What are the pros and cons of replacing aluminum heads with cast iron heads on a 96 LT1. both heads are stock

 

Pros- Block & heads have same expansion rate, Overheating is less likely to warp heads or cause head gasket leaks, possibly a little better flow from the iron heads

Cons- There's a lot better stuff from the aftermarket considering swapping heads is a big job.

You may also run into detonation problems as well unless you keep the temps down. The iron heads retain heat better so the same coolant temp actually means a higher combustion temp when comparing iron and aluminum. Switching from aluminum to iron seems kind of backwards to me, unless you're running huge amounts of boost and can't keep the aluminum heads straight.

If you're looking for more power, a port and polish job would do a lot more, or some aftermarket heads from AFR, Edelbrock, TFS...

 

well the engine is out and the heads are off. I have perfectly good iron heads, and bent vavles in the aluminum ones. Getting anxious so I was thinking about just getting the iron ones ported and polised rather than rebuilding the aluminum, then porting and polishing.

 

Oh, well if the heads are already off or damaged then it doesn't seem too bad. I was under the impression that you were going to replace working aluminum heads with iron ones, which is a lot of work for no improvement.

I'd stick with aluminum if I could, but if it's more cost effective to use iron right now go for it. A 160 thermostat and tuning so the fans come on around 180/190 is a good idea though.

 

thank Green...got a fan switch and a 160.