799 heads/cam ?

[whitdog54]

Im going to pick up some 799 heads, only 80k on them, guy says theyre ready to bolt on and go. 220 shipped, good deal?

Just pondering the idea of maybe just doing a little port and polish work on them. I have a dremel, but never really done anything of that nature, so I'm wondering if theres anywhere local that can maybe clean them up a bit and be worth the $$$$

second question is what kind of cam should I go with? My plans for the car are LTs, ls6 intake, yank 3600ss (heads if theyre worth it) cam, and a 100-150 wet shot. Cars getting 3.42 gears.

Im basically seeing if it will be worth the $$$ to go this route. Realistically my budget right now is $3k, I have everything but the cam, stall, and tune. Ideally i would like to install everything myself, because I know Don's Cam package runs right over 2k and that would be a huge chunk out of the budget.

Tips, ideas, criticism, its all welcome. Just wanna see what my best path would be with what I have already and how much I have to spend. I actually have the money and time now to start getting this car mildly modified, im shooting for June. Least amount of down time would be ideal as well, because I DD this car 80% of the time.

[smokinss]

I would have the heads decked a little and just cleaned up. Probably a high 220s low 230 duration cam. Just talk to Don about specific cam details. Should run good with the right setup

[ILuvPizzaTimes10]

i wouldnt have them ported and potentially ruined locally. either have them Pro ported by a Reputable LSx head porting shop like TEA, Lloyd Elliot, or Livernois or have them just cleaned up and checked. valve seats, guides, seals, springs should all be done or checked prior to just bolting them on. and 220 shipped is a deal for esentially 243 LS6 heads!!! minus the sodium valves of course! haha

[My84Z]

What are your goals? For 3 grand you can get some nice 5.3's from texas speed and everything you need to install them plus cam etc. install them yourself and still have money left over after you get it tuned

[whitdog54]

^ as much as I would like those heads, the power to $$$ ratio isn't in my favor.

for 3 grand Id like to include the stall and tune, plus all the little odds and ends that i know will come my way.

This is strictly budget, im not expecting 10s or 450+ on the motor. I found a mti stealth2 cam (224, i know its small, and probably outdated, but the dirt cheapness has me interested) and cam install kit, with 10k miles on it for 400 shipped. Thats 650 for heads and cam package that i think should net me close to 400rwhp with bolt ons. Not sure if I wanna buy a used mti cam kit though. Any thoughts?

Im going to talk to Don later, when I actually have cash haha, we've talked a couple times, always feel like a chump because I dont have the money to pull the trigger.

What would I be looking at for professional porting and polishing? I would ideally just like them checked over and maybe have the casting cleaned up a little. I dont need an all out port job, just smoothed up and some slight hand work. I see that being maybe an hour or two of work, would that be roughly 150-200 bucks?

thanks for the input fellas! keep it coming!

thoughts on tci converters? i think Don had a yank special, but i found a tci streetfighter with 1k miles on it for 320bucks. I know you get what you pay for, but I think I can go fast on a budget. Not worried about HP, I just wanna go mid or high 11s and still get decent gas mileage and keep drive ability

[ILuvPizzaTimes10]

dont buy a used cam. for the 400 you will spend in possibly junk would be 90% the cost a NEW cam!!

[whitdog54]

^thats what I figured. Anyone ever go with thunder racing cam kits? they seem to be inexpensive, and you can choose a custom grind.

http://www.thunderracing.com/shop-by/vehicle/1998-2002-LS1-F-Body/Cylinder-Heads-and-Valvetrain/Camshafts/

[Slowhawk]

Do a search on thunder racing. They use to be good. Now it seams like they are screwing everyone.

Don't cheap out on valve springs or the timing chain. Those are 2 failure spots.

[My84Z]

Go cheap now and pay twice when you redo it and noone wants your old stuff. Just do a cam stall etc. then save and do a decent set of heads later.

[smokinss]

I ran a old Thunder Racing 224 cam and still use there push rods. I.never had a issue with my cam and I sold it and its still going strong. A ls2 chain is a good bang for the buck piece or I think the c5r chain works too. I run patriot dual gold springs. Not sure what Don is using for springs in his builds.

[Slowhawk]

Best is cam and stall. Changing to those heads might net 8-10hp.

Cam
good timing chain
good springs
Good Stall
underdrive pulley
160 t-stat
oil pump
ported tb
good injectors are for longivity

good= quality parts, get what you pay for.

we get a few cars a year that have mismatched parts or put together badly. By the time we fix them or adjust everything correctly it would of been cheaper if they just had us build it. Some cars come in perfect.
So, make sure your confident to do the job correctly first.

[Camaro9969]

Skip the heads....buy a cam springs oil pump chain and pushrods will be cheap we will put it in and Don can tune it and make 375+whp. He made my car rip with basically just a cam....do it! Id tune it but I'm not messing with autos fuck that :)

[Formula413]

I would definitely stay away from cheap converters too. There's a really good article somewhere on LS1Tech showing the differences between a cheap converter (~$400) and a good one (~$800). A lot of the cheaper ones are converters for four cylinder cars with adapter plates welded on to fit a V8. If a cheap converter fails debris will run right into the transmission, damaging or destroying it as well. And obviously you're not getting a converter to drive like an old lady. It's certainly not somewhere you want to cheap out.

[whitdog54]

thanks for the info guys

doug, I'll take all the help I can get, when it comes to cars, I always feel lke i take one step forward, then 3 back LOL. Not a good mentality, but its true.

Don will you tune nitrous cars? 15hp doesnt seem worth it, for 400 bucks I can get a complete n20 kit on tech. If you do tune them, is it even worth buying one of the progressive controllers like the micro edge? Or would just a window switch and the tune be safe enough. I found a few nice used kits with heaters, purge, and 78mm plate for around 700. might be able to knock it down if I dont need the controller.

[Camaro9969]

Of course he will tune it man. He tunes turbo cars SD a nitrous car he could do in his sleep I'm sure lol
Your going to have a busy summer :) 11s no problem!

[Formula413]

Here's that thread about converters:

http://ls1tech.com/forums/automatic-transmission/862534-torque-converter-education.html

[whitdog54]

Here's that thread about converters:

http://ls1tech.com/forums/automatic-transmission/862534-torque-converter-education.html

jesus tci is still that bad?

Im just nervous throwing a stall in my 95k 4l60e, just seems like a bad idea throwing a converter in their and having everything else crap out.
Back to the drawing boards.

[My84Z]

Get a nice cooler it'll be ok if not then you revuild it or spend your 3k budget on a built trans

[84ta406]

Got a TH400 and cooler for sale haha..

In all seriousness its not hard to take the heads apart and use some sand cartridges to atleast clean up the castings. I did this on a set of iron heads and pickeup clost to 15cfm per intake port and a bit less on the exhaust side. Well worth the few hour to clean em up and make them run just a little better than someone elses.

I do agree with doing a cam only. Heads are a PITA and if its only a small gain like Don said.. deff. Not worth it.

[Slowhawk]

jesus tci is still that bad?

Im just nervous throwing a stall in my 95k 4l60e, just seems like a bad idea throwing a converter in their and having everything else crap out.
Back to the drawing boards.

But your thinking nitrous which will kill it alot faster.

[whitdog54]

But your thinking nitrous which will kill it alot faster.

i think throwing any kind of additional power at it will kit it faster haha. I guess ill just cross my fingers or keep browsing til I find something built

[ILuvPizzaTimes10]

with the right tranny and stall combo with proper tuning! no reason you wont get the seat of the pants feel you want NOW and the track times. and insurance for later mods!

[Camaro9969]

You gotta just pick something and go for it lol I say just a cam tune and change the gears will be your best bet and so simple. No issues once its all tuned. And will be great to daily drive

[Slowhawk]

The right way would be a good tranny and converter. RPM level 4 tranny and yank or Pro torque converter.

Then add a cam package, nitrous ect.

[Formula413]

Isn't a converter always recommended when doing a cam? Personally I would probably do the converter first anyway for the SOTP difference, and get the built tranny at the same time so you're ready for more power.

[mjs1012]

Isn't a converter always recommended when doing a cam? Personally I would probably do the converter first anyway for the SOTP difference, and get the built tranny at the same time so you're ready for more power.

this is what i did and im glad i did. i love my ss3600 and FLT tranny combo.

Op if you hit it right, you can get sales around tax time on both.