Does anyone make an intake that has a dual mounting pattern for both the vortec and standard heads? I would like to upgrade to vortec heads in the future but want to go ahead and swap out my stock intake and Q-jet now for two reasons:

1. I'll be getting a 200-4r installed soon, so can't afford vortec heads right now, and
2. If I swap out the intake and carb now, I won't have to worry about re-adjusting the TV (I've heard too many horror stories about that) on the 200-4r once it gets installed.

I've done a search, but wasn't able to find anything. Is there such a thing?

The problem is not the bolt mounting hole pattern. It's the actual ports themselves. The Vortec intake ports are much taller than the standard head port and the two would never line up correctly. There are usually a few Vortec intakes for sale in the swap meet section that you can get at a decent discount. Also, adjusting the TV cable is not that big a deal. Yes, it does control many functions of the transmission, but it is relatively easy to set correctly.

the only manifold i can think of is Power Plus. there has been a lot of debates about them because they are manufactured over seas. though others will say they are Edelbrock rejects. the ports on them are huge. i had to port match my stock cast heads quite a bit to match the intake. ive had the intake on there for a year and no problems.

The casting on the professional products intakes sucks.

Why not stick with a standard pattern and upgrade to reasonably priced aftermarket heads? Vortec heads alone aren't that much of an improvement. By the time you make them worth it you could have bought aftermarket heads.

Vortec heads alone aren't that much of an improvement. By the time you make them worth it you could have bought aftermarket heads.
This statement depends on way too many factors. I would have to disagree with you and say that these can be modified for very cheap (around $50) and perform better than any aftermarket head at that price. There is plenty of evidence in the "Vortec Guide" on this forum.

Vortec heads alone aren't that much of an improvement.

That is a *very* inaccurate statement.

For those of us who have actually used Vortec heads, the truth of the matter is Vortec heads are very tough to beat. They can be had used from an engine core yard for cheap (I paid $300 for mine complete) and make tremendous power and torque on any small block engine. If you look at the topic in this forum that used to be a sticky - and should have stayed a sticky for all the ongoing Vortec questions we seem to get - titled "The Definitive Guide to Vortec Heads", you can read therein how several of us have got tremendous results from Vortec-headed engine builds.

I've documented my own budget 400 build-up with Vortecs which took my 3760+ lb tank of a Z28 to 12.15 @ 110.5 mph on a worn-out set of BFG drag radials, launching off-idle. I had more left in that combo if I had stayed with it -- I figure with further tuning and launch-technique it would have ran 11.90's-11.80s. The parts I used in that build were all cheap parts -- 2800 stall B&M converter, 3310 Holley carb, $120 cam & lifter kit from Crane, Silvolite claimer hyper pistons, stock rods & crank, etc. Nothing fancy whatsoever.

As to the original manifold bolt-pattern question -- buy the correct manifold for the Vortecs. As Hardline pointed out, there is simply too much mis-matching of the ports with a regular intake vs. the Vortec head port.

I paid $300 for my Sportsman II heads complete.

Vortec heads alone aren't that much of an improvement. By the time you make them worth it you could have bought aftermarket heads.
That is a *very* inaccurate statement.

Do you know what alone means? Without any mods etc...There is plenty of argument for the side of going aftermarket as apposed to Vortec.

Did your 400 build have dead stock Vortec heads? If so, for the parts it would take to make it go 11.90s, don't you think it would go faster with better flowing heads?

I paid $300 for my Sportsman II heads complete.
Well, I'm sure that with enough searching I could find a set of Arao 32 valve race heads for 16 cents and a ball of string. The idea here is to compare apples to apples. A new Sportsman II assembled head is $479.50 from Summit (that's for one). A GMPP Vortec head is $289.95 each assembled. Add $50 worth of upgrades, a ghetto grind and you've still saved hundreds going with Vortecs. You're also comparing a 200cc head and a 170cc head (which while we're at it, the Sportsman II's acually flow less on the exhaust than the Vortecs and have a lower I/E ratio). In this particular case, unless you are getting a killer deal on a set of aftermarket heads, Vortecs are the way to go, IMO.

Do you know what alone means? Without any mods etc...There is plenty of argument for the side of going aftermarket as apposed to Vortec.

Did your 400 build have dead stock Vortec heads? If so, for the parts it would take to make it go 11.90s, don't you think it would go faster with better flowing heads?

I read just fine. The argument isn't about going to other heads. He is asking about Vortecs. Mine cost $300 and the intake was another $200 or so. That's around $500 range ready to go with a new intake manifold. Summit sells the Vortec RPM intake for around $175 these days. The Vortecs came complete with rockers. That's pretty cheap for the greatly improved performance you get with these heads. We have a member here - malibu2slo - who ran mid-11s with stock Vortecs and a solid lifter cam. If my car weighed closer to 3400-3500 like some other cars here ready to race, I would have already ran in the 11's with the Vortec combo and hyd FT cam. There are lots of guys out there with better heads running slower. It's all in the combination, and for a street performance engine the Vortecs are stellar.