i have a set of 330545 heads. they look to be off a 73 vette with 2.02 and i think they are the same style as the 487's. im building a 383. i have a forged scat crank, forged eagle rods, dont have pistons yet but a guy at work says he has some forged speed pro/trw's l2491f .030 for sale for 300$ i have a edelbrock cam 2201 roller with comp cams hydro rollers. i saw a 383 build up with vortec heads and im thinking that is the way to go. i dont know if i can build power with these heads. im running a th350, thinking about 3200-3500 stall, want to go 3.73's and thinking about running e85 and 11:1 wont hurt my feelings. i guess these pistons would work better with vortecs than the 545's. but maybe someone has had success building power out of these old dogs.

 

#545 isn't a casting I'm not too familiar with myself, but I can tell you with 100% certainty that the Vortec castings will run circles around those old smog-era door stops. Get the Vortec heads, get the necessary machinework done (cut the valve guides, screw-in studs and maybe guideplates as well, and any freshening work necessary) and get an intake to match the heads. Those Vortecs WILL be better heads.

 

These pistons?
http://store.summitracing.com/partde...0&autoview=sku
$300 is an "ok" price if they are brand spanking new in box. Usually i'd be paying less if someone has bought them already...

Remember older heads like that don't have the good burn characteristics to take 11:1 CR, yes, even with E-85. I'd look more at Vortecs. They can handle the higher CR without detonating.

That cam should work alright;
http://store.summitracing.com/partde...1&autoview=sku

 

yup, those pistons and yup, that cam. im kind of in a situation where im buying my parts used, but in the box new for wholesale on the wholesale. anyway, id like to run vortecs. i guess my area of concerns are: ive heard that vortecs dont like too much lift. my cam specs @ .536 & .548 lift. im considering doing up some vortecs and running e85. im still in the research phase, but does this sound like a healthy package. im thinking of some 13 to 1 cr. i live 2 blocks from the e-85 station. im considering e-85 for a couple reasons. more power, environmentally friendlier, its different. but back to the original thread reply, i just didnt know enough about those 545's, maybe people were getting good flow out of them, but its probably like after 100 man hours on the port work.

 

You'll have a heck of a time getting to 13:1, unless you use massively domed pistons. Also that's not a good idea. Ethanol won't save you at 13:1 CR. Maybe 10.5 or up to 11:1, but not much more.
You just need to machine the valve guides for the lift. Vortecs experience port stall in the .550" lift range, so don't bother going any higher.