Heyas all. Trying to determine the best bang for the least buck for my LT1. I have a blown head gasket, so I'm definitely putting a CC305 or hot-cam in along with a set of shorty headers (need to keep the car emissions legal). My question is, with this type of cam, how much more HP can I expect using ported heads compared to just a 3-angle valve job on my stock heads?

3-angle valve job and prep of stock heads= $375
Used ported heads = $800 (current deal I was offered for a pair)

Money is tight, so I need to determine if it's worth it for me to spend the extra $425 on the heads, knowing if I sell my stock heads that could cover some of this extra cost...

Thanks in advance for the input.

 

The power is in the heads. The cam alone is worth only 35-40rwhp on a stock set of castings. HP costs money my friend. How fast do you want to go? = How much money do you have to spend?

Whether the heads would be worthwhile depends on the work done to the heads. I've seen crappy 'port' jobs yield minimal results, and I've seen killer port jobs yield tremendous results. Get them flowed before you purchase them.

 

I'd recommend getting those lt1 heads ported, you'll be glad you did. I also broke the bank on my head swap. Now I need brakes I also traded my stock heads for a set of fms 30# injectors

 

Port em dude!

Always wanted to use that one.

-Mindgame

 

I would go ahead and do it now while the heads are off. You will just kick your self in the a** later for not doing it "right" the first time. Also consider if you really want to do the head swap again, you know you will want more power later. Oh and to answer your question, definatly get them done, horespower is in the heads like SS MPSTR said. Enjoy the cam and hopefully heads.

 

Thx all for the input. Doing some research I found I can get a few hundred for my stock heads, so it's definitely worth it...

I laugh at myself cause I went through this w/ my 86 TA, once you get that HP bug, the itch keeps growing the more you scratch it lol. I wish they had pcm programming in '92 when I put 58cc vette heads and a 268 solid roller in a 355 w/ the stock tpi on it. It never ran its full potential because pcm tunes were few and far and very expensive...

 

Just send your heads to Lloyd Elliott for $600 and that will save you the hassle of trying to sell yours and you would have an awesome set of heads. It's only going to cost $225 more than the $375 and you won't have to tear the engine down later to get the heads done. Later

 

I was actually looking at the AI econo-port for 495, but I would still need additional work done. I'd rather find a deal for used ported heads and bolt 'em on, then sell my stockers to recoupe some costs. I have a line on a fairly fresh set complete w/ springs, guideplates, and ARP stud set for $800 flowing 239 @ .550 / 254 @ .585...seems like a good deal.

 

I paid $600 for heads that flow 262 @ 500 lift with CC10308 springs. for that price the flow numbers seem a little low.

 

If you look on AI's site his Econo's usually flow around 270-275. Thats what Im going with here in the next month or so. I will hopefully be in the 370-380rwhp range.