Vortec Heads Question

[trukman1]

I was on You Tube (I know, You Tube?! Really?) There is a guy called Myvintageiron7512 who said they quit buying used heads because so many had cracks in the exhaust chambers. He said you can buy superior bare aftermarket heads for around $350. For the life of me I can't find'em for that after hours of google searches. In the online posts below his video many people asked the same question without an answer. Does anybody know where to get decent aftermarket Vortec heads for anything close to that price?

 

[Frankenchevy]

I think up till 97 there was a casting flaw that left them thin in one area. I believe that if you buy a factory set from GM now, the casting is fixed. FWIW, my dad had a 97 suburban that had over 300k when he gave it to a neighbor kid.

Most people will say get aftermarket heads due to the lift limitations of factory vortecs.

These are both under $350:

https://www.summitracing.com/parts/sum-151124

https://www.summitracing.com/parts/nal-12558060

 

[crazy4offroad]

The Summit brand heads above may be the better choice between the two, since they allow for greater valve lift just beware the installed valve springs might not be strong enough to prevent valve float at high RPMs. But they do come with screw-in rocker studs which is a bonus. Just keep in mind they are $350 each. I paid $200 for mine, had the machine shop deck, 3-angle grind, hot tank and magnaflux for $250 and STILL has a crack right down the middle between the center 2 chambers. Machine shop said it would be OK but I was pissed anyway, I figured if a person asks for magnaflux that means check for cracks and stop if you find any. I used copper head gasket spray sealer and upped the torque spec 5 ft/lbs and crossed my fingers, so far so good. Point of the story is for a couple hundred more bucks I could have had those Summit heads which would have allowed a bigger cam. The one difference is I did do the short radius on the intake runners and clean up the castings, and polished the exhaust ports, and with the decking bumped the chambers to 64-65ccs.

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[trukman1]

I think up till 97 there was a casting flaw that left them thin in one area. I believe that if you buy a factory set from GM now, the casting is fixed. FWIW, my dad had a 97 suburban that had over 300k when he gave it to a neighbor kid.

Most people will say get aftermarket heads due to the lift limitations of factory vortecs.

These are both under $350:

https://www.summitracing.com/parts/sum-151124

https://www.summitracing.com/parts/nal-12558060

I like the PN 151124 because it comes with the screw-in studs. I'm still in the planning stage.

The Summit brand heads above may be the better choice between the two, since they allow for greater valve lift just beware the installed valve springs might not be strong enough to prevent valve float at high RPMs. But they do come with screw-in rocker studs which is a bonus. Just keep in mind they are $350 each. I paid $200 for mine, had the machine shop deck, 3-angle grind, hot tank and magnaflux for $250 and STILL has a crack right down the middle between the center 2 chambers. Machine shop said it would be OK but I was pissed anyway, I figured if a person asks for magnaflux that means check for cracks and stop if you find any. I used copper head gasket spray sealer and upped the torque spec 5 ft/lbs and crossed my fingers, so far so good. Point of the story is for a couple hundred more bucks I could have had those Summit heads which would have allowed a bigger cam. The one difference is I did do the short radius on the intake runners and clean up the castings, and polished the exhaust ports, and with the decking bumped the chambers to 64-65ccs.

You must be registered for see images attach

I agree with you on the magnaflux issue! They should have found that right away and informed you of it.

Since I'm looking to put these on a truck down the road I think they would be fine. Not going for a Killer engine just a little better than the TBI heads. Right now I'm getting anti-freeze in the oil and decided if I have a head problem I'll just go to Vortec heads. Might be a gasket but I want to go to Vortec heads at some point anyway.

Thanks for the responses guys.Now I just have to wait till my son gets over a back issue so we can check everything out. Thanks again!