C3FIXER

My vette has 71,00 miles assuming it is actual. I am 3-4 owner. Previous owner did a half *** job installing the performer intake. Oil has been leaking up through the bolts so I removed the intake this past weekend. Does it make sense to remove the heads and have them checked out being I am this far along? The 333882 heads have 76cc combustion chambers with a 9:1 compression. I would like to improve performance but don't want to spend a ton of money doing so. I see a lot of rebuilt vortec 906 heads for sale for less than $500/pair. If I go that route then I will have to go to different valve covers ( really like the L82 Covers). I have read extensively about the 882 heads and there seems to be cracking issues near the exhaust not that my heads have that problem but later down the road it could happen. What is a good iron head with 2.02 valves and 170 to 180 in take runners. 64 cc combustion chamber will bump it to 10:1. so I could still run pump gas. I am running a 4 speed with 370 gear. 800 cfm Q jet which will eventually go to LARS for inspection and repairs.

cv67

What is "not much $"
EQ makes Or made a much better performing vortec head, AFR makes an oustanding one .(190 vortec) dont see many guys using them.

HeadsU.P.

The 882 heads work great. Hook a chain to them, then hook the other end to your boat, go fishin'.

Its really not a good investment to put one more dime into those heads. I tried to sell my old ones for next to nothing. The only taker was a kids scrap-iron drive.
If you really want iron, check out Summit for cast iron heads, see what they have that does not need a vortec intake bolt pattern. I believe RHS has a decent pair.

I doubt using a 64 chamber will raise your C.R. to 10:1 but maybe. Have to do the math.

C3FIXER

Thanks

derekderek

Especially as those heads now have shot guides. Or at the high end of runable at best. Drop em off at cyl head shop. Pick em up 800 bucks later with new guides and valves. 1200 bucks with new hardened seats. And you have crappy bad flowing heads with the biggest chamber ever in a small block. But hey! The date code is correct! Vortecs at minimum.

jb78L-82

Definitely do not spend one dime on those heads....Go for a cast iron 64CC cylinder head 170 CC like summit (cheap) and you will probably be around 9.9:1 compression (8.9 is the stock L-82 compression, not 9:1 in 1977). With the L-82 cam (.450/.460 lift, LSA 114, duration 222) those heads will really wake the engine up from off idle to 5,500 RPM.

jackson

EQ still makes great heads.

All Serial Production GM Vortecs and many Vortec clones REQUIRE a Vortec-specific intake manifold,

EQ makes several Vortecs ... including a "hybrid" Vortec that uses conventional sbc intake.

GM Vortecs are great if you get them at a good price. .. used OE Vortecs have issues with cracking across valve seats (that's death sentence).

Don't throw the 882s away ... still many circle track and drag "built motor" rules mandate OE castings with chamber minimum 70cc (that nixes fuelies, humps & vortecs). Lotsa 882 milled to 70cc. Sell em locally or on racingjunk dot com, etc.

fwiw 355" flattops, zero deck & 70cc NO porting & .480 lift Max flat tappet w/ 2bbl makes 350-360 hp all day long on race gas ... easy

biackbenz

I had my stock heads rebuilt. Yea! I have original heads. Biggest mistake hi made to my engine. I should have put on new heads. Don't repeat my mistake. If originality is an issue for you then go for it. If not, put on new better heads. If you are concerned about future value going down with non original heads keep the old ones in a box. The next owner who might find originality a bonus can fix the old heads and bolt them on.

Or you can buy my rebuilt heads for $1,200.00!!!!!!!!!!!!

Grumpy 427

LOL owning a Corvette = spending money plain and simple. My vette has a nice mild 355 sbc with 882 ported heads, dual pattern cam 9.0-1 compression in there. It makes 340 hp 390 tq. Nice driver. Entire motor carb to pan was $4000. The 882 truck heads have lots of meat for porting and bowl blending cheap diamond in the rough for the right guy.

Jebbysan

I recommend these......would really wake it up:

http://dartheads.com/dart-product/iron-eagle-23-180cc/

https://www.summitracing.com/parts/d...0010/overview/
Buy them bare like above and purchase the Elgin 2.02 Valvetrain kit off E-Bay......$130 for everything.....assemble them at home, Lap them....put them together, take pictures and drink beer......heads are fun to assemble. You would have less than $1000 in the heads but I recommend Trend pushrods and at least a Comp roller tip rocker, none of that off shore stuff......you will not believe how hard it will pull with these heads and no other changes.

Sometimes you can find a pair on E-Bay used......I did...bought them from a Vette shop ironically......and they were perfect for $600.....I ended up putting them on my friends blown 355 in his 32 Ford and it is brutal......

Jebby

speedreed8

That’s the heads I have on my 355 Dart iron eagle 180. I bought them bare and assembled them myself. Saved money and they are great performers.

Jebbysan

I put a pair of Dart 180 Iron Eagle heads on a 1969 350 truck engine that had never been rebuilt about 6 years ago......64cc chamber with .050 in the hole pistons for like 9.2 to 1.......then I stuck a Weiand Tunnel Ram and two 450's on it along with my fave Comp 292H Magnum cam that I have custom ground on a 108. With a 3000 stall, TH350, and a 3.23 gear in a 37 Ford business coupe it was silly.......the converter would get the tunnel ram in the powerband and would smoke tires like crazy.......it had to be a 12 second car but never ran it.......even with a 6000 rpm redline.....it was fun......it had the Elgin 2.02 Valvetrain kit with Z28 springs.....nothing exotic at all!
The Dart wetflow heads nowadays are the best out of the box budget style heads there are IMHO.

Jebby

fake

Have the same year and motor and 4 speed 355 rears. . The casting on the block is very rough on most so if not flat they will leak! I just removed mine and have cleaned the bolts and used liquid thread sealant on them to prevent seepage . Also the china wall i will be using only Permatex maximum gasket maker oil resistance front and back. As far as the heads if not broke do not fix! The 77 cars are money pits. This was the year GM was sued by people who found chevrolet engines in Oldsmobiles. What Delorean was trying to do was use one part and inter change it with the rest of the fleet. What ever was in the Bin when building these cars was used. My late built 77 has a 78 carb on it to get through emissions. I am second owner and first owner was a Chevrolet mechanic who ordered it at the dealership he worked for. He said he sold it because it never passed emissions and getting waivers was tying up his time.The only way i got it to pass emissions was to go late in the day when they were about to close and make sure the car was cooking hot so the cat would burn off the crap. Thats why i bought a new 93 and enjoyed itno repairs no bull **** no looking for this and that .

Jebbysan

If he was a Chevrolet mechanic and could not get it to pass emmisions.....he needs to go back to school or stick working on new stuff. A well tuned 350 will most certainly pass the sniffer......notice I say well tuned, a lot of people think they know how to tune but make things worse than what they started with.......
Also.....Chevrolets had Chevrolet engines in them......the corporate engine program was for Buick/Olds/Pontiac and not Chevrolet.....The only RWD cars in that era that I remember having a non-chevy engine was the 1980-81 Monte Carlo turbo (Buick 231ci)........some GMC's had Ponitac engines in them in the 70's....but very rare.

Jebby

fake

Order a 80 E-Camino with it came a V6 Buick with a three speed on the floor . The only V8 motor was a 260 with a two barrel which the truck salesman said was a Olds motor! I know for a fact there was a disclaimer GM had on the sales brochure that they were mix.. and matching engines and parts. The Buick V6 was a exceptional motor and that SS El-Camino Truck was excellent on gas 20-26 and was bullet proof. ,(excellent vehicle not one problem in 100,000 miles)I I have a dealers binder with every Chevrolet model in it in full color with cloth and leather samples and there are disclamers if you read the fine print.

Jebbysan

Chevy’s got the 229ci V6....never seen a Chevrolet with a Buick V6 sans Turbo.....and I am from that era and worked on hundreds of them.....
Oh well....whatever....

EDIT! The 231 was a 1981 California only issue......so we were half right.......because California doesn't count LOL!

Jebby

jackson

Knew a gent who bought an old fifth (last) gen el camino. It had a V6 but dunno which or what.

I had a '67 el camino 327-powerglide. Red. Sweet. Totaled. Long gone.

fake

The V6 came out of the Buick Bin! 3.8 or the olds bin. What other Chevys used the V6 ? As far as what parts came where here is a word about components and optional equipment . I quote from the 1978 CorvetteBrochure.The chevrolets described in this brochure incorporate thousands of different components produced by various suppliers by Chevrolet and various (Divisions) . This was printed July of 1977 . I believe this was the era of foreign manufactures giving GM a run for there money and today is why they produce cars like the Cruise they can not sell.and had to shut down production.

jackson

the "hybrid" EQ Vortec has BOTH perimeter & centerbolt capability in same head. Fits conventional intake but has Vortec chamber
bare pn CH350H.
assembled pn CH350HA

Crimson Thunder

My first car was a 79 Monza with a 196 ci Buick V6