[pulling power]

I have a 1983 chevy with a quad four barrel on it, it has a 350 stock chevy and im trying to get more power for pulling. wanting to know what to drill out or modify to make it have more power.also recommended needles to put into it. I have a home built 3in high riser on it, but dont know if it is to big or if it helps any. also recomend what type of heads to put on with what cam.

[DoubleVision]

Modifing your Quadrajet on a stock engine is pretty much useless until you do further mods. You asked about what heads and what cam you can use to kick up pulling power but first I`ll ask what rear gears are in the truck? Most of these trucks came with rather high gears around the 3.08 ratio, these aren`t very good for pulling. Going to a 3.73 gear would be a big step in the right direction. From there I wouldn`t pull the heads, unless I was wanting to go extreme pulling power. I would swap the cam to a Edelbrock performer plus cam or the summit racing eqiv which has the same specs at .204 intake and .214 exhaust duration @.050. Next I would install a double roller cloyes timing chain. Next do a complete tune up, start by checking the mechanical and vacuum advance in the HEI, make sure both are functioning correctly, I would add lighter springs to the mechanical advance. Install a brass terminal cap and rotor, moroso blue max spiral core plug wires with 875 ohms. Take your time and route the wires correctly. A K&N air fliter. a set of small tube headers, dual exhaust, turbo mufflers with balance pipe. This will kick up the pulling power of your truck. If you were to add these mods and you have a 3.08 rear gear, it wouldn`t help that much, that`s why it`s important to know what gears you have. I`m not sure what you mean by a 3 inch high riser, if you mean a carb spacer if it`s a open spacer it`s hurting pulling power, not helping it. Also for now, check the timing specs, it should be 12 degrees before top dead center with vacuum advance disconnected and plugged, once set, lock the distributor, reconnect vac advance and make sure it`s connected to a full time manifold vacuum source (one that pulls vacuum full time, including at idle) recheck the timing, at idle it should be 20 - 24 degrees before top dead center.

[lg1969]

Sell the 350 and get a 400 sbc as a base line. 350 is a good motor, but a 400 will give you torque then a 350. The amount of $$$ will a quite a bit to build a 350 that produce torque. It will cost you less when you build a 400 that will make over 500 ft lbs. of pulling power. What is nice is all the accessory will bolt right up.
Just adding my 2 cent.

[ericnova72]

If that 3" "high-riser" is a 3" carb spacer, it is hurting your power with a stock engine(or any towing engine for that matter), not helping.

DoubleVision laid out the rest. If this is serious trailer pulling, a 383 stroker or 400 would be the smart choice if you have to stay with a small block.

[joe_padavano]

Originally Posted by pulling power

I have a 1983 chevy with a quad four barrel on it, it has a 350 stock chevy and im trying to get more power for pulling. wanting to know what to drill out or modify to make it have more power.also recommended needles to put into it. I have a home built 3in high riser on it, but dont know if it is to big or if it helps any. also recomend what type of heads to put on with what cam.

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