heads and cam
 

I haven't had much opportunity to do any research as this has kind of just come into mind. I discovered a leak on my engine today, only a few hours ago. It appears to possibly be a head gasket. I can't afford to fix it right now, due to the holiday season and all and I don't really need the car for the winter so it doesn't really bother me but since it's gonna be down for a bit I figure, when I go back together, why not do heads and cam since I'll be pulling the heads anyway. I have a '97 with all stock motor. I have a K&N cold air intake, and Billy Boat Bullet catback exhaust with stock manifolds and no x-pipe. I have plans for long tubes and the x-pipe but from that info, I was wondering...what might be the best combo of heads and cams for a streetable, and somewhat reliable gain. I don't really have a hp goal at the moment so I would say at a guess I don't want more than 550ish. I honestly have no idea what kind of gains to expect from just these mods so if anyone can help there, that would be cool to. Thanks in advance.

RE: heads and cam
 

Hello,
Depending on many factors, which you have not addressed, a head / cam package will net you in the range of 410RWHP / 400RWTQ - on average while still being "streetable". To attain these numbers you would need the following mods:
[ol][*]Long Tube headers (high flow cats and mating exhaust would help too, but not absolutely necessary). You can use your current exhaust with the long tube headers.[*]LS6 intake manifoldor similar - many choices.[*]Larger MAF housing, no need to buy an aftermarket MAF.[*]Ported throttle body or aftermarket 80mm throttle body.[*]Ported stock heads or aftermarket heads - many to choose from. Valve springs, etc. to compliment the cam.[*]Camshaft - something like the Texas Speed 224 or similar. Many choices here too.[/ol]
All this with a good dyno tune will put you slightly over 400HP to the wheels. The biggest factor effecting your final numbers is the heads / cam selection.

CG