I wanna get some head

[Ramairgod84]

heads. I was wondering what gains I would see by swapping out my 241 heads with either cnc 243's or just oem 243s. How much of a pain is the install?, and what other parts would i be required to get?

[mark21742]

the 243's will bolt right right up, but stock 243's wouldn't be worth the effort and cost of head gaskets....now take those 243's and get alittle port work and milled down to bump you up to around 11:1 compression then the swap is worth it

[garygnu65]

you would see a 30 hp with a set of cnc 243s,check out TSP website.go to LS1HOWTO.com to see how the swap is done.you will need new head bolts and head and intake gaskets.are you thinking about cam swap also?

[natews6]

You will also need a torque wrench, about 5 rolls of shop/paper towels, a few bandades, and a ton of patience. If you do get a set of 243's and want to get work done on them, give yourself a couple days or more for the whole project.

[c5z28]

I prefer it to a cam swap
things you need
head gaskets, head bolts, pushrods
things you should get
lifters, lifter trays
Do you have a cam yet?

[Ramairgod84]

well the shop guy i talked to said i dont need new pushrods for the 243 heads. I prefer it to a cam swap as well. I'd never trust myself tearing into a motor like that. I was thinking of just getting stocker 243's for now, and then down the line having them cnc'd once i decide if i wanna do a cam.

[INMY01TA]

Cam should come before heads imo. You'll get more hp for less money swapping the cam instead of heads.

[TRANS-DAD]

well the shop guy i talked to said i dont need new pushrods for the 243 heads. I prefer it to a cam swap as well. I'd never trust myself tearing into a motor like that. I was thinking of just getting stocker 243's for now, and then down the line having them cnc'd once i decide if i wanna do a cam.

Dude if you are say-n you wanna put stock 243's w/o be-n milled or ported
your wasteing money & time!.........But if your are say-n you wanna just purchase the 243's & have them for when you do a cam swap then i agree totaly!!!!

[mark21742]

Dude if you are say-n you wanna put stock 243's w/o be-n milled or ported
your wasteing money & time!.........But if your are say-n you wanna just purchase the 243's & have them for when you do a cam swap then i agree totaly!!!!

+1 i agree. your looking at $100+ for just the head gaskets (which need replaced every time you pull the heads, plus oil and antifreeze, and at the minimum you'll also need head bolts

[c5z28]

I have seen people just do head swaps with minimal power, then again there was that one guy on tech with the gto who got some afr's and made something ridiculous over 400rwhp with stock cam. Definitely be greedy on the compression.

[mark21742]

I milled .040" off of mine.
you can go as far as .060", but I'd shoot for around .030" so you can do a cleanup mill later

[INMY01TA]

+1 i agree. your looking at $100+ for just the head gaskets (which need replaced every time you pull the heads, plus oil and antifreeze, and at the minimum you'll also need head bolts

You can reuse Cometic MLS gaskets.

[BlackSS1]

You might consider cam and heads at the same time... So many advantages:

much of the same engine teardown
you can pull the lifters for the cam swap
No friggin valvesprings to change if you buy heads with them installed. Saves lots of hours!
Buy 1 tune instead of 2 tunes (you will need a tune even for heads swap). Tune alone can cover the price of a new cam.

Maybe a couple extra hours for the cam over a heads only swap.

[mark21742]

Your supposed to beable to reuse the cometic headgaskets...but I couldn't bring myself to reuse any head gasket....but then again I might just be paranoid lol