There are a ton of topics under this subject. Just search for thumper here in the 94-95 section. I still believe that putting money into ported stockers is a short term gain with a long term loss. That's just my opinion on ported stock heads in general. You can find decent used aluminum heads for around the same amount of money and lose 50lbs off of the nose of the car at the same time which is ALWAYS good, no matter what the car's purpose is.
I agree ... and ... You can look at what others have done with this method
which will back up this kind of thinking
Hey ... I went down this road myself
but
After going just a short way .....
I quickly saw the results were not gonna produce what I had in mind
A buddy of mine just picked up a brand new, still in the box set of trick flows for $900 shipped. There are deals out there if you have the time to look for them. I do understand where you are coming from but for the few hundred dollars difference between the thumpers and even a new set of aluminum heads I think you are better off saving for a just a bit longer and getting the aluminum. The flow will be good out of the box, you'll save weight, and they too can be ported if and when you ever feel the need. With any ported stocker you are going to be pretty much at the limit of their flow capability when you put them on, and even if they have a little more room to grow by the time you pull them off and have them re-done you are going to have over what you would have if you just bought a good set of aluminum heads from the get go. A long time ago I was in your same boat and lucky for me the people around showed me that putting any money into a stock head was not a wise decision on so many levels. If I can give you any advice, it would be to wait and get yourself a good set of aftermarket aluminum heads, in the end I truly believe you will be happier.
I agree once more
Your point makes sense fiveo. You can't be waiting forever to get x amount of dollars to have the best combo. Otherwise you will never get there. The budget has to end somewhere. KC has good points but I think a budget is a bdget..next thing, either the wife wants to kill you or your proj never gets done or you go into too much debt and it aint worth it. I would get the thumpers or a used set of gt40's more likely.
I disagree ... and ... I do so ... VERY ... much so
Not a personal thing directed at Keith in any way
Quality ... The Best ... Top Notch ... Things that deliver MAXIMUM efficiency ...
Well ... Almost Always ... They are gonna cost you more
Here is one time ... Delayed Gratification ... Is A Wise Thing
If you wanna do up a nice sbf combo
Heads are so important :Word:
And most of the budget oem iron heads are so inefficient
Don't scrimp on heads or cam
To me all the other parts are bolt on
and
You can upgrade them as budget allows
hell people with gt40/gt40p explorer engines are near the 300rwhp mark... so if thats all your looking for... y not??? Budget was a huge part of my build... i found an engine for $1200 wih headers/ energy
suspension mounts and a bunch of parts... was suposed to be fresh rebuild but wasnt so i took the guy to court... and got $600 back... so now i have a set of nice trickflow heads/
bbk headers/ mounts/ and a b cam that i paid $600 and some of my time for... the cam i sold for $100 so now im out $500... so i think i got a good deal... just had the heads rebuilt for $300 and they look great... we are starting to put the engine together on sunday... There are deals to be found... just be careful... Its always good to "know" who your dealing with... poka helped me out big time by selling me his shortblock... just keep your eyes open... im sure you will find something... is it worth the extra $x00 for a nice head over ported ones... i think so... just rember... there is other small expenses that will add up quickly... gaskets/oil/etc. so keep that in mind as well
Adam makes a lot of good points
but
I'll keep saying it over and over
300 to the wheels is not the only thing to consider
It's about what else you got that goes along with that 300 peak value :Word:
or
As some like to call it ... Power Under The Curve
It is VERY rare to see a budget NA oem iron head based combo put up
a torque curve that does much until mid rpm
I can also say those few that do ........
They had aftermarket intakes, cams, custom tunes
and
Other things that ... IMHO ... most budget minded peeps ...........
Can't or Won't take advantage of
Grady