I was rebuilding my 327 /210 hp engine. I wanted to change to a 4 barrel. the guy in the machine shop sold me a set of 333882 /J 83 heads with new valves he said they were good heads with hardend seats. now every web site I go to someone is calling these heads junk. the engine is together but not back in car .should I change heads and what are some options. the car will have new paint before engine is run so I want to be sure the engine and heads are right. I also have a set of double humps would that be the right way to go? Confused in alabama

I am not a cylinder head guru, but the flow numbers show that the 882's are quite comparable to the Double humps. The 882's are from the smog era, so the chamber size is large 76cc vs. 64cc's on the double humps. The advantage here is simple, compression. Do you know what pistons you have ? If you ran domed pistons etc. you could keep your compression up, where as the double humps with domes would give you more compression than you would want on the street. Many of the old double humps do not have accessory bolt holes in the ends of the heads. These are not needed on a '67 or '68. In a '69 they become an issue. Compare what your compression will be with both heads and determine what is the best for you ! Aftermarket heads are your best choice, but it will cost you.

Robert,
The heads are not "junk", but they are nothing special either. Just a set of decent small block heads. The only problem that I see is that depending on the pistons you have, you compression ratio is probably only going to be around 8 1/2 to 1 Thats fine for a mostly stock engine but with a smaller chamber head like the ones that used to come on the 327's you would be up closer to 9 1/2 which is better for perfomance. Just depends on what your goals are and how much you are willing to pay for heads.

Tom,
YOu type faster than me

Neither head is really all that great by todays standards for a performance build, but I agree with Bill that for a stock type rebuild either will work and depending on your compression ratio desire that should guide you to choose one over the other. I personally would opt for the double hump 64 cc chamber heads on a 327 because the compression would be rather low with the 882 head. Both heads are some what prone to cracks many people will tell you. On the double humps you need to inspect the outer set of head to block short bolt holes closely near the center exhaust ports. They will crack here and the spot faced surface will chip away. I've had sets of these do this myself. The 882 real downside is that it is the only head that used siamesed center exhaust ports. The heat riser is fed from both center ports instead of just one center port which causes them to run a little hot some feel. The 882 he probably considered to be a good head because it had hardened valve seats. Bottom line is on a stock 210 hp build either will work for you, the compression will be down if you use the 882, but they do have hardened seats. They also have accessory holes on the front of the heads where the double humps won't.

All you need is a good set of 64 cc chamber double-hump heads and .015" or .020" thick shim headgaskets w/ a Q-Jet top end and a true dual exhaust and you will get her up to 275/300hp.

Add a 268/270/272 cam and you will be up at 330 hp. Add headers and above 350 hp.

pdq67

20 years ago, 882's were sought out because they were a cheap alternative to the "camel back" heads from the past.
i just swapped a set of 87 350 TPI heads in place of the stock 882's on the 350 in my 74 Monte, and the later model heads just looked better in every way than the stockers. i don't know if it's because the newer heads are better or becasue of the extra compression from the smaller chambers or simply becasue they were recently rebuilt, but the car just runs better all around. smoother idle, better throttle response, and smoky burnouts at will where it would hardly even spin the tires before.
today, the 882's are just another smog casting. if you've got them and just want a decent running car, then run what you've got. but if you want a little extra out of it, then at least step up to something with smaller chambers to pump up the compression a little bit. i'd think 305HO heads would work pretty good on a stock 327, but vortecs can be had for not much more cash outlay.

Everyone that commented gave you very sound advice. The 882's actually do flow better than the old camel humps 461,462. With GM stock flat top pistons your compression would be too low for my liking, but you would easily run on 87 octane fuel. If memory serves me correctly, the 327 210 horse had a large 75-76cc chamber. The 882's would be comparable to that factory head but with a better flow. I hope this helps you.
Bill

I ran a flat top piston 327 with 882s , steel shim headgaskets and the Crane 274HO6 cam and it ran good.Sure was nice to put 87 in the tank.

For what it's worth I run a 10.8:1 327 on 87 octane all day long with no problems what so ever, I actually think it runs better on 87 vs. 93, not because I'm cheap but why bother when you get more hp out of fuel that takes less energy to ignite?

The stock 327/210's did come with huge 75cc heads 1.72" intake valves, just about any other head GM produced you will see a gain, especially with a smaller chamber, good cam & induction system, the bottom end of a 210hp motor can really be beefed up to well over 330hp...

How about planing some off those 882's to decrease the chamber size and raise the compression? Not sure how many thousandths would equal how many cc's...

John whats your combo heads, cam, pistons etc.?

Decked block to .012" .025" composite head gasket, Flat tops, 190cc runner aluminum heads with 58cc chambers 2.02"/1.60", comp cams 286H (.490", 110lsa, 236* @.050) edelbrock dual plane, manual trans and dreaded 3.08's.

I want to say the 210hp/327 had 69 to 70 cc smog type heads and .020" thick steel shim headgaskets.

You install a good pair of -041's, .015" or .020" shims and a Performer intake w/ a 600 cfm Holley along w/ a cheap set of 1.625" dia., 4-tube, long headers and a CC 268HE or Crane 272/272 Energizer and go have more fun than John Law will allow!

pdq67

Further up the threads, a person Melrose RS asked the question, "how 'bout planing some off the 882s in order to increase compression?". Being that the heads are the earlier heavier casted units, above interesting question still remains un-answered..
Mr BillK, your advice here would be informative on the somewhat controversial 333882
heads as there is a load of information on the web going in every which direction.. Hard to figure what is valid vs bullfecus..
T.