5.7 Cylinder Heads

[87jaguarxj6]

I have motor out of a 1992 Brougham that I am in the process of putting in my 87 Jag. Whoever took the motor out butchered the TBI wiring harness, so I am going to go with a 4 barrel carb. The problem is that I need a manifold. My mechanic thinks that the heads are Vortec, but I dont think that Vortecs were made until 96-ish. I was wandering what kind of heads these things have and what kind of manifolds I can use (57-86 or 87-95?) Also, what kind do yall think I should use to switch some of the torque over to horsepower (RPM, torker, other single plane?) Thanks.

[joeveto]

I believe the heads are common small block chevy heads. The manifold might confuse, because it's a throttle body manifold. But I believe the head pattern is common to all small block Chevy's, pre Vortec. You are right, they are not Vortecs.

But let me say this much: If you have any doubts about the quality of your heads, you can do much worse than pick up some new, assembled Vortecs. You can find these, with the corresponding manifold and all fasteners, from Scoggin Dickey (do a search on Google for Scoggin Dickey GM Performance Parts), for less than $800! That's the bargain of the century, and they are excellent heads. Many have gotten nearly 400 horsepower, at the crank, with a mild hydraulic cam. I'm currently running these heads on my Vette, and I love them.

If you don't go with the Vortecs, and your current heads are good, give Edelbrock a shot. If you are on a tight budget, check out eBay or go to Powerhouse engine parts (again, search Google). Powerhouse has no name parts that are very good. I'd say go with a nice, dual plane manifold. It will give you a nice, flat torque curve, and a lot of useable power.