it's a LM7 looks like a set of heads is about $300? then what else I see a set of bolts is about $60, then gaskets both head and valve covers and probably intake, what else? it's got the tickey tickey at start up so probably a set of valves/springs?
Ticking at start up is a lifter(s) bleeding down and having to pump back up after the engine is started. They would be cheap, but since the strike a while back, the price for OEM ones has more than doubled.
I hope that $300 price is for refurbished heads! I got some low-mile 799s from a 2010 for my brother's LM7 for $300. We decided not to shave them and he hasn't noticed any loss in power. He wouldn't because it was so sludged up to begin with that it ran a little weaker, anyway. Maybe used parts in CA are more expensive, but you can find used Gen3 heads for dirt cheap around here at the salvage yards. Use your best judgement based on the vehicle and engine's appearances and yank the heads. Bring 'em to a shop to get cleaned and milled .020"-.025" and slap 'em on.
You'll need heads, head gaskets, exhaust manifold gaskets, exhaust manifold bolts and head bolts.
If the intake manifold and/or rocker cover gaskets are original, replace those as well. If they're not so old and aren't "flat" when you remove the covers or manifold, they can be reused.
Clean off the top of the valley cover when you remove the IM. Pull up the lip of the knock sensor seals and add RTV all around them. If you remove them, there's a good chance they'll break and you'll be replacing the knock sensor harness and maybe the knock sensors themselves as a preventative measure. It's one of those things that you either don't touch or completely replace. But peeling up the lip to add RTV is harmless and a good PM.
I've never had a problem with the $12 Dorman exhaust manifold bolt sets. Use high temp anti-seize on the threads (same with the spark plugs).
The cheap Summit Racing head bolt kit is a re-labeled OEM kit. Good deal here.
If it were me and I wanted to get by as cheaply as possible, I'd run used OEM lifters as long as they didn't have high mileage on them, maybe something around 150K. Maybe find two people that did an AFM delete on a NNBS and get their non-AFM lifters? Don't forget to replace the lifter guides- OEM ones are only about $25 for all four, IIRC. I'd get the cheapest but known good set of heads I could find and run 'em as-is. Worst case the valve seals are a little leaky, but burning a tiny amount of oil, maybe just at startup, is far better than having coolant leak into your engine or the engine overheat from being ran with low coolant.
