What do you guys know about vortec heads, rumor has it, the heads on the stock 305 TBI are the worst heads GM has ever released. I wanna fix that, i was plannin on tryin to get a set of vortec heads used, and just get new springs/rocker arms. Probably get them fairly reasonable, however, does anybody have any part number or anything i should look for? I'm fairly ignorant on heads, so any advice i can get would be appreciated. And one more question, people say on those 305's, how they're a two bolt main and too much power will tear up the crankshaft? How much power would you need to tear up the crank?

 

ive heard of 450 horse 2 bolts, dont worry about it.

as for the heads, they are the best head for the money, the best head ever? NO WAY, but a darn good one none the less. When you buy the heads youll need a vortec head style intake manifold as well. they bolt up differently, at a different angle i think, not sure. the bolts themselves i mean.

 

hmm, well ihave an lt1 cam in it now, its just a street car ya know? nothin crazy. now with the intake and the heads what kindof price and horsepower gain am i lookin at?

 

it depends on what your definition of too much power is. a two bolt main is usually safe up to 500 HP. but i've seen them hold quite a bit more. it's not just the heads ... the whole TBI system needs to be replaced. head to head a well tuned 4 bbl carb will blow any TBI off the road. Sick

 

alright so your sayin get an intake set up for a carb and get heads along with it? it would be kinda nice to have a 4 bbl holley sittin on top of my intake

 

its not quite as easy as that ... if you go carb your gonna have to change out the distributor to HEI as well and if it's auto your gonna have to put a lockup kit in the tranny. all fairly cheap and easy mods but quite a bit of work. the reasoning behind all this is if you go carb your gonna have to bypass the computer. Sick

 

I think all the center bolts on the intakes angle changed when they went to center bolt valve covers. So if you go for heads that is something to look for.

 

the vortec heads are center bolt too

 

The vortecs dont have the center two manifold bolts they have three triangles on the front. The factory casting #are 062 and 906. The intake angle is different they are kind of a raised runner head. What is the cam lift you are running? I paid $200 for a set with valve covers, rockers, the pushrods(didnt need) and the head bolts changed the valve springs $80. ported the exhaust and reworked the retainers. I didnt change the rockers because there are expensive(self aligning) and my cam didnt make power over 6000rpm. They work real well on my 350 but I wonder how much they would help a 305 and would there be valve interferance problems?

 

now how iwould by pass the computer...? im sure they sell a kit to convert TBI to carb, but i am fairly interested inthis, the tbi's are much more reliable then a carb but not so good performance wise. i mean what kindof money are we talkin here. Also, i do have centerbolts on my valvecovers and i still do need a new intake to mount the vortec heads on?