I just recently acquired a 97 chevy camaro v8 350 5.7L. The cylinder heads were cracked so i bought some new ones from allied motor parts on ebay. I purchased 96-02 Chevy 350 5.7L V8 SBC 062/906 Vortec Cylinder Heads. I also noticed that the passenger side exhaust manifold was cracked as well. So I went out to my local auto dismantlers (pick n pull) and pulled the same side exhaust manifold from a 96 Pontiac Firebird because I was told the parts were interchangeable. Well I go to see if the exhaust manifold that I pulled matched up with the new cylinder heads and it doesnt match up. So then I tried matching it up to the old cylinder head and it does match up. So my question is, did I screw up when I purchased the Vortec Cylinder Heads or can I keep them and just get a new set of exhaust manifolds that fit the new Vortec Cylinder heads that I purchased.

 

Wrong heads.

If your "97 chevy camaro v8 350 5.7L" is the stock engine, it's a Gen 2 small block Chevy known as the LT1. The LT1 has a unique "reverse flow" cooling system, so the coolant passages in the head are different than the traditional Gen 1 SBC. Bolt pattern is the same, but they won't bolt up without reworking the coolant passages. Then, the intake manifold bolt pattern for the LT1 heads is not the same as the traditional Gen 1 SBC heads. So if you wanted you use your LT1 intake on the Vortec heads, a couple of the bolt holes have to be relocated, and the surface the bolts sit on have to be cut to a new angle. You already see the LT1 head has a D-port exhaust.

When you got done with all that work, you would have a cast iron head that flows slightly better than the LT1 heads, but probably gives up compression (LT1 heads are 54cc combustion chambers; Vortecs are usually 64cc). You will also need a tune, to adjust the ignition timing.

Best thing to do is get a used set of aluminum LT1 heads, and have them ported by someone like Lloyd Elliott:

http://www.elliottsportworks.com/

Port intake, matching cam, and you can make 400-500HP at the flywheel, depending on how far you go with the porting.

 

PS - You may have been mislead. I have seen a site on ebay that indicates these heads will fit 96-02 Camaros 5.7L, and that is way off.... the 98-02 LS1 heads are totally different (Gen 3 SBC).

 

Like Injuneer said, there are several different motor generations being discussed here.

The iron 062 Vortec heads you bought are considered Gen I.

Your engine is a Gen II reverse cool LT1 which are most commonly a 561 or 374 head casting number, and do not interchange with anything else unless a good amount of machine work is done.

The 1998+ engines are Gen III/IV and are a totally new design with no interchangeability.

If you have trouble returning those 062 heads and getting the right ones from them or finding some of the right heads locally I think I have one set left that could be rebuilt.

 

where are you located? I have a set of iron LT1 heads that I will sell for a wonderful price to you. They are not quite as good as the stock aluminum heads, but they are proper to the LT1 engine!

maybe2fast@gmail.com