Does anybody know of a shop that offers decent LT1 head porting and rebuilding for around $750?

I am looking to get my heads up to speed for a 396 shortblock I built for my Z28. The only problem I have is that I only have about $750 left in the budget for this motor. Also could I expect stock LT1 heads to be ported well enough in this price range to support 500hp.

I plan on eventually sending a pair of heads off to advanced induction for their full port job, but it will be another year or so before I save up enough money to work on this project again.

Well after the discussion in this thread, I have come to the conclusion that I need some overall help on choosing top end parts for my 396 build. Please read through the thread to see the specs for the bottom end and the car and please provide your input.

 

Ellotmotorsports sells LT1 heads for around 900.00 that's about as good as it gets

 

No $750 is not enough to rebuild and port LT1 heads well enough for a 396.

You might get 500fwhp(doubtful) but certainly not 500rwhp.

This is why I harp on folk about not blindly spending money on displacement and shorting themselves when it comes to topend budget, topend is where intelligently spent money can really make a difference.

Frankly I would just put it together with the unported heads and appropriate hardware knowing it will be a turd for now and then when you have a real budget, address the heads. Spending money on some cheap hack work now will just be wasting is because you are probably going to go back and do it over later.. Save the money and that gets you that much closer to being able to do it well later.

 

I spent $500 on a decent valve job, milling, and assembley of some already ported heads. For $750 you're not going to get much. Like 96capricemgr already said either wait or just run what you have till you have the money for the proper top end.

 

Stop and thing about all the hardware needed, springs, foundations locks, rocker studs, guideplates, seals.

I would NOT have the heads milled till they are ported either, at least not if you want them CNC'd. CNC shops are not going to want to mess with an already molested head.

 

The $900 is probably doable. In your guys opinion would it be worth getting the ellot motorsports heads then swapping to AI heads in the future, better saving the money for AI portwork and using the stock heads now or just get the elliot motorsports heads and be done with it.

Only reason I would not wait and go all out for the AI head work first off is I have a second Z28 that would get just a head and cam swap after I did get the AI headwork done for this motor.

96caprice, I understand that the top end is going to provide the most hp per dollar when modifying a motor, but your bottom end has to be able to hold up to the power. I don't think I was blindly spending money on a stroker motor as I could have built a stroker short block for only 300 to 400 more than spending the money on rebuilding the short block with stock displacement.

I decided to spend the money on forged internals that would hold up to as much hp as I wanted. I figured it's a hell of a lot cheaper building a short block that won't come apart than building one cheaply that you have to build again. It is also easier to swap heads and a cam than to pull the whole motor and rebuild it when using cheap parts. I also figured I could live with the lower RPM range and hp for a while breaking in the motor.

 

OR, Get on SearchTempest craigslist Search - All of craigslist. One Search. and search for a set that's already ported..
The guys that have gone to LS are switching out and selling parts..
Or Ebay for the same. It's just that searchtempest you can just search your area..

JUst a thought. I've picked up things like that over the decades.
E

 

You are not giving the stock bottom end the credit it deserves. It can take a serious beating before anything needs to be replaced. Many people who rebuild for a performance intent actually reuse everything but the pistons.

I think your plan needs some revision. It's ALWAYS better to spend the money NOW rather than building in "stages."

Dwayne is spot-on here.

 

First off, I think I have to apoligize to Dwayne for the way my last post was stated, I should have reread it before I posted it. I was not trying to attack him, but rather defend my position.

Second I have taken every thing into consideration and have decided to just pull the trigger and go with the AI heads, it's what I wanted in the first place, I just did not want to put them on the credit card .

Third, the stock bottom end is great up to 450hp, but over 500hp there is no way I would trust it. Yes there are many that get away with 500+hp on a stock bottom end with new pistons, but there are just as many that have turned their motor into huge paper weights. I would rather not leave it to chance.

 

If you are gonna do heads in a year or so anyway and just want this thing running, just rebuild the heads you have now, dont spend alot on them just get them cleaned up and new springs/seals installed for the cam. I'd spec the cam now for the AI heads, OR you can do a different cam now and change later but doesnt make to much sense to do things over again. You already will be changing heads once, why make it the cam too?

If you cant live with having the car down, then put stockish heads back on and live with that for awhile til you get the heads done right. No real problem with this but its much easier to just do it right the first time around. That way you only need one install, one tune, and one lightened wallet

So if you are going AI heads now then thats a good plan, even tho it sets you back in cost, its worth it IMO

 

Thanks for mentioning the tune, I knew I was going to have to tune the car after it was all said and done, but I didn't think about having to tune it twice. I guess I was just in a hurry to try and get the car running since I have pretty much everything else I need already done.

 

Lloyd Elliott has been the best bang for the buck head porter for years and still is in my opinion. I've got stock ported heads on my 383 and it's breathes very well for the money I spent, far less than what AI ported factory heads or aftermarket castings go for.

Some LE1's on a 396 isn't the ideal build but it'll get you good numbers for the low money spent on heads. Although, going to LE2 or even LE3 heads would be much better.

What's the build consist of? What cam specs do you have? Compression, etc? Not everyone's build and budget is the same, but doing no head work is going to make that thing a slug.

Also I'm building a refreshed stock bottom end 350 for my daily driver and it's unfortunate how underestimated the stock bottom end is. It's just not worth throwing out good factory parts for cheap chinese steel.

-Dustin-

 

yep been there done that... Always anxious to finish a build when its close but sometimes little things come up where you COULD take shortcuts but in the end you know its not gonna be correct and you should stop, and do it right. Hard thing to do and drags the project on, but it is worth it in the end. I thought my car would be done MONTHS ago but still little things here and there cause me to make changes and lose time.

 

I built the short block with splayed main caps, with a lunati crank and lunati 6" connecting rods. The pistons I used were SRP Pro Flat Top Pistons.

The cam I am planning on using is a Comp Cams 280XFI it has 280/288 duration on .576/.570 lift with 113* lobe seperation on a 109* intake centerline. I have never been the best at picking out cams, so if any body has any recomendations, I would gladly consider them.

With these pistons I am looking at getting right around 12:1 compression depending on how much the head has to be milled. I would like to try and get the CR down as close to 11.5:1 as possible just to be safe, but I have not looked to deeply into head gaskets yet, as I don't have the heads done.

I currently have a Rossler built 4L60E with a 3000 stall converter and transbrake. The car currently has 3.73 gears in a 9", but will eventually get 4.11s.

I do not plan on ever using nitrous on this motor, but you never know, I may use it once or twice if I am real close to say a 10sec run, but it will never be used consistently.

 

I like the Lunati parts and SRP pistons, those are pretty good quality but it seems your leaving alot on the table with that camshaft and other areas. 280/288 is the advertised duration, I'm thinking it's the 230/236 XFI cam, which is what GMHTP used in their recent LT1 head shootout in a 383.

Everyone has their own opinions on camshafts, but I've never been a huge fan of Comps LT1 XFI offerings. A custom camshaft would be nice, but if your looking for a 11.5:1 396 it's kinda like putting custom chrome wheels on a chevy corsica. You probably would have been better building a factory 355 and putting the "396" money into the heads and cam.

You're probably going to need big chambers and/or a thick gasket to get the compression 11.5 with flat top pistons. If you've already bought and built this bottom end it looks like we're going to be tip-toeing through the build trying to "fix" things to make up for improper planning. For instance: You should have known what head gaskets you were going to use before taking the block to the machine shop. Same with the heads, compression ratio, camshaft, etc.

What do you want out of the car, drag strip? Daily driver? Weekend warrior? Everyone wants something different and the more you tell the seasons guys on here the better we can point you in the right direction.

Do you have emissions requirements? can you handle a lopey camshaft? will you dyno tune the car later? Do you have a aftermarket throttle body? Always use 93-94 octane? Are you planning on porting the intake? What size injectors are you running or planning to buy? 3000 stall is too small, that is a fact, but what brand is it and can you get it restalled for free? Carl is a good guy, and I know lots of people from Ohio running his transmissions, but the last few LT1 builds I've seen him build trannys for always have very low stalls.

Don't get me wrong you have a stout bottom end, but if you do LE1 heads and a XFI230/236 you'll be lucky to make 525hp at the motor. LE1 heads and that cam would be great for a 11.5:1 350/355 and mild for a 383, a 396 is going to want more cam and more air. That bottom end would be good for a big cam, stellar heads, and a healthy shot of nitrous aiming for 9's, but I have a feeling you're going to have a mid to low 12 second 396 on your hands if you continue down this path.

-Dustin-