI trucks to the newer vortec engines.

In reply to novaderrik: This - there was a G20 van that came equipped with a 350 L31 block with a TBI manifold. It was one year only, and from what I hear rare as hens teeth in the p n p yards.. Here's the specs on the part from GMPP

Vortec TBI

MSRP $432.00

12496821 Intake Manifold, Vortec Head Design for TBI Designed for throttle body fuel injection Aluminum intake will work with all Vortec cylinder heads, including P/N 12529093, P/N 12558060, P/N 12497186 or P/N 12464298 Also accepts EGR

Note: The exhaust manifold from 1996-and-newer pickup trucks with RPO L31 350 engine, P/N 12557828, is drilled and tapped to accept an EGR tube. EGR pipe P/N 10220275 and fitting P/N 12552329 can be used with EGR Valve P/N 17113457 and gasket P/N 12337972

Regarding the vans...I believe 96 was the first year of the Chevy express van. However they still made the G30 in 96. I was always under the impression they were all 1 ton vans but I could be wrong.

06HHR wrote: In reply to novaderrik: This - there was a G20 van that came equipped with a 350 L31 block with a TBI manifold. It was one year only, and from what I hear rare as hens teeth in the p n p yards.. Here's the specs on the part from GMPP Vortec TBI MSRP $432.00 12496821 Intake Manifold, Vortec Head Design for TBI Designed for throttle body fuel injection Aluminum intake will work with all Vortec cylinder heads, including P/N 12529093, P/N 12558060, P/N 12497186 or P/N 12464298 Also accepts EGR Note: The exhaust manifold from 1996-and-newer pickup trucks with RPO L31 350 engine, P/N 12557828, is drilled and tapped to accept an EGR tube. EGR pipe P/N 10220275 and fitting P/N 12552329 can be used with EGR Valve P/N 17113457 and gasket P/N 12337972

i'm well aware of the intake- i know of a few people that swapped L31 long blocks into their TBI trucks and used it- but this thread was the first i'd ever head of an oem factory installed TBI setup on a 96-99 vortec engine.