882 casting heads...

[toddtheodd]

Ok...
So what is the deal with these 882 casting heads for the 350?
I see on craigslist and other places where people are acting like 882's are the next best thing since......... coffee and donuts.
And then I see in other places where the heads are supposedly crap.

So which is it? I had a neighbor give me a set of 882's for free, that look like they need some work, and I can't decide if I even want to bother, or if I should just sell them to the Cult of 882 Godliness and buy something else.

I don't have much money, and am having to rebuild my motor... are these fricken things even worth it?

WTF people... WTF!

[mclairmo]

You're better off with Vortecs and any aftermarket head.

[eseaton]

i have a set of 882's on my motor, they are factory for my 79 block, they dont flow great unless you have them milled. But mine are milled to the max, but it cost me about 1500.00

[bigsnookmaster]

Originally Posted by eseaton

i have a set of 882's on my motor, they are factory for my 79 block, they dont flow great unless you have them milled. But mine are milled to the max, but it cost me about 1500.00

No disrespect, but for $1500 you can have a brand new set of aluminum aftermarket heads.

[toddtheodd]

I think I'll probably just order some World Products Sportsman 2 heads...
I can't afford aluminum (dangit!), but I should be able to afford these.

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should...

[toddtheodd]

I just still don't understand why there are so many ebay auctions and so forth acting like 882's are the shizzle.
Are they all that retarded?
Or is it that since somebody tricked them into buying them, they are now trying to trick somebody else?
Sort of a "Dang it... You got me... I'll get the next sucker though" mentality?

[mclairmo]

They want to sell you the heads. Of course they are goin to act like they are the red hot set up. Has anyone tried the Procomp aluminum heads you can get on Ebay? They look good and the price is right but not sure about durability.

[Sinister]

I had a set I ported on a 350, they worked alright. If you have to put any amount of money into them your better off with a set of Vortecs or some other aftermarket head.

[OJ1988]

10-15 years ago, they were decent budget heads.

I remember one of the mags did a factory head article, at trhe time they called 882's the best of the worst.

By the time you spend money on reconditioning, porting or whatever, you will have spent as much as a new set of vortecs, and have heads with about half the power potential.

And to the guy about milling, sounds like someone stuck it too you. All the machine work in the world on heads should not have cost you that much, and milling is not going to make them flow any better, it will only give you a slight, slight boost in compression.

Thats another thing you need to consider, those heads have a 76 cc chamber, you are not going to get much compression unless you have a good flat top or dome piston,

the vortecs, or most aftermarkets will have a 64cc chamber, which is going to be much more efficent and give you more compression.

['72customdeluxe]

For 650$ you can get a set of Patriot 2.02/1.6 .550 lift valve spring vortecs. I have 882's, they suck and are supposed to crack.

[BCOWANWHEELS]

Any factory heads after 1972 are bad to crack even the modern hi-po heads. Thin castings....... They wont handle getting hot

[heavy70]

For the money stay with the vortecs cast#12558062, and shy away from cast#10239906. The vortecs are best bang for the buck, you can clean em up a bit but DONT do any porting they flow very well without it....

[eseaton]

Dang I only spent 750 on them I dont know where the hell I got 1500 from, hell I guess it all runs together when you get to doing things all at the same time.

[Longhorn Man]

best of the worst.
you can send them out, get them surfaced and hot tanked for a few bucks, and then sell them on e-bay like the other guys do.
Some people like them for restoration reasons too

[toddtheodd]

Originally Posted by Longhorn Man

best of the worst.
you can send them out, get them surfaced and hot tanked for a few bucks, and then sell them on e-bay like the other guys do.
Some people like them for restoration reasons too

That's what I'm thinking of doing. Obviously there are a lot of idiots out there that are wetting their pants because they can't wait to own a pair...

Toad

[BarryB]

I used to go crazy over a set of 882's If I rmember correctly mostly were on truck motors. When I was looking for a set of heads. 461 or 462s. I ws told to get 882 because they have already the hardened valveseats in them where as the others didn't. Yes they are prone to cracking, but you can with alot of work make a decent set of heads out of them.
I have a set of 041s I have roughly 750-800 bucks in and a few nights in the garage porting and polishing. Could have bought at the time a good set of sportsmans for 800. bucks. But I was trying to save money by using a set of stock heads.

[68C15]

here's our local skinny on them. it probably applies to many other regions. racing sanctioning bodies require use of factory casting heads and intake. 882's do in fact work well for a 355 or a milder 383 or with a bit more work function on a 377. most guys prefer the 441's but the prices on those are outrageous. therefor the 882's being quite similar are the next choice.

I had a set on my 80 K20 shaved to a 70cc with a gasket match to a Fel-Pro 1205 and a Weiand Stealth with .125 domed pistons and a Crower stick. made unbelievable midrange torque and got 17MPG.

[rscam]

If I am correct. I think there were some 882 heads that had the 2.02 valves. Someone may research that to confirm it. May have come on the mid 70's Vettes.

['72customdeluxe]

No, none of the 882's were like that. Some did have the 1.72 or so inch crappy valves though.

[68C15]

Originally Posted by '72customdeluxe

No, none of the 882's were like that. Some did have the 1.72 or so inch crappy valves though.

and I have a set of these collecting dust in the shop. good place for them. I was gonna put in 1.94's or 2.02's but then i ran across a set of good TBI's.

[71tahoe]

I have a great set of 882s. The work really well...keeping the dogs from digging under the fence.