|
|
Used Cylinder Heads - Good Head & Cheap HookersA budget set of used cylinder heads, some quality machine work, and a new set of long-tube headers take the dirty bird to the next level From the February, 2012 issue of GM High-Tech Performance By Justin Cesler Photography by The Author
|
|
It's not what you think. We know it looks like we've taken the Dirty Bird from a low-buck cam-only budget beater and transformed it into the typical over-priced "budget" project gone awry that you've seen countless times before in other magazines. I mean, cylinder heads are usually pretty expensive, so we must have spent a good chunk of change on a set of heads as pretty as this, right? What part of budget don't we understand!? Believe it or not, we actually managed to do all of this work on a tight budget and happened to trade our way up to a nicely used set of Patriot Freedom cylinder heads, which we had cleaned up, checked and improved with some help from our new friends at Fast Forward Race Engines in Zephyrhills, Florida. How did we do it? Well, sometimes in life people need to offload good parts for little money and we just happened to walk right into one of those situations. For just 500-smackeroos we acquired ourselves a set of discontinued Patriot Performance 195cc Freedom cylinder heads, a set of sheetmetal valve covers and a complete LT4 short-block, which Greg Lovell is safeguarding for a future project. Buying used heads for a couple hundred bucks is a great score and can really help take a project to the next level on the cheap, but you've always got to be careful with a "deal." With that in mind, we wanted to get these babies checked out and what really got us going on this project was a killer deal on a quality competition valve job, along with some work unshrouding the chambers and an .040-inch mill on the heads after Fast Forward Race Engines had checked them out and okayed them for track use. And this wasn't a "good guy" deal either, Fast Forward will do this for any of you out there (assuming your heads are in good shape) and can make it happen for under 400-bucks! Along with the new and improved (but still budget-friendly) cylinder heads, we also ordered a new pair of Hooker Super Competition headers to replace our beat up and hideous hand-me-down headers that we were running. Admittedly, these were a splurge item and the rusty units were still doing the job, but we couldn't stand to reinstall the ugly junk back on to the new heads if we were already in there to do the work. Plus, the Hooker Super Competition headers allow for much better spark plug access and slide in place easily on the driver's side using a two-piece design, so they will be much easier to work around in the future. The nice 3-inch collector wasn't all smashed up and deformed, which was another bonus and probably worth a couple extra ponies heading down track. With that said, follow along as Greg Lovell of AntiVenom in Seffner, Florida installs the new (used) cylinder heads and long-tube headers, and start plotting your way into a set of take-off performance parts for your wallet-friendly project car. Who knew it could be so much fun to run fast, keep a tight budget and beat up on the cocky LS1 guys at the track who can't believe that a little ol' ugly LT1 could run the numbers that it can with a stock bottom-end and a 10-bolt rear end!  1 The Dirty Bird’s LT1 engine...  1 The Dirty Bird’s LT1 engine bay isn’t much to look at, but its no-nonsense, all-business function over form approach is one of the reasons we have so much fun tinkering with it. This month, it was all about freeing up some horsepower with a new set of used cylinder heads and a quality set of functional long-tube headers.  2 When we said functional...  2 When we said functional headers, we meant replacing these rusty and dilapidated units that were on the car when Greg Lovell purchased it. Typical of an old mild-steel header, these have been scraped, smashed and rusted to the point of no return and had some serious issues with spark plug clearance. We’ll show you the new pair in a minute, but for now we’re going to focus on getting these removed.  3 In the engine bay, Greg...  3 In the engine bay, Greg Lovell of AntiVenom in Seffner, Florida got to work on removing the old long-tube headers by first removing the valve cover to gain access, and then removing the old spark plugs and header flange bolts. Trying to get them off came second only to attempting to avoid having to get a tetanus shot…  4 With the headers unbolted...  4 With the headers unbolted from the stock heads and slid out of the way, Greg turned his attention to pulling the stock rocker arms and pushrods from the LT1 engine. Knowing we can potentially use these on another project or sell them to recoup some of our money, Greg took care to save everything and keep it all in one spot, should we need it again.  5 Next up, Kyle Miller jumped...  5 Next up, Kyle Miller jumped in to remove the stock LT1 intake manifold, which is an important step in any cylinder head swap. You can leave the injectors, fuel rail and throttle body in place, just remember to unplug all of the electrical connections and any vacuum lines that may still be connected prior to disassembly.  6 The old LT1 cylinder heads...  6 The old LT1 cylinder heads were next on the chopping block and came off easily after removing the seventeen factory cylinder heads bolts that hold them in place. If you haven’t been back there in a while, it’s easy to forget the coolant lines connected to the rear of each head, so make sure you remove them before trying to pull the heads out of the engine bay. Ask us how we know…  10 Take a look at the used...  10 Take a look at the used Patriot Freedom LT1 cylinder heads that we acquired, along with a set of valve covers and an LT4 bottom-end for the steal-of-a-deal price of $500. Unfortunately Patriot no longer makes these, but from what we could tell, they shipped from the factory with 195cc intake runners, 58cc combustion chambers and 2.020-inch intake and 1.600-inch exhaust valves.  11 It’s always a good idea...  11 It’s always a good idea to have used cylinder heads checked over by a professional and we took our budget set over to Fast Forward Race Engines in Zephyrhills, Florida to take a look at them. After talking to Joe Irwin about the project, we agreed to have him mill the cylinder heads .040-inches for even more final compression and re-do the stock valve job with a competition valve job.  12 Along with milling the...  12 Along with milling the heads and doing the competition valve job, Joe also did some work in the chamber to unshroud the valves, which is a classic cylinder head porting trick that is sure to free up some power. The best part? The total bill came to less than $300 and our used Patriot heads looked and performed even better than new.  7 Surprisingly, the factory...  7 Surprisingly, the factory pistons and cylinder walls of our high-mileage LT1 looked great upon inspection and we were happy to see no signs of abnormal wear and tear anywhere in the short-block.  8 It may be tempting to install...  8 It may be tempting to install your new or used cylinder heads right away, but it is crucial that you spend some time to carefully clean up the cylinder head-to-engine block surface prior to setting the new head gasket in place. Here you can see Greg using an air powered tool, but you can also carefully do it yourself using hand power if you have the patience.  9 Head gaskets are not something...  9 Head gaskets are not something you want to skimp on and Greg went ahead and ordered a pair straight from GM for this job (PN 12553160). With a compressed height of .028-inches, these GM LT1 gaskets are much thinner than usual (.051-inches) and will increase compression on the Dirty Bird, which will help make a little more power than usual.  13 The better-than-ever budget...  13 The better-than-ever budget Patriot Freedom 195cc cylinder heads bolt in place just like the stock units and use the stock geometry for a quick and easy swap. While moving around the engine bay with your new heads, make sure you don’t catch the sharp aluminum edge on anything or knock any junk into the bores before dropping the heads in place.  14 After making sure everything...  14 After making sure everything was lined up and that all of the electrical harnesses were out of the way, Greg slid a new set of ARP cylinder head bolts in place and began to tighten them down, paying attention to the order and torque specs that he followed. If you’re unsure of how to do this step, check out a GM technical manual for the correct order and torque for each cylinder head bolt.  15 Our used Patriot cylinder...  15 Our used Patriot cylinder heads came with springs and rocker arm studs installed, and we also scored a set of 7.200-inch hardened pushrods in the deal. Like any small-block, the pushrods simply slide in place and are ready to accept your rocker arm of choice.  16 Bonus! AntiVenom had recently...  16 Bonus! AntiVenom had recently installed a set of 1.7:1-ratio roller rockers on another magazine’s project car and they left these 1.6:1-ratio Comp Cams roller rockers around for Greg to keep. Sometimes staying on a budget means having forgetful or generous friends and we’re not afraid to grab any goodies that come our way during our quest for cheap speed.  17 With the new rockers installed...  17 With the new rockers installed and the pushrod geometry confirmed, Greg slid the old LT1 intake manifold in place, only to find out that it wouldn’t fit with the heavily milled cylinder heads and the tight cylinder head gaskets…  18 Fortunately, Joe and the...  18 Fortunately, Joe and the crew at Fast Forward Racing Engines were quick to answer the phone and gave Greg the proper measurements with which to mill the intake manifold. A trip to the local machine shop for 100-thousandths cut off the bottom and 40-thou off the intake-to-cylinder head flanges and we were back in business.  19 Moving on from the top-end...  19 Moving on from the top-end of the Dirty Bird, it was time to install our brand new Hooker Super Comp long-tube headers (PN 2231HKR). Built from 1.75-inch primary tubes and a 3-inch collector, these Super Competition headers from Hooker can be found for a little over $500 and should free up some ponies on any build.  20 Installing the Hooker...  20 Installing the Hooker long-tube headers is fairly simple and can be made even easier if you remove the factory starter motor from the passenger side prior to sliding the new header into place from below the car. The driver’s side header also slides right in place…  21 …and uses a separate 1.75-inch...  21 …and uses a separate 1.75-inch tube for the first primary on the driver’s side of the engine. This two-piece arrangement allows the Hooker header to slide around the factory steering shaft without having to remove it and makes the installation and removal a breeze. Check out all of that clearance!  22 The passenger’s side of...  22 The passenger’s side of the engine bay also has a ton of room with the new long-tube headers bolted to our Fast Forward Race Engines-modified Patriot cylinder heads and installing a fresh set of spark plugs was as easy as could be. Obviously we still need to install the valve covers and drop the wiring harness back in place, but we’re running out of room to show you the results, which didn’t disappoint!  23 Wow! What a difference...  23 Wow! What a difference a quality set of budget heads and a nice set of long-tube headers can make. That’s right, the Dirty Bird is finally in the 11’s, running an 11.842 at 113.60 MPH, which is a gain of .692-seconds over our last outing and .458-seconds better than our previous best. AntiVenom’s Dynojet later confirmed the 4mph improvement–going from 303 to 341hp and 294 to 313 lb-ft of torque.
|
Hooker Headers
704 Highway 25 South
Aberdeen
MS
39730
662-369-6153
www.hookerheaders.com
|
Fast Forward Race Engines
813-788-1794
|
AntiVenom
1810 S Parsons Ave
Seffner
FL
33584
813-690-6300
www.antivenomefi.com
| |
|
|