I have an 89 camaro with an 84 350 out of a vette; right now i have 487 heads on it with a dual plain edelbrock manifold, forged flat top pistons, edelbrock performer cam, recently I came upon a decent set of 083 heads. I'm going to put a summit stage 3 air gap manifold on when i swap the heads. I just blew a head gasket and when i pulled off the 487 heads the valves weren't seating at all, so instead of putting money into the 487 heads that I dont want, i want to get new heads. The 083 heads i know will bump up my comp (which I want) but i have a couple questions about fitment issues with the manifold since my block is an 84 and the 083's are tpi era; and do 083 heads require self aligning rockers or can i reuse my roller tips? I can not afford after market heads or i would just get some, and the vortecs i want but i dont like how they're crack prone unless after market and i also will upgrade my cam hopefully soon and if i got vortecs i'd have to put money into them to accept a higher lift. Again money is tight, will i be able to get some decent power out of these 083 heads, or would i need some porting for top end power? Thank you for any help.

 

The block age is irrelevant. Everything fits everythings.

The center 2 manifold bolt holes on each side are at a different angle, therefore the manifold will have to be slotted (or, the right manifold purchased in the first place).

The 083s will most likely not have the slots in them to guide the push rods. If they don't, you'll need to install either self-aligning rockers, or guide plates.

You'll need to change to center-bolt valve covers.

Stock heads ALWAYS need porting for best results. Even in stock trim however they probably outflow the 487s.

 

487X heads were among the best in their day, and are not boat anchors by any means. Big-valve them, with good undercut, back-cut, swirl-polished valves and a 5-angle valve job, they'll equal fresh-out-of-the-box-Vortecs for flow. Add some good porting, they can do 250 / 200 cfm. Plus they're the heavy early castings, not the thin late junk that 624s are.

 

thanks ya I figured they'd need some porting, and that they wher gonna need self aligning rockers; already knew about the valve covers. I'm not saying the 487's are bad heads its just the combustion chamber is 76cc, and i would need to rework the heads with valves and machining, at that point I'd be close to gettin after markets. With the certain intake and self aligning rockers im doing the same thing without vortecs; now its not making sense to get vortercs , the cam's highest point of lift is .465, so if im not mistakin is pretty close to vortecs maxed out, I'm not sure what head to do now, the car is my daily driver as well so i don't have as much time as i would like to spend saving money up for after market, It's sounding like I'd be better off if i could find some vortecs with hardened areas in the crack prone area, at the right price. thank you for the info I got some callin around to do, btw the 083's have been magnafluxed-pressure tested-and decked, 130$ for the pair

 

atilla the Fun- i agree completely, it's just the combustion chamber that gets me, and shaving them too much would make fitment issues with the intake "so I'v heard", I know circle track guys like em, I'd jus like higher compression with good flow like everyone else is going for thanks for the input its something to consider