383 stroker
Race Director
Joined: Jul 2004
Posts: 12,690
Likes: 329
From: Scottsdale Arizona
The valve size will matter much less than the chamber size. Can't really answer your question without knowing that and the pistons that you intend to use. Also the type of head will dictate if they are worth reusing.
Safety Car
Joined: Jan 2009
Posts: 3,736
Likes: 56
From: anchorage ak
Im sure you can, depending on what piston. but going through the effort, id figure a set of better flowing heads would compliment your 383 build. This is were id normaly suggest afrs or darts but im guessing your budget limited? What are your goals as far as power, what rear gear do you have and is the intended use mostly street. If your on a tight budget, you can get vortecs, not my first choice, but scroggin dickey has them for a good price. Bear in mind that there are other costs associated with vortecs,but all things you would probably want anyways which i beleave you can by a kit for. The original heads dont flow that well, after the price of rebuilding them, valve job your close to the price of a set of vortecs, which way out flow the stock l82 heads. Being on a budget and building 383 your after power and this can be had budget wise, but carefull shopping and patience is required, another member bkbroiler has a vortec headed 383 and pulls 12 second quater mile runs.
Last edited by bluedawg; Sep 5, 2013 at 01:05 AM.
Thread Starter
Intermediate
Joined: Aug 2013
Posts: 45
Likes: 0
From: n.y.
383 stroker
im guessing its a stock L 82 350 it has around 60000miles on it,im going to pull the motor this winter completly disassemble it and have it cleaned and checked over,hopefully staying with standard bore then putting in a decent cam and headers,money is a little tight but if i can pick up better heads i will,would porting and polishing original heads make them better,pretty much trying to get most horse i can on limited funds,also dont know what gears i have in rear end,any help is appriciated thanks
Le Mans Master
Joined: Mar 2008
Posts: 5,948
Likes: 72
From: Oxford MA-----You just lost the game!!!!
If you stay with the stock bore, it won't be a 383, it'll be a 377. The Lone Nit-Picker strikes again! Muahahahaha!
Seriously, though, for the same price as re-furbing those old heads, you can get some aluminum ones that will kick their butt.
Scott
Seriously, though, for the same price as re-furbing those old heads, you can get some aluminum ones that will kick their butt.
Scott
Corvette Stories
The Best of Corvette for Corvette Enthusiasts
150 hp to 1,250 hp: Every Corvette Generation Compared by the Specs That Matter
Joe Kucinski
8 Coolest Corvette Pace Cars (and Replicas) of All Time
Verdad Gallardo
Top 10 Corvette Engines RANKED by Peak Torque (70+ Years of Muscle!)
Joe Kucinski
Corvette ZR1X Will Be Pacing the Indy 500, And Could Probably Race, Too!
Verdad Gallardo
Top 10 Corvettes Coming to Mecum Indy 2026!
Brett Foote
Top 10 C9 Corvette MUST-HAVES to Fix These C8 Generation Flaws!
Michael S. Palmer
10 Revolutionary 'Corvette Firsts' Most People Don't Know
Joe Kucinski
5 Reasons to Upgrade to an LS6-Powered Corvette; 5 Reasons to Stay LT2
Michael S. Palmer
2027 Corvette vs The World: Every C8 vs Its Closest Competitor
Joe Kucinski
Burning Brakes
Joined: Sep 2012
Posts: 818
Likes: 0
From: coon rapids mn
check out competition products for aluminum head prices .would it be better to sell your current long block and buy a built 383 short block and add some good heads ?seen 383 short blocks at competition products staring at $1800 .saw some dart shp short blocks at racing junk .com for $3999.the sell 400,415,427 sbc short blocks.
Race Director
Joined: May 2005
Posts: 10,674
Likes: 122
From: Millington Illinois
St. Jude Donor '08-'09
im guessing its a stock L 82 350 it has around 60000miles on it,im going to pull the motor this winter completly disassemble it and have it cleaned and checked over,hopefully staying with standard bore then putting in a decent cam and headers,money is a little tight but if i can pick up better heads i will,would porting and polishing original heads make them better,pretty much trying to get most horse i can on limited funds,also dont know what gears i have in rear end,any help is appriciated thanks
Last edited by 63mako; Sep 8, 2013 at 02:41 AM.
Le Mans Master
Joined: Apr 2011
Posts: 6,284
Likes: 1,171
From: Hermosa
If you can't afford the AFRs then at least get some good aluminum heads. There are some pretty good ones out there for a decent price.My 68,000 mile L-48 had very good cylinders and were left stock. all I did was hone them. Your 60,000 mile cylinders should be in decent shape if the car was cared for in a decent manner.
The only down side to not taking bottom half apart is you may not be able to get the compression up as much as you would like. However a pair of 58 cc heads and a .015 head gasket should get it up pretty good. I'm not familiar with the volume of the L-82 pistons, assuming they are slightly less volume than the L-48 you could be looking at 9.5:1 or a little more.
Race Director
Joined: May 2005
Posts: 10,674
Likes: 122
From: Millington Illinois
St. Jude Donor '08-'09
If you can't afford the AFRs then at least get some good aluminum heads. There are some pretty good ones out there for a decent price.My 68,000 mile L-48 had very good cylinders and were left stock. all I did was hone them. Your 60,000 mile cylinders should be in decent shape if the car was cared for in a decent manner.
The only down side to not taking bottom half apart is you may not be able to get the compression up as much as you would like. However a pair of 58 cc heads and a .015 head gasket should get it up pretty good. I'm not familiar with the volume of the L-82 pistons, assuming they are slightly less volume than the L-48 you could be looking at 9.5:1 or a little more.
Race Director
Joined: May 2005
Posts: 10,674
Likes: 122
From: Millington Illinois
St. Jude Donor '08-'09
They could be stock 350 heads. They could be worse or better than what you have. Dozens of companies including GM made 2.02/ 1.60 straight plug heads in a variety of port sizes, chamber size and designs. Need to get the manufacturer and part number on the heads.
Le Mans Master
Joined: Apr 2011
Posts: 6,284
Likes: 1,171
From: Hermosa
65 CC heads on a stock L82 with Felpro 1094 gaskets will be 10.14 to 1 compression and will work fine with the factory cam.
If GM was accurate my L-48 Pistons should have been 11cc's instead of 17cc's So maybe that 5cc's should be taken with a grain of salt or actually measured to see what they may really be.
Le Mans Master
Joined: Oct 2010
Posts: 6,928
Likes: 841
From: melbourne florida
2023 C3 of the Year Finalist - Modified
The stock L82 has a forged crank, rods, pistons, a decent cam. With only 60,000 miles on it I would do a compression and leak down test. If it tests well I would put a set of AFR 180 65CC heads, some 1.6 rockers, a set of headers with free flowing exhaust on it, Performance recurve on the dist. and leave it alone. This will get you a solid 100 HP and very noticeably increase power throughout the entire powerband. Heads are where the power potential comes from. The rest of your L82 is a great start for a performance build and is an excellent base except for very poor heads. Why tear apart a low mile forged shortblock if it is solid and replace it with a cast rotating assembly? Spend your limited funds where it will give you the best return..
Pro
Joined: Sep 2012
Posts: 600
Likes: 6
From: Key West Florida
https://shop.enginekits.com/osb/itemdetails.cfm?ID=2910 those heads should wake it up, at an affordable price as well!!!
