I have seen many sets of heads in the classifieds go for cheap. Something tells me i need to just buy a used set and get them ported, milled and everything else involved. Would this be worth it? Like right now theres a guy selling a set for $100 + shipping. I know a few people that can do this so i could get it done pretty cheap. Would this be a good setup with a tr224 on a 112? Whats the pros and cons of machinig factory heads vs aftermarkets? My next expensive investment will be a yank 3200 so il have that part covered.

 

no answers....go figure.

 

I have thought about this too! Anyone?

 

it makes pefect sense to me, instead of spending two grand or so on aftermarket heads.

 

well there goes another deal on a set of 317 heads a guy wants a set of tires and wheels for them. Damn i wish somebody would give me some info on this.

 

The 317 have a very large chamber which will lower the compression on the 5.3. So your better off going with 5.3 heads with 2.00 intake valves. Or 243's These heads are really easy to screw up if you don't know how to port them correctly. It's not like porting an old SBC head. I have milled and p&p 5.3 heads with 2.00" valves and I am very happy with them.

 

I agree with Josh: the 5.3 heads with a *little* massaging can be a relatively inexpensive way to get more power. I can't advise you about the cam specs but I bought some heads that had been shaved .005 and had a local guy pocket-port 'em and backcut the valves. Just make sure whoever is working on 'em knows what they're doing. You really don't have to do much porting on these heads.

 

I have hand ported a couple of sets of heads in the past. I wouldn't really call it "porting" more of cleaning them up. The heads I used had quite a bit of casting material that I was able to remove. I wasn't too aggressive and I think they turned out OK. In fact, build a 6L motor for Slowprocess here and used a set of my "cleaned up" heads on it. The fastest truck list shows his truck running 12.5 @ 106 on motor.

 

so if i get a set what exactly should i tell the guy to do to them? what all aftermarket parts do i need?<is there a website that has all the parts? Factory gaskets? i know the gasket thickness plays a role in the compression ratio. Would the tr224 112 be a good cam for this? tarheelz did you mean to type .050?

 

no he means .005 off the deck of the heads or smaller gaskets. this will bring up the compression since the stock 5.3 liter are a 9.4 or something compression which is low. I would want to bump a truck with no FI up to around 10.5 run that cam and I really will think you'll like it. it's a good cam but you will need that stall.