unfaded

i also run these heads, mine have been hand ported.



didnt realize how rare they were.

DirtyDaveW

Have you installed them as of yet? I just pulled my ported LT1 castings off yesterday in prep for installing mine. I have a little surface rust in the upper area of cylinder #4. I'm addressing that today.
Because info on these heads is so rare....
UPDATE!(10/29/2009) I do NOT recommend using the 1010's now that I've purchased them and tried to install them. I see NO reason you can't use the 1074's. Pictures occur elsewhere on this thread showing the crucial differences between the configuration of the water passage/oil drainbacks.

• What head gasket did(or are you) using? I read the FelPro 1010 is the one to use. Not the typical LT1 1074.
• I matched my Canfields up to the stock LT1 intake gasket and a spare LT1 Intake. They look fine. Is that what you hear/see? I've seen accounts where guys said that they had problems with fitment on the heads/intake. I'll mock mine up this morning after cleaning the block surface. I thing the other guys 'may' have had perhaps zero decked blocks or milled heads. We'll see.
• Are you using guide plates or SA Rockers? I know they came with guideplates from the box but the guy that sold them to me didn't have the guideplates(I think these are 3rd or more hand). I called Canfield to get some but the never sent them. It was weird. I asked if I could buy them and he said he'd ship them. I said do you want M/C or visa and he said, "Naw. I'll just ship them to you". Right away I felt like this wouldn't happen, wouldn't ship. Sure enough....Nada.. I've got my GM guideplates from the LT1 and I'll see if they'll fit. If not, I guess I'll get some of the variable ISKY's, mock them up, tack weld, pull them off and weld them. I understand you have to be careful of the heat though.

unfaded

The guy who did the heads installed everything before hand, guideplates springs ect.
(these plates are off the shelf, not from canfield)
said everything worked good. i dont know what brand they are but you can kinda see them in the above picture. As for the intake, I am running the victor EFI redrilled and ported for the heads. they fit fine. I believe i am running cometic gaskets if i remember correctly. the thinnest ones for the lt1. i know he didnt want to use the 1074s that i had first purchased i just can't remember why.

i sent the guy an email about the guideplates hopefully he remembers.

unfaded

i suggest getting some intake bowl work done before you install em. you can get them flowing upto 300 cfm.

remember canfield heads are no longer in business. so were the last guys to have any of there heads, let alone the lt1 version. pretty cool.

DirtyDaveW

The guy I bought these from claimed they were ported when I was negotiating the purchase. He didn't mention flow rates though. However, if you look at the first page of this thread, they look 'as cast' to me. They're out in the shed with the motor right now and I'm in for the night. I'll look at them closer tomorrow.

zzoomin

theres some canfield flow rates on the bottom of this LTx head comparison chart>
http://www.fierolt1.com/lt1_lt4_headflow.htm
are you gonna dyno it when you get it all together?

DirtyDaveW

THanks. I'd seen that same chart over the years. I wonder why Canfields Exhaust profile was omitted? Out of the box, they seem to flow okay. Not stellar but okay. Since my application is turbo'd, the max porting job isn't that important. I'm mostly looking for the thicker decks for the boost. My stock LT1 castings have been pushing water at high boost. The old gaskets themselves don't look compromised to me.

DirtyDaveW

I pulled the Canfields out to get a closer look to see if they were ported and to see if my LT1 guideplates would bolt up.
Yes, they are indeed ported. Just have to see if I can find a shop with a flowbench around here to get some flows.
Yes, the guideplates bolt up!
I've pulled the motor completely apart. I'm going to go ahead and have all 8 holes honed and reringed since it's apart.

DirtyDaveW

Got good news on the cylinder(s). The machinist said he see's no reason to hone/re-ring the block. I'll be working on reassembling it this weekend.

reamo04

good news dave!

Z-RATED94

That is good news. Did you find a place to flow the heads? I always enjoy following a build or upgrade project. Good luck

DirtyDaveW

On flowing the heads, yes, my machinist says he can do it so I'm going to drop by and see if he's had a chance to get that done.

DirtyDaveW

The machinist said he's flowing them tonight. Meanwhile, I got the pan off the block and replacing the HiVol Melling (55HV) with a stock pump. Everything inside is unbelievably clean. I've been using Brad Penn Oil from day 1 and WIX 51060 filters. I'll continue to use them.

unfaded

nice, looks good. im excited to hear your flow #'s keep us updated. why are you going back to the stock pump? are you using the factory pan and windage tray?

DirtyDaveW

Well, what a lot of us LT1'ers have found is that the High Volume pump..

• Sucks too much oil out of the pan(Low/Zero oil pressure at WOT) when using the stock oil pan anyway. Less likely with a Canton.
• Causes excessive wear at the oil pump drive gear(lost one 355 to this in 2004) and shears/wears off the teeth of that gear prematurely.
• is not necessary. The stock volume works fine.

I have used the Canfield road race pan since 2001 and it works great.