Heres my question have a 350 had the 418 castings already on it when inspecting them one of the rocker studs was pulled thought about just pinning it but a set of 882 castings came up that are ready to go. should i just pin the 418 castings or run the 882. The 350 has dished pistons so im worried about the compression getting too low. the 305 heads appear to be in good shape otherwise. I dont want to put any money in the motor at this time just want to get it on the road. So this is my question to all of you.
Dont know your engine set up. The 882s have a larger chamber so compression is going to drop. I would do screw in stud rather than pinning
engine is a stock 350 nothing special has a small cam in it just a daily driver. whats the thinnest head gasket to run for a daily driver?
You never said if you ever ran or drove the car with this engine. If all is good but 1 stud and since its just a driver and you want to keep cost down just get 1 screw in stud. Easier than pulling heads. Just blanket work area so chips dont get into engine. Look at it this way, buy 1 stud or intake gaskets and head gaskets.
When I worked in a machine shop (mid '80s), it seems that a high percentage of the 882 heads that came to us failed the mag test. They're just large chamber smog heads, nothing special, so I wouldn't go out of my way to use them.
The 305 heads are a great choice. Are they the big valve 4 barrel 305 heads?? just make sure you use the 350 head gaskets. You might to use thicker head geskets. Not only will you get better mileage, but also better low end torque due to the slightly smaller intake ports. Let us know what on you decide and also on how it runs once you get her on the road.. One other thing.... Try a batch of 91 octane fuel and let us know how she runs.....
Pin the stud and use a Fel Pro Head Saver Shim #7733SP with about 4 coats of aluminum silver on it. Install it tacky. It's just over 1/2 the thickness of a conventional head gasket and will bump the comp a tic. Happy Motoring,T.
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