799 Heads - what to do on a budget?
Thread Starter
TECH Apprentice
Joined: Jul 2010
Posts: 363
Likes: 1
From: Huntsville, AL
799 Heads - what to do on a budget? I picked up some stock assembled 799 "LS6" heads.
What should I do to them before i put them on while on a budget?
Here's what I'm thinking:
*VERY light home porting: bowl blend, smooth any casting, smooth rocker bulge a little, smooth/polish exhaust port
*Mill/thinner gasket to bump compression to 11:1
*Valve job at a local speed shop
*Possibly go to a larger valve?
I'll definitely go with new springs since I'm changing cams
What should I do to them before i put them on while on a budget?
Here's what I'm thinking:
*VERY light home porting: bowl blend, smooth any casting, smooth rocker bulge a little, smooth/polish exhaust port
*Mill/thinner gasket to bump compression to 11:1
*Valve job at a local speed shop
*Possibly go to a larger valve?
I'll definitely go with new springs since I'm changing cams
For a budget, some light cleanup and mill with a valve job IMO.
Some of those heads look horrible as far as casting flash so look them over and knock all that crap down.
I would keep stock valves if you are on a budget. Depending on how much they are going to charge you to mill and do the valve job it might be worthwhile to price out a lower price CNC job while you are at it...you won't regret it. I wish I had done that instead of messing with them myself.
Some of those heads look horrible as far as casting flash so look them over and knock all that crap down.
I would keep stock valves if you are on a budget. Depending on how much they are going to charge you to mill and do the valve job it might be worthwhile to price out a lower price CNC job while you are at it...you won't regret it. I wish I had done that instead of messing with them myself.
I would not have any machining done unless you are having it done completely and well. A light hand porting now might sound like a good idea but then when you get more serious nobody is going to want to use them as cores if they are already screwed with.
I would just go with a good valve job for the stock hollow stem valves, blend in the bowls and open up the throat, and then mill them a couple cc's. That will put you on par with just about any CNC ported head depending on the valvejob.
Even milling or the like complicated CNC setup, some shops might be willing to deal with it but some are only going to want unmolested cores.
Someone said something about the Hollow stem valves. I thought those were on SOME 243s but not on 799s.
Trending Topics
LS1 Tech Stories
The Best V8 Stories One Small Block at Time
Retro Modern Bandit Pontiac Trans AM Comes With Burt Reynolds' Autograph
Verdad Gallardo
Top 10 Greatest Cadillac V Series Performance Models Ever, Ranked
Pouria Savadkouei
Top 10 Most Powerful Chevy Trucks Ever Made!
Hennessey's New Supercharged Silverado ZR2 Has 700 HP
Verdad Gallardo
Coachbuilt N2A Anteros Is an LS2-Powered C6 Corvette In Italian Clothes
Verdad Gallardo
Awesome K5 Blazer Restomod Comes With C7 Corvette Power
Verdad Gallardo
10 Camaros You Should Never Buy
10 LS Engine Myths That Refuse to Die
Verdad Gallardo
Five Reasons the Camaro Was the Most Pivotal Player in the Pony Car Wars 2.0
Brett Foote Yeah that was me. I read over the 799 and thought he said they were LS6 heads, in which case I would just go with bigger valves, like 2.02". I used 2.02" intake and 1.60" exhaust valves in a set of 241's and made over 400whp turning less than 5200 RPM and with the ports untouched other than a few hours cleaning up the bowls.
If you are going to the expense of CNC porting, then putting in bigger intake valves is a no brainer. But, it's not what I would call low budget. A good multi-angle valve job and milling the deck is a good bang for the buck.
stock valves are fine in a 3.9" bore block, dont waste your money
mill, have the machine shop do a decent valvejob and clean the bowl a little. No more than $300 bucks worth for all of it. if your doing work at home, spend ALL of your time on the exhaust port. there is way more power to be made there than the intake side since they are already good ports.
mill, have the machine shop do a decent valvejob and clean the bowl a little. No more than $300 bucks worth for all of it. if your doing work at home, spend ALL of your time on the exhaust port. there is way more power to be made there than the intake side since they are already good ports.
