labrat Posted September 5, 2002 Share Posted September 5, 2002 Ok, I just finished the rebuild on my 350 with new vortec heads, but i can't get my intake to fit. It was supposed to be compatible with both types of heads, but I guess not. the middle bolt holes are hogged out to allow this, but I don't even have bolt holes there in my heads, so I will have to swap the vortecs out for my old ones. Will the headgaskets have a chanvce in h#$* off sealing if I reuse them and just torque them down 10 lbs tighter? 70 ft/lbs to 80? Or do I have to bite the bullet and use new gaskets? I haven't run the motor, just bolted on the heads. Thanks guys! Bill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevin Shasteen Posted September 5, 2002 Share Posted September 5, 2002 Unfortunately, once you bolt your heads on-the head gaskets are compressed and not reuseable. You can try but I would not advice it-can you just imagine yourself doing the head gasket job a third time? No thank you-I would not take that chance. As far as cyl.head and intake compatibility-what cyl.heads do you have; besides the vortecs and what kind of intake manifold do you have? What year is your block? Kevin, (Yea,Still an Inliner) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grog Posted September 5, 2002 Share Posted September 5, 2002 I would call the manufacturer of the intake and tell them your problem. It could be a simple (yet frustrating ) error in their database that told them to ship you the wrong intake. They will probably take the old one back and swap it out for the correct one at no charge. Also, keep in mind that when you remove the heads off of an engine, it is a good policy to replace the bolts/studs with new ones. When you torque the heads down, the bolts/studs stretch under load as designed. When you loosen them up to remove the heads, they stress and are not as strong as beforehand. If you reuse them, they are subjected to another round of abuse and are weakened further. May not be a real problem for a daily driver that is pampered. But for us V-8Z folks, we have a habit of standing on it from time to time and having weak head bolts/studs can be disasterous. Grog Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
labrat Posted September 5, 2002 Author Share Posted September 5, 2002 Well, my other heads are just stock chevy truck (72cc chamber)smog heads on a 72 4 bolt block. They are in pretty good shape, they ran fine, i was just going with the vortecs for the power and compression increase. They will work fine with my 272* advertised duration cam, and the valves and seats are good, I'll just have to reuse them for now and then buy a new intake and swap them in a few weeks once I start my new job. I just got hired for a new job that starts the 16th, and I blew the motor on my motorcycle, so the Z has to get me back and forth for now with a minimum of investment. Once I pull a few checks, my buying spree will continue. I will do the job again in a few weeks, 2 months tops, so this is just a temporary stopgap measure. I definitely want to be able to use the vortecs, as i have a lot of money tied up in them. I bought the intake from a friend sight unseen and mailed from dallas to austin because he assured me it was compatible with the vortec heads. It aint. I lack 1/2 in of even lining the bolt holes up. I don't see how an intake can be made to fit both styles of heads, the bolt holes are WAY off. Like the bolt holes are drilled up higher in the head on the vortecs, closer to the valve springs. Anyway, thanks for the help! Bill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Anonymous Posted September 5, 2002 Share Posted September 5, 2002 Lab, get some cheap head gaskets for the temporary head change and do not over tighten the head bolts to get the old gaskets to seal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
labrat Posted September 5, 2002 Author Share Posted September 5, 2002 Alright, thanks guys! I knew that anyway, I was just hoping to get other opinions. Thanks for talking me out of doing it the wrong way! I might just get me some copper head gaskets, so that I can reuse them when it comes time to do the job again... Bill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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