Can you buy new bare 243 heads from GM
05-31-2013, 12:08 AM
#6
They are discontinued. With that being said, there are still stockpiles of new heads around. SDPC might have access to some.
Ai used to, but no longer.
TEA still has access to them. I got mine through them when I ordered new ported heads.
And to the guys saying screw stock heads. I didn't cut any corners in my build and I went with stock ported heads over the "so amazing OMG" aftermarket heads for a reason. And it's pretty simple. You don't give up jack to an aftermarket casting in terms of power - at least not from what I've seen. What you gain is lighter weight and the use of stock rockers out of the box. Both of which were important to me. I didn't want to add a ton of weight to the valvetrain or to the overall mass of the car.
Now, if you're running lots of boost or nitrous, or a very big motor, the aftermarket castings have their place. The GM LS3 and LS7 castings can be called upon for those larger motors and will work just fine.
Ai used to, but no longer.
TEA still has access to them. I got mine through them when I ordered new ported heads.
And to the guys saying screw stock heads. I didn't cut any corners in my build and I went with stock ported heads over the "so amazing OMG" aftermarket heads for a reason. And it's pretty simple. You don't give up jack to an aftermarket casting in terms of power - at least not from what I've seen. What you gain is lighter weight and the use of stock rockers out of the box. Both of which were important to me. I didn't want to add a ton of weight to the valvetrain or to the overall mass of the car.
Now, if you're running lots of boost or nitrous, or a very big motor, the aftermarket castings have their place. The GM LS3 and LS7 castings can be called upon for those larger motors and will work just fine.
05-31-2013, 03:36 AM
#7
TECH Fanatic
I'm sure there are plenty floating around from other people's builds. Just gotta wait long enough for someone to out em up in the classifieds or on eBay or something. If they are getting ported anyways they don't even need to have valve train in them. As long as they aren't cracked it would probably be a cheap pick up.
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05-31-2013, 08:18 AM
#10
They are discontinued. With that being said, there are still stockpiles of new heads around. SDPC might have access to some.
Ai used to, but no longer.
TEA still has access to them. I got mine through them when I ordered new ported heads.
And to the guys saying screw stock heads. I didn't cut any corners in my build and I went with stock ported heads over the "so amazing OMG" aftermarket heads for a reason. And it's pretty simple. You don't give up jack to an aftermarket casting in terms of power - at least not from what I've seen. What you gain is lighter weight and the use of stock rockers out of the box. Both of which were important to me. I didn't want to add a ton of weight to the valvetrain or to the overall mass of the car.
Now, if you're running lots of boost or nitrous, or a very big motor, the aftermarket castings have their place. The GM LS3 and LS7 castings can be called upon for those larger motors and will work just fine.
Ai used to, but no longer.
TEA still has access to them. I got mine through them when I ordered new ported heads.
And to the guys saying screw stock heads. I didn't cut any corners in my build and I went with stock ported heads over the "so amazing OMG" aftermarket heads for a reason. And it's pretty simple. You don't give up jack to an aftermarket casting in terms of power - at least not from what I've seen. What you gain is lighter weight and the use of stock rockers out of the box. Both of which were important to me. I didn't want to add a ton of weight to the valvetrain or to the overall mass of the car.
Now, if you're running lots of boost or nitrous, or a very big motor, the aftermarket castings have their place. The GM LS3 and LS7 castings can be called upon for those larger motors and will work just fine.
I'm looking into going with a CNC ported set of 243's with turned down hollow LS3 valves. If I got this route, I'm expecting a 50+ rwhp gain.
05-31-2013, 08:31 AM
#12
You can get 799 heads new which is essentially the same casting as it replaced the 243. Later LS2s had 799s instead of 243s. They are also what's used on all of the new 5.3 trucks, so they are around and plentiful
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05-31-2013, 10:05 AM
#13
How much for brand spanking new castings? Don't care if they're 799's or 243's as long as they are brand new. Same can be said for valves, springs, etc. Just after a new casting.
05-31-2013, 02:55 PM
#15
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05-31-2013, 03:53 PM
#16
I have a set of new, never-been-installed 243's. I'm still deciding whether or not I'm going to send them to AI or go a different route. I'll know in about a week so I could possibly have a set for you.
One side is completely untouched. The other, I did very minimal hand port work on a few cylinders and decided it was too much work. I blended in the exhaust port and removed the casting flash. I didn't take off much material.
One side is completely untouched. The other, I did very minimal hand port work on a few cylinders and decided it was too much work. I blended in the exhaust port and removed the casting flash. I didn't take off much material.
06-01-2013, 06:37 PM
#19
Do you know when the last of the 243 heads were installed? A friend of mine just bought a low mile 11 5.3 Silverado and I figured it would have 799 heads but they are 243s. Curious if maybe the heads were replaced at some point?