will my heads fit?(pls read if in Tampa Bay area)

[bradofflorida]

I bought a set of ported heads. They were done by RHS. I got them cheap(310 with shipping). I took them to a local shop for a visual inspection, and they checked out well: port matched on the intake side, fully ported & matched on the exhaust side, 1.71 / 1.5 stock style valves, Z28 springs, good seals.

The big question: will they fit my 87 Turbo T? I found in a previous post that they are the same casting number as an '80-'81 monte carlo turbo 3.8. From the pics I have seen on the web compared to what I have in my hand, they look correct. An experienced TR mechanic said they should fit. Casting number is b25505900. Here is the Ebay link to pics and details:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=33617&item=2439318960

Anyone in the Tampa Bay area got a set of heads off their car? I would really appreciate being able to do a side by side comparison.

Also, the combustion chambers are not polished, the intake is not fully ported, and the valves are not undercut(neither intake nor exhaust). This is all pretty cheap to do at this point. Should I do it? I am going for high 11's on slicks. Alky is going on at the same time as the heads, and the rest of the stuff on the car is done(intake, exhaust, fuel system, adj boost, etc). I will upgrade turbo and injectors if necesssary after tuning on the dyno.

Thanks, you all are great!

 

[KendallF]

There's no picture of the intake ports, but if they're from an 80-81, they should be the tall ports. They'll bolt on and work. Note that the early heads like these don't have the "bridge" in the water passage on the ends of the head; these were added to later castings to strengthen the ends of the head and keep them from blowing gaskets there. I don't know if anyone can quantify how much strength is added, but Buick did it for a reason.

If the intake bowls haven't been ported, there are big gains to be made there. The back cut on stock valves is also worth substantial low lift flow.

 

[83ttypecooled]

heads

Hi!
Why not check the gnttype.org site? They post a pretty good photo gallery of cyl. heads, along with casting numbers, as I recall. It isn't ALL inclusive, but may give you an answer. i think it sounds like you bought some good stuff, for the $. Good luck!

 

[bradofflorida]

I have not seen the "bridge" you refer to, but is it something that could be welded in?

I did check the gnttype page, but there was no info on this casting. The pics were helpful and it did match. I did do some vague posts about them before I bought them, but did not want to give away that I was getting them off ebay, for fear of driving up th e price. I was reasonable sure that they would work, or that I was getting them cheap enough I could resell for what I paid if they did not.

I took them to a local shop that does a ton of head work, and they checked out great. Not a full race port, but bowl, full exhaust and port matching was nice. It used stock style valves at 1.71 and 1.5, and the combustion chambers were not polished, but I will probably do that before installation.