Got ahold of a Z28 with a small block that was code correct except it did not have the big valve 2.02/1.6 #330545 double humps but the 1.94/1.5 #333882 single humps 76cc. I know the big valves are sought after but don't the 1.94's flow pretty good up to about 6 grand? The 1.94's are on the engine and have roller rockers so they may have been massaged/ported also but at this point I don't know. Just thought someone would know if I found some 545's and swapped them out would there a be a noticeable difference in power?

I guess it depends on application. What else are you using? What is your goal? Lingenfelter says the 882's are prone to cracking. If you are going to swap out heads you can get a set of new aluminum heads for a reasonable price and it will allow you to raise the compression ratio about 1.0 because of heat transfer etcetc. Hope that helps a bit.

As a general rule, unless you have a lot of cam and regularly buzz the engine above 6000, you will be better off with the smaller intake valves. Many will say to go with the 2.02 on the intake, but until you exceed the flow potential of the 1.94 valve, you do not see any difference in flow volume, just in flow velocity. You will see better performance at low rpm with higher velocity than you would with the lower velocity of the larger valves. You will have to decide if the higher compression and possibly stronger heads are worth installing based on the use your car will see. Good luck.

Exactly, you need to let us know what your plan is for the car. Running around town with great low to mid range power or what? warped is correct.

Check here b/c there are two -545's!! Early 68 cc jobbers and later 74 cc jobbers....

http://www.chevytech.net/

The earlier, smaller chambered, ones will be the ones you want!!

pdq67

You guys are great for giving me some insights on my head questions. I have another car that has some solid lifters with the big heads so my need to be above 6000 rpm can be taken care of by that car. The 73 Z for me is a trip in time as I had pretty much the same car in high school and finally broke open the piggy bank and bought one again. I would like to to have the correct 545 heads more for originality even though I'm not hung up to much on numbers. I just know if I ever sold the car I will get that same head question. Since the car is a cruise around town car with a TH400 tranny and 3.42's in the rear it doesn't sound like a I will get much if any benefit from swapping out of the current 882's. I might buy some 545's just to have for the future if I get the crack in the 882's but finding those bigger heads might be an expensive challenge. I also can't see tearing the engine down to swap them out anyway since I am trying to subscribe to the "if it ain't broke don't fix it" motto.

If you are looking for true originality, you will want to be sure that the casting date on the heads is somewhere around a month or so before the build date of the car. Use the casting date of the engine block as a guide if you can’t pinpoint the car’s build date. It is located behind the passenger side head just before the point where the trans meets the back of the block.

One positive about the head is that it was also used on the Corvette so there are more around and the Corvette restorers have, imho, a more organized restoration effort than the Camaro restorers. The downside of this is that you will have to pay Corvette prices since anyone who has one will assume you are looking for Corvette restoration even though it was found on Camaros. Good luck.

Warped I appreciate the info. I know about the Vette pxs and I do think they are more organized with there efforts. The Vette army of loyalists is larger then the Camaro clan. I will probably stumble upon some of those heads sooner or later. What would you pay for a set of bare heads?

It’s hard to say what a good price might be. Supply and demand will dictate what the final price will be. I am currently looking (not very hard) for a set of 462 heads for my ’67 Vette, and I have found numerous 462’s, but none with the right date codes. Prices have ranged from $100 for a set that was still warm, greasy and dirty to over $500 for completely cleaned, checked and rebuilt. I have only looked at local swap meets and car shows, but finding the right ones probably wouldn’t be much of an issue if I started searching the professional restoration sites. Fortunately these heads were used on everything from Camaros and vettes to trucks and full sized passenger cars. The heads you are looking for were afaik only used on Camaros and Corvettes. All this said, I personally would probably not pay more than about $150 for a clean used set and then let my own machinist do the work rather than trust that someone I don’t know has done them right. Good luck in your search.

Warped

I agree with your thoughts and am going to hunt for them pretty much like you. I will look for them but am not in any hurry and at this point am not going out of my way for them. Interesting that you mentioned the 67. I do have a set of code correct double humps sitting next to the Z on a 65 L-76. Take care.