Ok talked to the engine builder today told him I want only about 350 -375 hp out of my L82 he suggested my bottom end is good just go with a cam no more than 480 lift and a new set of heads other than the 882 Can someone suggest some heads? Do I go with 78 cc 64cc or what?
My comp ratio with the new pistons are around 9.5-1. Any help with the combo idea? Also running headers and 2 1/2 inch all the way back no cat.

Thanks

 

OK, here's the little that I've learned about these SB.....

With your L-82 heads and your new pistons your CR is 9.5:1 ?? With 64cc heads (and I recommend the Edelbrock Performer RPM heads, $1000 assembled) you'll bump the CR to roughly 10.5:1, you may need a thicker head gasket to lower the CR slightly.
A cam with 218-228 advertized duration and .460 lift should be fine, you'll still have enough vacuum and good idle.
Now add a aluminum intake (the performer is not bad at all) - you'll need an adapter if you run the stock Q-jet...
Don't forget the dual timing chain set...
you already have headers and true dual....

That combo pumps out more than 350HP.... if you have time and a garage you can get the job done on a weekend

 

This is what I plan for my 78 L-82:
64cc heads..bumps compression to 10:1
LT1 cam grind
Re-work Quadrajet
Re-fresh engine to suit as found condition...
This is good for about another 70 HP..as I must meet smog....

 

i got my 383 to 431 hp /532 torque w/ 64 cc edelbrock alum heads,had 76 cc before new build,,bumped up comp to 10 to 1 dont think youll get 70 hp but what do i know!

 

you won't get 70HP with only the heads and cam. The stock L-82 cam is not too bad at all, not sure what the LT1 specs are....
Withe headers and intake 70HP is realistic.... your stock manifolds (if you still run these) are restricting whatever the gains from the heads are....

 

Maybe...but I will find out...can't push it to far anyway...

 

what do you mean ? Your L-82 has a forged crank, 4-bolt mains, forged pistons.... that should hold 400HP easily.... well, not emission legal

 

The 78 is the cruiser smog mobile...but the 69 is...unrestricted...

 

Thanks for the advice. I think I will go 64cc Heads and maybe the lt1 cam

 

In one of Vizard's books, he details what you can do to the Rams Horn manifolds to get about 60% of the benefit that headers would give you. If I remember correctly, the issue is that the prots on the manifolds are smaller than the head exhaust ports. By widening out three sides (leaving botton alone) you get a nice bumo in flow and power, with stock look.

The book was either How to make Horsepower or 10 budget small block builds, I forget now.

 

When I was looking at what heads to buy (wanted about 400hp) I narrowed it down to AFR180, TFS 23 deg & Edel. I ruled out the Edels simply because everybody and their dog has a set here The AFRs looked the best bet, though I was told that the 195s would be better for power (which is true). But I want a street driver that isn't set up for pure power & I want a nice, fat, flat torque curve. The cam I've got has a lift of .454 & the flow rates of the AFR195 and 180 heads at those lifts (look at about .4 lift as the valve is only at max lift very briefly) were very similar. As the heads have about the same flow rates at the lifts I'm running then the one with the smallest x-section on the intake will give a higher gas velocity, which = more torque (just what I want) & probably OKish economy & an efficient burn (need to keep emissions down as much as possible). The AFR heads do cost a bit more than others, but they come stock with 68cc chambers which might give a more usable CR with your pistons (though you'd have to ask somebody who knows what they're talking about about that!).
All the heads I looked at were aluminium simply because they drop a lot of weight from the front of the car (need to check ride height before & after fitting them). After I removed the A/C system from mine the steering felt a lot more responsive due to the loss of the weight, so I figured losing even more can only be a good thing (apart from anything else, increasing power does the same thing as dropping excess weight ie increases the power:weight ratio).
It'd definitely be worth calling a few suppliers to get their recomendations, but everybody seems to have their favorite type of heads (probably related to their profit margins ). Whatever you choose is going to be way better than the stockers, so don't get hung up too much on which to get.
I've been told (& read) several times that the L48 (L81) bottom end will handle 400hp OK. The L82 should have no problems with that level of power as it's inherantly stronger, so don't worry about it. It would be an idea to check it out thoroughly (to do it properly), but once you start pulling the bottom end apart things can snowball dramatically......

 

just a quick thought here as others have covered all the good points. Keep the comporesion at 10:1. Yes youll have to add octane boost ( and in my case lead substitute), but so what.... you arent going to be getting record gas milage anyway, so whats another 5 bucks a tank. i dont even look any more when i fill up, just close mye eyes, pump and drive away with looking to see how much i spend




tim

 

The CR in my 383, with TF heads and a CC XE274 cam is about 10.3. With 37* total timing, it runs fine on 89 octane. Quench is about 0.039.

 

I put 64cc cast-iron Bowtie heads on my '78 L82, no problem. Of course, I'm using premium pump gas (92). I had the factory cam in there for a while and then I changed to a solid roller, the followed by some progressivly less-sane mods.