There's an ad in my newspaper:

For Sale:
882 heads $175

What are these heads and are they any good?

I currently have a 305 in my ElCamino with stock 305 heads. Would this be an upgrade?

I also might build a 350

Any thoughts or performance numbers would be greatly appreciated.

 

They are dung. They are what was responsible for mid-70s 350s having 165 HP.

I usually throw them in the trash when I can't avoid some of them coming into my possession, but on occasion I have had to pay to have them hauled off when the garbage men got mad.

------------------
"So many Mustangs, so little time..."
ICON Motorsports

 

There are worse heads out there. They usually have 1.94 intake valves, but they're a smogger "thin-wall" casting and it's not unusual to see them very warped or cracked.
-Rich-

 

I have them on my 350. I bought them for $50.

You get what you pay for. Expect no more than ~310horse (gross) out of your engine with a mild cam and free-flowing exhaust.

Any late-model performance car will destroy the majority of f-bodys with these heads sitting on top.

The only good thing about these heads is that they are cheaper than dirt, and if you are able to do some porting yourself, you can squeeze another 30 ponies out of them.

That being said, don't spend a dime on these. Use them if it's what you've got, like I did, then save up for a set of vortecs, dart iron eagles, or go full off and grab a set of AFR's, which rock.

Later,
Hype.

 

The 882 casting is prone to cracking from heat due to the double heat riser passages. I'd certainly pass on that deal. They'd have to pay me to take them off there hands.

------------------
If you live in Southeastern US, check us out!
South East Thirdgen

1987 Trans Am 305
14.88 @ 92.81

 

If they only have the single heat riser passage then they're worth it (but not that much) for a mild rebuild but there are better factory castings available. 993 and 997 are a better choice.

None of these are a good choice for a 305 though.

 

Yup, 882s would pretty much kill your compression ratio on your engine because the combustion chamber is so large. I've got a set on my truck's engine, but they were given to me for free. The original heads on the truck's engine were also 882s, both cracked.

------------------
91 Z28
Come see The Vicious...

 

The 882s, if milled to get closer to the 58cc chamber would be an improvement over the 305 heads (since they flow better), but they are prone to cracking on higher compression engines since they don't dissipate heat as well. If they were rebuilt and ready to go for $175 that isn't bad, but I wouldn't buy them for that much to rebuild them - they aren't worth it. They make excellent torque and flow very well through .400" lift, but fall flat on their face above that. As a matter of fact, a while back in Chevy High Performance's special edition insert "Small Block Power", the 882s outflowed 441s and 462s (double humps) to .400" lift where they flowed 204cfm intake and 143cfm piped exhaust. They have 76cc chambers, 1.94" valves and 151cc intake runners. Without milling them, you'd lose about 2 points of compression. For a 305 buildup with 9:1 or less compression they aren't bad. I wouldn't use them on a 350, and I wouldn't have any more than $250 into a set ready to go. There are too many alternatives (Vortecs, WPs, etc...) within reasonable prices. If you had to pay $175 for the heads, $175 for machine work, and $100 for a head set you'd have $450 versus spending the extra $ for better heads and being happier with them.