dbs1

My son has been back from Afghanistan for awhile where he served in the army rangers as a sniper. He is looking at finishing up a 1st gen camaro project from a guy which currently has a tsp 402 short block in it.

He and I road raced for a bit and that is what he's looking to do with the car while still being street legal. The seller said its setup currently with a 9.5 cr as he was going to put an sc on it. We'd want to keep it NA and without replacing pistons to bump up cr, what affordable heads on this project to make 525+ crank horsepower and can we mill the heads or use a thinner head gasket to try and get it to over 10 cr.

Looking for suggestions here. Using a 6 speed trans and thinking 3.73 or 3.55 gears.

I'm sure the Vader master has some suggestions?

wannafbody

iTrader: (2)

I'd say Texas Speed ported 706/862 heads since they have smaller combustion chambers.. I don't think you'll make 500 hp unless you run a really big cam. If you are dead set on 500+ hp, I think you'd need Trick Flow heads, Fast 102 and 102 TB.

Tuskyz28

Ls3 heads will get you there without breaking the bank....

TrickFlowTech

The 220 As Cast heads will give you the mid-range torque you want for track duty. Hard to say for sure what head was originally spec'd, but a 20cc piston would net 9.5:1 with a normal 68cc chamber. It should be poured if you can't find the part number on the piston just to be sure.

Our LS2 bore heads start at 65cc and would bump that to 9.77:1 I'd mill them .030 for 60cc (10.4:1) along with .036 piston to head clearance to net 10.46:1. The Fast 102 and a 90mm TB along with a cam in the such as the Summit SUMLSGT108 234/246. I also heavily recommend our steam kit.

black sky

iTrader: (3)

A very important question is...what is your definition of affordable?. That answer will provide a much better base for members/vendors suggestions. I mean this in a very friendly way. We all usually have financial limits. That said, Advanced Induction has great cnc programs for GM cast heads. I've been supper happy with mine for that last three years. Phil has a lot of knowedge and great advice. Unfortunately, there is a give and take. You will loose some PTV by milling a stock GM casting. Which will also limit your cam selection... (unless flycut pistons)....An aftermarket head like TFS, AFR, PRC,MAMO etc., might cost a bit more, but will have plenty of deck thickness to work with and mill. Plus a more efficient design and ability to handle horsepower upgrades in the future. Alot of decision making comes down to money or budget. Good luck.

axe murderer

iTrader: (3)

You can probably hit 525 with stock unported LS3s
Lowest price perf head for a 4.00 bore motor are GMPP CNCed LS3s, not the best but good bang for the buck & GM oem LS3 intakes are pretty cheap also.
Next are prob either of the 2 popular as cast cathedral heads, both have better valve angles than stock heads

99 Black Bird T/A

iTrader: (4)

Affordable being key...this might be a option to consider...Advanced Induction has a ported version of the GM 241 head with the chambers welded up for ~12 to compression with a stock piston. They are good heads and cam make the crank hp you mentioned with appropriate cam etc. I suggest contacting AI.

http://www.advancedinduction.com/LSX...RGMLS1Head.php

black sky

iTrader: (3)

Well said. Those AI High Compression 241 heads put up some great numbers in a few threads on here. They have a nice heads/custom cam package that work well together. Thats my only regret. I should have had them spec a cam at the same time i bought the heads. They know their product the best.

KCS

iTrader: (20)

What is the dish volume of the pistons?

big hammer

It would be hard to get less than 525 hp with GMPP ls3 heads on there

Full-Force

iTrader: (11)

IMO being a 402 he will be all over 525 "crank" hp with stock heads, a healthy cam and an ls6 or better intake even with 9.5:1. Supporting mods in place of course.

fastlt1

iTrader: (4)

are the gmpp ls3 heads 6 bolt