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882 casting heads...

Your opinion on the 882

  • They suck, nothing but smog

    Votes: 1 7.1%

  • They're a good budget head.

    Votes: 7 50.0%

  • Great stock!

    Votes: 1 7.1%

  • Great with oversized valves and ported

    Votes: 5 35.7%
  • Total voters
    14
broncoman6524

broncoman6524

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I've searched this and am contining to get mixed opinions.

I'm building a 383, the block is going to the machine shop this week.:DSo my next step is to decide which heads I should run.

I have my 882 heads off of my old 350 that I was planning on using. But after some research I'm not so sure anymore. People have said they're a garbage smog head, and others say that they're "the best flowing head before the vortecs"


Overall I'm confused.

What are your opinions or experiences with them?

And I'm plannin on running pump gas and a cam with a lift around .480-.500
 
Chevy High Performance magazine had done flow testing on just about every SBC head available and the 882's while considered a smog junk head the frequently cracks actually outflowed almost every other head of the same intake runner cc's. Do a search for CHP magazine and i'm sure you can find that article.
 
if me and best bang for the buck . good set of aftermarket heads. and with 383 aluminum for less heat up top for less detination problems.

or if cast is your thing world products s/r tourqer is great from what i have read.
 
Seconded.

Building a 383, even a set of Vortecs (if carbed) is going to be a step in the right direction.

"the best flowing head before the vortecs" should tell you something. :)

But don't forget, Vortecs aren't all about flow, the improved combustion chamber typically allows higher compression without detonation that the previous designs GM used. Good set of aftermarket heads ("EQ" cylinder heads?) would also be designed like this.

http://www.eqcylinderheads.com/

At one point I think some circle track site was selling a PAIR of the Vortec replacements by EQ for $500, which is a much better deal than GM Vortecs.
 
well, i dunno about flow numbers, as has been stated, CHP has those figures in a chart.

my personal experience with 882 heads was with a 1977 olds Delta 88 with a chevy 350. Stock they were pretty weak, but i had them lightly milled, put "z28" springs on them, lightly ported and polished with polished valves, and a cam with around .450 lift.

it certainly wasnt a competitive drag racer, and the gas mileage was pretty much **** (mostly because of a big Q-jet and a heavy right foot), but they still ran pretty good for a big ol land yaght.

probly my only main complaint was the ****ty gas mileage, but i think that had alot to do with the whole car rather than just the heads.



vortec heads would definatly be better. but 882's can be made to work well enough.
 
The only reason that I'm not sure about vortecs is that the cam I would like I *think* is too large for the heads.
This is the cam...
http://store.summitracing.com/partdetail.asp?part=CCA%2D12%2D243%2D3&autoview=sku


I would love to buy a set of nice aluminum or cast heads, but I need that money elsewhere. (Senior project truck due in march)
Mileage isn't that big of a deal, this trucks main purpose will be a play toy/weekend driver.
 
broncoman6524 said:
The only reason that I'm not sure about vortecs is that the cam I would like I *think* is too large for the heads.
This is the cam...
http://store.summitracing.com/partdetail.asp?part=CCA-12-243-3&autoview=sku


I would love to buy a set of nice aluminum or cast heads, but I need that money elsewhere. (Senior project truck due in march)
Mileage isn't that big of a deal, this trucks main purpose will be a play toy/weekend driver.
Click to expand...


the solution to that is comp cams beehive springs. i dont remember the part number off the top of my head, but they allow around .500 lift or so, something around there anyhoo. check em out, might make you happy ;)
 
Too much for stock Vortecs, which is one reason I don't recommend them.

For a play toy, (I assume that means throttle, or a 383 wouldn't have been built?) I would seriously consider spending some money on heads. Check out the EQ's, I'm pretty sure they can be had quite reasonably already setup for the kind of lift you are talking about. I did search a bit for you, couldn't find anything via google (but didn't check summitracing, jegs, etc) for prices.
 
I really appreciate it guys, thanks.

I read somewhere that you machine the valve guides down to get more lift. Is this true? If so whatever heads I decided to use I will have the machine shop do this as well as shave and port them.

Those beehive springs are bad*ss, I was looking at them the other day during school.
 
i actually scrounge around and get all the 882 heads i can find ...i have 3 sets as of now 1 set w/big valves, but i also have a set of vortecs from gmpp with comp cams mag roller rockers and put them on a motor that head 882's on it and the vortecs and the carb intake for them woke that motor up to [email protected] of the pants..huge difference!
 
If you want a good set of stock chevy heads,look for the "487 or 487x" heads. They are 74cc and are the best flowing stock early small block head. They also have a thicker deck surface than the 882's. I personally do NOT like the 882's. They are thin and crack easily. Other than that, use the VORTEC head w/ CompCams beehive springs. They outflow and perform much better than any other stock production head.
-Lance
 
i had some1 tell me

broncoman6524 said:
I really appreciate it guys, thanks.

I read somewhere that you machine the valve guides down to get more lift. Is this true? If so whatever heads I decided to use I will have the machine shop do this as well as shave and port them.

Those beehive springs are bad*ss, I was looking at them the other day during school.
Click to expand...

they said they were running 2.02/1.6 heads w 1.92/1.5 valves and they macihed the top of the valve stems down to lenght b/c the valves set lower in the seats and it improves air flow b/c you still have the big 2.02 heads with smaller valves the air has to run around and they still seat??? just benchracing!!
 
blazin_blazer said:
they said they were running 2.02/1.6 heads w 1.92/1.5 valves and they macihed the top of the valve stems down to lenght b/c the valves set lower in the seats and it improves air flow b/c you still have the big 2.02 heads with smaller valves the air has to run around and they still seat??? just benchracing!!
Click to expand...

the only reason to machine down the valve guides are for using double springs, or springs with thick wire that limits lift due to coil bind.

using the beehive springs negates the need for machine work, because they are a single spring, and the ovate wire allows more lift before the spring enters bind, meaning you dont have to machine down the guide for lift reasons. the added bonus is that the smaller retainers weigh less allowing more rpms before they enter float.

in short, beehive springs will handle up to .550 lift, without any machine work, at least according to the sources ive read. i would trust them to .500 personally if i were building an engine.

as for the valve sizing, im very confused as to why they were running smaller valves in a large valve head.......... normally you take a head with 1.94/1.5 factory valves, and hog them out to 2.02/1.60 valves.
 
thats a new one on me...... did they happen to mention some sort of advantage of running the small valves in the larger seats???
 
the air had bigger gap to flow thru therefore more flow with smaller cam b/c less valve for air to flow around and same(big) seat(hole)...i thought i explained it, ...but now this is hearsay from benchracing session!
 
You actually machine the valve spring seats so you can run springs that will take the added lift as I recall. Vortec springs are weak anyways.

Beehive springs allow you to run them with no machining, but aren't they still something insane like over $100?

Really, when you start to put stuff together like this, aren't you better off spending $800 on a set of heads that you know is brand new, has all beefy components, and is ready to run right off the bat? IMO there are too many choices out there to be screwing around with old crappy heads.

I bought new Vortecs, had to replace the springs due to the roller cam I went with, then had to pull them after I broke a stud, had all of the studs pulled, and replaced them with screw in studs. I would have been better off putting the additional $300 or so more up front to buy better heads. In my defense, when I got the Vortecs it was a few years ago, and the aftermarket head choices were quite a bit more limited. :)
 
All this guess work in engine building is an expensive way to build an engine that you dont really know how it will perform. I would buy the desktop dyno software that lets you input all sorts of data to build theoretic torque and horsepower curves. You can input all cam data, head flow numbers and different lift, compression ratio, valve size, and LOTS more. Then you know what kinda engine you're gonna have before you spend all the money on the parts

http://www.hotrod.com/techarticles/desktop_dyno_engine_simulation_software/index.html
 
i got my 062 casting vortecs attached to an entire R code 350 engine for 100 bucks. bought the engine from a dealership, it had sprung a coolant leak, and blew the main bearings and collapsed the hydrolic lifters.

i dont see why people shy away from junkyard heads. you can get them for pretty cheap, and most cars at the junkyard are there for body damage, normally the engines are in perfectly fine shape. (important word there, NORMALLY, always check stuff first)

If youre gonna run performance cams, its always a good idea to run screw in studs, and probly head studs, main studs, and all that jazz.

If youre going to be looking at running the small valves in big ports, for the extra airflow.... which makes a bit of sense, but just kinda seems weird to me. look at milodon mega flo valves. Ive seen independant testing that does support the claim of higher flow, although i dont recall numbers off the top of my head. if youre buying new valves anyway, i cant imagine it would cost more than buying a set and having them all machined shorter because of how they fit in the ports.

also, finding a shop that is familiar with that machine process, id rather stick with a setup engineered to work rather than trying to find someone with enough machine experience to make a custom approach that is exactly the same on all 16 valves. just my personal view on that.
 
If you're going to the junk yard anyway then look for the '487 heads. Like I said before they are one of the best stock production heads you can buy.
AND IMHO if you're not building a high HP engine then I would stay away from aluminum heads.
-Lance
 
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