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350 needs more power

10K views 100 replies 10 participants last post by  eldudderino 
#1 ·
i have a 82 el camino with a 350 chevy in it, it has true duals no converters stock manifolds and a trail blazer is faster.....i need help fixing this problem i dont know if i should get an edelbrock intake or switch my rear gearing to 3.73's or headers can someone lead me in the right direction please hahaha
 
#16 ·
My Corvette(in picture) when I bought it,had the 160 HP 350.It ran well,it was rebuilt when I bought the car.It had stock heads,street dominator manifold,cheapo headers, 194º cam and a 650 holley double pumper.
I modified the carb with an 850 base plate and used a chasis dyno to tune the car.It have a measly 205 hp to the wheels and 279 pounds torque connected to 2.73 gears.
The car could barely get out of its own way.The cam was pathetic and it was low compression. I put a bigger,high compression engine in the car.It cost be 10k.
what do you want from your car?
 
#21 ·
First, find out what you have.
Warm the motor up thoroughly. Shut it off. Pull all the spark plugs to make the motor easier to turn over. Disable the coil. Remove the air filter assembly and wire the primary throttle blades wide open. Use a compression tester gauge to determine cylinder pressure and write it down for each cylinder. Doesn't matter if you use one that has a black rubber bullet that you push and hold into the spark plug hole or one that threads into the spark plug hole. Either one will work. Hold the bullet into the plug hole while your buddy grinds the starter motor. It will usually take 4 or 5 "chuffs" on the gauge (piston comes to top dead center on the compression stroke 4 or 5 times to load the gauge properly) to have a good reading, where the pressure stabilizes and will not go any higher.

If the motor isn't up to par on all cylinders, there will be no use to make any expensive changes in the first place. If all cylinders are equal and present a reasonable pressure, I agree with Vinnie about a 150 hp N2O shot. Cheapest and easiest way to gain 150 hp.

Spend $11 and get this used book by David Vizard delivered to your front door.....
Amazon.com: Buying Choices: Nitrous-Oxide Injection

Nothing wrong with buying used books, I do it all the time to save some sheckels.
 
#23 ·
what if i get a pair of 305 heads that would give me more compression right? and if i get headers put on and put some bigger gears do you think that will be enough what im trying to do with it basically is make it faster then all the mustangs running around in my town basically
 
#25 ·
Its terrible that I'm afraid to answer this based on an ongoing thread elsewhere.
But hey, no guts no glory right?
A set of 416 casting heads can usually be found cheap or free. If your willing to put in the time, and I'm not talking a couple hours, I had 20+ hours in the last set I did, and a lot more in the first pair as they were a learning experience. That being said, with a generous home porting and attention to detail, this can be a fun path to some decent heads. But your going to need the right tools, a compressor, and as I said, time.
If this isn't what your looking to do, then there are other budget oriented choices that may be better suited.
What year mustangs are you attempting to play with.
What's your budget to put something together. And not just motor budget, rear end, trans, converter, and finally motor.....
Vinnie and tech may be on the right track for something simple for you.
Longtubes, a decent exhaust, a set of 373's, a performer RPM intake, a decent 4brl Carb, and a plate kit.
Drives normal 99% of the time, you find your mustang and spray yourself a win.
It doesn't get any more budget then that.
If you have a little more money, then there are much better choices then Nitrous.
You get out what you put in. I personally love the home ported 305 heads, a 268 cam, longtubes, performer rpm, Holley 750dp, 2800+ stall and 411's.....that's a fun, dirtball cheap street combo that should let you hang with a lightly modded fox body. It shoud put a beating on a lightly modded sn95 as well.
Most people will have other opinions, and they are right for them. If time, tools, or skill for head work isn't there, then look at some offshore casting alum heads, still much much better then what u have. If a little more money is available, look at better heads and more cam, brodix, pro-filer, summit or jegs house brands. All work well, all "inexpensive"
Just my humble opinion.
 
#24 ·
If you do indeed have a 70's smog motor,you probably have 76 cc chambers & not so good flow.A 305 head would up your CR,but,you need a good flowing head as well.Not just any 305 head.A 305 head may raise your CR too much becuz of the much smaller chambers.A set of Vortec heads(64cc) would be a good upgrade.It would require a matching intake.There are also many aftermarket iron or aluminum heads available that would be even better depending on your budget.As has been stated,identify what you actually do have 1st.What do you really want the car to do?Beating all the Mustangs,is not the answer we're looking for.What kind of budget do you intend for it?How streetable do you want it to be?How many miles on the engine now?Remember,more power means more stress on an already tired engine is a sure way to finish it off.be realistic about what you have,what you want,& how much time,money,& work are you willing to put into it.It's gonna take more than a few bolt ons to beat ALL of the Mustangs!!! LOL.
 
#27 ·
You really need to know & be realistic about what your starting out with.Even tho you may not be using oil or smoking now,if you have a high milage engine & start throwing new parts on & tightening up the top end,the bottomend is gonna go KAPUT on ya really quik from the added stress & even wear patterns established in the current engine.Not to mention the fact that you will be frequently demonstrating your new found power.You may find that a new crate engine would be just as economical for the ground work for your "Mustang Eater".
 
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