Pulled heads, need opinions.........(pics inside)
thanks, i read that post, i just wanted him to let me know the ls2/ls7 where the sameones, i always try to triple check things if i can.........i ordered them about 30 min. ago.....
i dont think the 243's im getting have the lightweight valves, there from a 5.3 motor. i was wondering if anyone knows what kind of springs it should have and if they are going to be ok with the comp cam i have?
thanks, i read that post, i just wanted him to let me know the ls2/ls7 where the sameones, i always try to triple check things if i can.........i ordered them about 30 min. ago.....
i dont think the 243's im getting have the lightweight valves, there from a 5.3 motor. i was wondering if anyone knows what kind of springs it should have and if they are going to be ok with the comp cam i have?
No the 243's from the trucks don't have the lightweight valves but who cares, they flow better and that's all that really matters in this situation.
I would buy a new set of single beehive springs for that small of a cam. Call up one of the sponsors and they will get you hooked up. The factory springs will not be strong enough and could be worn anyway.
right around 11 to 1 comp and could easily get the TR224 on 114 or 116 ls
to pass if there's a good tuner in your area. I think EPS just ground a 222/230
custom for a cal emissions build. That would cost $400 but I'd bet you could
find a used TR or TSP 224 for half that. My guess is it would be worth 15-20
horse over current stick. Key is the wide lobe separation. just a thought.
pooter, i was thinking the samething when i read the details about the heads, ''who cares about the lightweight valves for 310$''
im just happy to have some 243 heads coming, should be here tomorrow. im shopping for springs rite now, i really dont want ones that i have to check spring pressure on often as this will be my daily driver.i painted a few things today, fuel rails (grey), coils(black), the black plastic piece that goes underneath the intake(black). i didnt paint the air lid yet because im going to get the slp lid and paint that one. I'm thinking of putting a the bird symbol where the slp sign is, i saw someone with the chevy symbol there and thought the bird would look cool on there. the ls7 lifters and ls2 lifter tray came in today, sdparts is fast!! it literally took like three business days from order to delivery, awesome! i know everyone wants pics
so here they are
pooter, i was thinking the samething when i read the details about the heads, ''who cares about the lightweight valves for 310$''
im just happy to have some 243 heads coming, should be here tomorrow. im shopping for springs rite now, i really dont want ones that i have to check spring pressure on often as this will be my daily driver.i painted a few things today, fuel rails (grey), coils(black), the black plastic piece that goes underneath the intake(black). i didnt paint the air lid yet because im going to get the slp lid and paint that one. I'm thinking of putting a the bird symbol where the slp sign is, i saw someone with the chevy symbol there and thought the bird would look cool on there. the ls7 lifters and ls2 lifter tray came in today, sdparts is fast!! it literally took like three business days from order to delivery, awesome! i know everyone wants pics
so here they are
pooter, i want to get springs that can handle a little bit bigger cam, i plan on changing it in the future.......i keep thinking about that 224 cam '' cough cough, targa'' put in my head

does anyone know if i will be able to drive the car to the tune shop with the new heads or should i tow it? i know im getting ahead of myself but im just curious.
and stock 243s....manifolds and NO stall ???....355-360 rwhp maybe 370 tq
I'm sure someone will chime in if my guesstomometer needs calibration. ha ha
Legal shorties and a 224 prolly 380 ish....then a 3200 or so stall and HTFO
im actually planning on headers, im trying to squeeze them into the budget rite now so i can put them on during this rebuild. i want longtubes, shorties seem like a waste of time, im thinking of smogging the car and then adding them, or trying to find an exhaust shop that can pass the car with the longtube headers. im going to add a stall later on, i think i read stall converters lower hp/trq reading, it raises your e/t's but lowers your actuall hp #'s if i read about them correctly. what else should i do to squeeze those extra ponies out of her? my goal is 400 rwhp.
The Best V8 Stories One Small Block at Time
I had some downtime waiting for parts. so packed all my pulley's with new grease. and painted some parts like yourself.
I also did poly motor mounts while the heads and everything was off, it sucks doing them, but worth it.
Also make sure you take the steam pipe gaskets off your old heads or get new ones. The steam pipe under your intake will leak coolant without them.
Last edited by mike171562; Aug 1, 2011 at 01:42 PM.
. everything else went pretty smoothly,I did the cam, springs, OP , LT's and timing chain a few months back and put down 388 on the dyno with the stock 806 heads. It made a big difference in power , then I had some bad luck a few weeks ago and ended up doing the 243's, I havent tuned it yet with the new heads, but I'm hoping to be around 400 hp.
https://ls1tech.com/forums/generatio...nto-motor.html
Your also going to need new coil pack brackets to mount your coils on the valve cover
was it worth it...absolutely!
I'm still running the stock converter so the Cam I have pulls the brakes a little, the Cam your looking at shouldnt be too bad with a good tune.
Last edited by mike171562; Aug 4, 2011 at 10:05 AM.
i just realized i never put up pics of the 243 heads, i'll take some now and have them up in a bit. i started my automech class so im going to be taking them in, cleaning them up, checking the valves and milling them myself. should be fun stuff!
Where im at with the install.......
i have put the oil pump, timing chain/sprockets, front cover, balancer and water pump back on. all i really have to do now is the heads. i just ordered some 99+ valve covers, coil brackets and msd wires. im trying to get everything i need all together that way i can put the heads on and fire her up. i painted the front cover, water pump, balancer and the front face of the heads, i think it looks really good. i'll post pics tomorrow. i also did some calculations and figured out that my car is a 347 ci. the .010 bore gave it one cubic inch lol. i know i wont see a difference from that but its still kinda cool none the less.
i also had to take the cylinder heads into a machine shop because my teacher at school didnt think it was a good idea for me to work on aluminum heads for the learning experienc. i took them to a local shop and they resurfaced them .010 and gave them a valve job. i was talking to them about milling the heads .030 so i could pick up compression but they did not recommend it. something about the intake not lining up or something. after reading on the forum about all the people having success with milling i wish i would have had them do it........then again i guess i can just have that done when i have them ported someday. thanks for reading and i will post pictures of the heads and the motor tomorrow.
If you mill those heads some more they will fit fine with no problems aligning the intake.
im actually planning on headers, im trying to squeeze them into the budget rite now so i can put them on during this rebuild. i want longtubes, shorties seem like a waste of time, im thinking of smogging the car and then adding them, or trying to find an exhaust shop that can pass the car with the longtube headers. im going to add a stall later on, i think i read stall converters lower hp/trq reading, it raises your e/t's but lowers your actuall hp #'s if i read about them correctly. what else should i do to squeeze those extra ponies out of her? my goal is 400 rwhp.
have right. Those heads will make a big difference even with the lil cam now.
Then later when you do the bigger cam perhaps have the 243s cnc ported.
thats exactly how i just started to think targa....i should just perfect this setup and then later on when i get the heads ported and put a bigger cam in i'll worry about the numbers.
ok so heres another question.......do i absolutely need to get a tune to be able to drive the car safely? i DEFINITELY plan on getting a tune i just dont have the money for it at the moment. i was going to send my pcm to frost but i really dont think i could afford to do so until the begining of next month. i am by no means cheap and i am trying to get out of tuning it i just have been car less for over four months and i just about have all the parts to put her back together. It would suck to have it all together and not be able to drive it at all. im not talking about hot rodding it, im talking about driving it to and from school, maybe even to a dyno shop to get it dyno tuned. if its not safe, its not safe and i dont want to push it. i honestly wouldnt have even asked this (i woulda just not driven until it was tuned properly) but i just read in a gm magazine about them doing a cali legal head and cam swap (243 heads and z06 cam) on a 99 z28 and they didnt tune it in order to remain completely legal, so i was wondering, could i drive mine around until i had the money (and maybe more go fast parts) to get a full dyno tune?

i wanted to paint or clean up the alternator but didnt know what was safe to use on it.
can anyone tell if those are the stock 243 valve springs?
better after the tune however. How much were those springs ???
The Lunati gold duals kit is $225 (springs, retainers, locks, seats, and seals)
im glad i can drive it around before i get it tuned, i would rather pay the money and get a dyno tune when i can afford it. although i might just get a tune from frost for this setup and when i get a little bigger cam and port the heads i'll have it dyno'd.
my valve covers came in yesterday, im taking them to school today to sandblast and then im going to paint them red to match the front of the heads and timing cover. i will post pics later when they are painted.





