I am in need of your opinions, which would be the better choice of the following for a track only mildly built 350 with a BIG cam,

I have a set of 416 heads that are bone stock off of a 85 LG4 or a set of 882 heads that have 1.94 intake valves and 1.50 exhaust valves, I don't think these are the stock valves for 882 heads but the heads don't look like they have been touched otherwise (no porting)

I ran across both sets used so I don't know they're history.

I did a search but can't find any comparrison between the two.

I am going to be running racing gas only in the car so I am not too worried about compression.

Please help, I know neither of those is the greatest but I have to use one or the other at least for a while, I am putting alot of money into the car and don't have it to buy new heads with right now, maybe later I will get a set of Pro-topline's or something.

 

Definitely go with the 416 heads.

 

thanks for the reply, can some one attempt to explain what is so terrible about the 882's ( in laymans terms), not that I don't believe ya'll but I like to look at things and make the comparison for myself. can you tell me what areas on the heads make them so bad. thanks

 

come on guys, I can't believe with all the "by the numbers" people out there no-one can point me to what makes the 882 heads so bad. all I have heard is how bad they are but nobody has shown visual proof of it. aside from the valve size what else is it that makes them so bad????

 

The valve size isn't so bad. They have 1.94"/1.5" valves. Their flow sucks anyway, like most stock heads. In theory you should be able to fix that by porting them. The 305 heads, you can, by porting and installing the larger intake valves.

The problem is that the 882s and most other similar castings from the 70s are very thin in several critical places, especially around the center 2 exhaust ports, and between the 2 valves. Even if they aren't cracked now, you can't port them without making the metal so thin that they're highly prone to crack later.

 

well i use the 416s... they work great... its a little work to get them up to the task of being a performance head but worth it. I would highly reccomend you use the 416s over the 70s smogger heads.