79-L-82

All,
I am going to modify my L-82. (Big surprise) :shocked:

I'm looking for NA 350+ hp.
I've got some ideas of my own, but was wanting some input from you folks.

It already has a 650dp holley. (previous owner installed).
The pollution controls are all off for the most part.

Hooker headers and sidepipes are a must.

What should I do as far as CAM, Intake, etc.?
There are so many options.

Can I get that much HP with the stock heads?
I know they have the bigger valves, can they be cleaned and mildly ported for this much HP or am I looking at replacements? If so, I will go aluminum for the weight savings and superior cooling, but would rather keep them if possible.

All serious ideas welcome. :chevy

page62

I've thought long and hard about what I'd do with my engine, too. (Although right now, the engine is basically stock -- I've done other mods -- see my sig. It's a pretty quick car in its current form.).

The stock heads may have the bigger valves, but they have 76cc chambers ("smog" heads) and are prone to cracking if machined. If you pull 'em, don't put 'em back on.

You'd get excellent bang for your buck by swapping in a set of Vortec heads, plus intake. (The Vortecs use a different intake bolt pattern.) And that would be a good time to swap in a cam, although the stock L82 cam is already pretty decent (it's the same one used on the 350/350 in the late 60's).

All of this assumes your engine is in good condition, with good compression. If it's tired, pull it out and store it (numbers matching and all that) and put a good crate engine in there! :yesnod:

79-L-82

It's not tired. It only has 24K on it. Runs good.

How does the stock cam compare to the Edelbrock Performer or RPM?
What about the Holley Systemax?
:auto:

page62

Here's some info on the heads I'd personally would consider: http://www.sdpc2000.com/cart.asp?act...art&catid=2172

The stock camshaft would work fine with the basic kit. You'd see at least a 30-40 hp increase.

The upgraded kit would benefit from a bigger cam....and obviously more hp (at the expense of driveability).

dman535

You can also use a set of L98 heads.
http://www.sdpc2000.com/cart.asp?act...id=277&pid=147

Aluminum, 58cc usally pretty inexpensive and durable. With a little port work they run very well.

79-L-82

58cc combustion chamber. From a 76cc stock smog head, will that work? or will I have to run 1000 octane fuel? ;)
Forgive my ignorance, as I'm new to the chevy world.

page62

You can run a higher compression ratio when you use aluminum heads. I think (correct me if I'm wrong), you're okay up to about 10.5:1. You will need to run premium fuel however.

79-L-82

what would the c/r be with that head and a stock L-82 shortblock?




[Modified by 79-L-82, 2:32 AM 4/7/2004]

page62

A guess: stock (76cc) is 8.9:1, 64cc would be 10:1, and 58cc would be about 10.5:1

But I gotta ask: doesn't your car go pretty quick in stock form? Mine's getting pretty close...


[Modified by page62, 10:06 PM 4/6/2004]

Shark Racer

Here's what I recommend- go with the headers and exhaust first. Use JCL Spiral Baffles with that hooker setup.

After you've tested that out, see how it performs. You could drop into the high 5-second to 60 range as the L-82 stands.

-Steve

DaveL82

The L82 heads and cam are the power killers. While good in their day, it's very much old tech today.

If you stay with a flat tappet cam you can get a much better grind from Crane, Edelbrock, CompCams etc... Of course to really make more power you need a much better head as mentioned above.

I pulled my L82 and replaced it with a ZZ4 motor. The new roller cams are so much better and the L89 aluminum heads seem to work great. I even have the smog stuff on my car because I like it to look like a sleeper. This ZZ4 makes the L82 seem like a dog.

If you can afford a roller cam retro kit that would be the way to go, but you need new heads to take advantage of it.

Dave

79-L-82

ZZ4 is out of my budget, especially since my engine is fine.

It's fairly quick stock, but so is my '02 Stratus RT.
I don't want it to be fairly quick, I want it to be darn quick. :reddevil
That's why I mentioned 350+HP.

Probably do flat tappet cam and intake, then heads down the line as budget allows. All after the Headers and side pipes. :cool:

Any recommendations? :chevy

marshrat99

See my sig. I went with Dart Iron Eagle heads, CompCam XE262 cam and Edlebrock ESP intake. The heads have 2.02 stainless intake valves and 64cc chambers. Also everthing bolts up to them nicely including AC, PS, cruise, etc. I'm also running about 10:1CR. I've never dyno'ed but should be about 350HP. :cheers:

American Boy

I'm a big fan of the vortec head. So the easy way to get 350 hp is to put a set on top of your block, put a comp cam XE-268 and a Edelbrock performer RPM. That with the headers will put you right at 350 hp. The vortec require new design valve cover and new valve spring.

The magic of the vortec head is that they have a lot of low end torque compare to all the other aftermarket head. That's due to the 170 cc intake runner that flow really well. That's great for street use.

Stephan