TravMsns

Will they bolt right on my L48, I know I need a special intake, but will the heads bolt right on? What cam and carburetor should I run with these heads? and finally what kind of gains can I expect with this setup?

john's '81 mouse

Yes, heads will bolt right up. Jim Pace Chev. sells a kit for this conversion. includes heads, intake manifold, head bolts, head gaskets, and 1.5 self aligning rocker arms, which are required with these heads. Only thing left you have to buy are the two center bolt valve covers.

Stock heads and valve springs good to 4.80 lift. You can get the heads machined to accept bigger valve springs, and thusly higher lift camshafts, and screw in rocker arm studs.

You can't run hot air choke with this vortec intake, and must convert your carburator to an electric or manual choke carburator.

Smokehouse69

Yes it will bolt right on to your L-48, Yes you need a special intake. I suggest the Edelbrock Performer Vortec. The Edelbrock Performer RPM is too tall for most 'vette hoods.
As far as the cam goes, unless you plan on having the valve guides machined down and changing to different springs, don't go with any cam with more that .460 total lift. I have heard that (.475) is okay, but other sources say that you will end up with possible damage to the stem seals and coil binding with a cam with more than .450-.460.
Vortecs are 64cc heads, so you will probably be bumping you compression up several points from low compression 76cc L-48 heads so you'll have to run premium gas or you will get the pings and clatters.
Your stock Q-jet should work, but I wouldn't recommend it unless it has an electric choke. The Performer Vortec intake has no heat crossover so the Q-jet choke won't work.
Good luck.

SteveG75

I was looking at the Vortec myself but the cost is starting to add up.

Pace has the kit for $749, figure at least $100 to machine them for better valve springs, $50 for valve covers, $60 for the new springs (figure LT-4 springs so you canget up to .525 lift). TOTAL= ~$950

Summit has the Trick Flow 23 degree heads for $895 for the 1.25 springs (.520 lift) and $975 for the 1.47 springs (.540 lift). I also get to reuse my Performer 2101 ($100), valve covers, etc. So for $995 invested, I get aluminum heads that do flow a bit better than the Vortecs and I can run a little more compression.

Choices, choices.

BTW: I do like the Vortecs, I just wish Chevy would package them with a better spring out the door.

Frankenvette

I purchased my vortec heads rebuilt from a machine shop here in Charlotte, NC for $450.00/pair. This included the upgraded springs(Z-28), 3 angle valve job, rocker arms and valve covers. Furthermore, the shop that did them has an excellent reputation among the local racing guys as top quality. I have had no problems after almost 2 years. I can pass along his name, or check with your local machine shops. I also switch from the Q-jet to a Carter AFB with electric choke.

Regards,

Jim

MIKER

I agree with SteveG75 on this one. I actually had a new pair of Vortec heads to use but ended up purchasing the Trick Flows for $850 at Summit for all of the reasons stated by Steve.
(Summit Racing's price on the Trick Flows went up $50 within a week after my purchase!)

I am still convinced that the Vortec heads are great if they suit your needs. The $699 Vortec Head Kit from Scoggin-Dickey is a neat package if you don't already have some of the parts needed. http://www.sdpc2000.com/cart.asp?act...d=277&pid=1120

BeaterShark

This is the kind of thinking I had, except I passed up the TFS heads and went with AFRs. I would have needed the biggest spring'ed TFS, so the AFR price was < $100 more.

mountainmotor

As Steve has said you can get a chunk of money tied up in the Vortechs.I have been there and done that and after all was said and done I still had a light weight casting with super thin decks and was still stuck with 1.5 valves.I don't think they would take a big overheat without cracking. The Trick Flow 23 are really good heads for the money but have any of you seen the new Vortech faced Edelbrock Etech 200's?Here is what they flow.
> int/exh
> 100 67/57
> 200 122/110
> 300 175/153
> 400 223/182
> 500 252/196
> 600 259/204
> 700 265/207
>

TravMsns

How bout these? These seem pretty inexpensive, what's the deal with em? http://www.sdpc2000.com/cart.asp?act...tart&catid=416

I'm talking about the 64cc straight plug, assembled

$389, that seems pretty cheap, are they good heads or no?

mean8t

YOu can buy the Vortec heads from Scoggin-Dickey http://www.sdpc2000.com for $600 with new springs and all to accept .525" lift (p/n SD8060A), then $160 for the performer Vortec intake, $165 for an XE274 cam kit, and then $90 for a set of valve covers. All for about $1015, and you have about 375 hp.
Steve the Vortec heads were rated better than the TFS 23* heads by Chevy High Performance Mag. The TFS head was rated 7 and the Vortec was rated number 4. Overall the Vortec head is probaby the strongest head for the money including what you have to put into it to make it work. Consequently if you are buliding your engine form scratch or starting form stock you would already have to buy some of these components already so buying the Vortec stuff is marginal. After all we are talking about a head that outperformed all other heads at the .300" to .400" lift range under $1500. This head does flow in the upper 230's at .500" lift. IMHO go with the Vortec heads.


[Modified by mean8t, 11:07 AM 12/4/2001]

SteveG75

Good head. Getting into that iron vs aluminum debate again. $389 is for ONE head so $778 for a pair plus manifolds if you need one.

mountainmotor

I ran across this link posted by a forum member.Although I have not had the time to take a hard look at it it seems there is some good info there.You know,we don't even know what gears and transmission you have and what kind of use your car gets.Would you mind posting that info? There might be a better way to approach this prformance upgrade with more info.Any way,take a look at this link and see what you think.For what it is worth I like the Dart Iron Eagles over the Sportsman II heads.
http://www.ryanscarpage.50megs.com/combos.html

thebruce

I'm looking at doing the same thing, and still haven't made up my mind. I will probably go with the TFS. One factor was that aluminum heads are much easier to machine, so if I ever decide to get them ported or have any other work done, it should be cheaper. FYI, JD's Performance has a better deal on the Trick Flows than anywhere else I've found, and they advertize free shipping on their website. Now I just need to scrape together the cash. Keep us posted.

TravMsns

It's for mostly street use, but I want to be able to run decent times at the strip as well. It's a 78 L48, TH350 tranny, stock gears (maybe 3.55?).

Also, what is the address for JD's website?

Chucks76

Just one short note on the TFS 23 degree heads. I have had them on my car for 8 months now and am still having problems with the intake,head, and block sealing. I am not the only one either. Everything was done at the same time, rebuilt motor, new heads and intake. Had to machine the performer intake a little just to get the bolts in. Going to try the double thick(part number escapes me) fel pro intake set next. If I had to do it over, there would be Edelbrock Performer heads on my motor instead of the TFS. Just my honest opinion.

ylose

I had heard of this...I was so set on these TFS heads too...but i went edelbrock, completely.... So far so good...(crosses fingers :D knocks on wood) but i also love the loss of weight on the front...

thebruce

Here's the link to JDs-- best prices I have been able to find. http://www.jdsperformance.com/index....id=98&fcmd=cat

TravMsns

Damn, the TFS heads are a good price for aluminum heads. How prone are they to the whole not sealing situation? If it's gonna be that much of a problem, should I stick to Sportsman II's? Also, should I run comp cams XE268 or XE274 with these heads? I want lopy idle, but I still want my low end as well.

thebruce

No kidding- That's why I've pretty much decided not to go with the Vortecs. There are so many advantages for me since I have to do a step by step build up. I like that I can keep my stock intake for now, so I can pass the People's Republic of California smog test, among other things.

I am not particularly thrilled to hear about the sealing problem, but that's why I use the Forum, to hear what works and what doesn't. I may give TFS a call and see what they have to say about it.

As for the cam, I put the XE268 in last month and love it. With good heads and headers it will be right at or just over 400 HP, but still is a great street car cam. I'll see if I can dig up some of the dyno tests I read online that used the TFS heads with the XE 268. I'll keep you posted.

MIKER

Chuck,
I have the same heads on my engine but I only have about 1700 miles on it so far. I haven't noticed any problems yet but I sure would like to know more about your situation so that I can keep an eye out for similar problems with my heads.
What kind of sealing problems? Vacuum leaks? Oil leaks? Coolant leaks? All of the above? Have you contacted the manufacturer? What explaination did they provide? You state that "you are not the only one having this problem". Who else? Will you provide more details please? If there is a problem, I need this information so that I can be sure to correct it before my warranty runs out so please keep us informed of the details.
I know that there had been some significant valve train geometry problems in the earlier versions of the Trick Flow heads but they supposedly have that worked out. I think that the bad publicity from that event is what has kept their price down for so long.
Are you absolutely sure that your block has not been excessively decked? I'm just guessing here but if that were the case, it would be easy to see how there could be fitment problems with the intake.
I sure hope that I'm not running a pair of $850 "defects" on top of my engine! :eek: I'm anxious to see how they stand up to hopefully thousands of miles of hard use.