i purchased a 350 from a 89 chevy 2500 and have pulled it apart. see build thread here from what i have been told the heads that came on it are not great.

casting number 14102191

i wanted to create a new thread for my head discussion.

first i have not decided if i want FI or carbed but leaning more towards carbed so that i can reused my intake and carb to save money while saving for what i want.

i currently have a edelbrock and carb on my 305 ho

so lets talk like a want to go with a carb. i want to have a 300 to 350 HP street car

first can someone explain to me about compression ratio because i thought about reusing my stock pistons if applicable but i might just buy a rebuild kit with new ones.

next i need to know what cc i need for the heads

next what are some good stock heads that i can look for in a scrap yard. (casting numbers and year and model of vehicle). I here people suggest vortec heads but that would then require me to go with a FI system.

next what would work as after market heads. this is a somewhat budget build so i probably cant drop a grand on heads.

also i may be able to get a set of single hump heads from a 327 where would those rank as a desirable head.

 

As far as the factory heads go the Vortecs are arguably the best head they will outflow the double hump and have a better combustion chamber stock vrs stock. Plus the vortecs were built to run unleaded fuel. All you need to do to run a carb with them is to get a vortec specific manifold for a carb. The drawback to the vortec as a junkyard head is the capabilty to support a lift over .450. I believe you could achieve the 300 hp without to much of a problem I think the vortec 350 was rated at 255 hp stock add headers a better cam 9.5:1 compression you should meet you goal and run on mid grade fuel

 

here are some heads i found on CL but i have no clue what to look for in a good head.

CHEVROLET CYLINDER HEADS STAMP # - (333882) 350-400, 1974 TO 1980, 76cc, 160/60cc ports

 

882 was a very common head out of the smog era they are not a good performance choice. The chamber is an open chamber design as you can see by the 76cc size. They can be ported to make them flow better but you will not over come the chamber design. In general stay away from the smog era heads. If you want to go with a junkyard head the vortec is your best choice.