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young guy first street rod need help with hp

3K views 25 replies 8 participants last post by  cutthroatkid 
#1 ·
First off I'm new here I'm a young guy with my first car looking to learn from everybody here,2nd know I need a 350 but as of right now what can do to my sbc 305 this is what I can tell you abou the car its a 1983 monte carlo built 305 less then a couple of thousand miles since rebuilt 350 turbo tranny holley 600 carb edelbrock intake&headers,dual exhaust there is nothing stock inside that motor.the crank was polished, the rods were destressed and balanced.the cam is a 194 duration and a 507 lift. it is really radical.the blower setteled it down. without the blower it is radical.the pistons are dish forged pistons.(8.5 to 1)this was a low compression for the blower. the ower end has nothing but ARP bolts in it to hold it together. the heads were treated to a 3 angle valve job and a set of double sprung Z- 28 springs. this motor was a mild 435 horse motor with the blower.this was dyno tested the blower was a b&m 144,I nolonger have the blower I'm guessing I lost about 100 hp 435 that's pretty good for a 305 from what I hear,I'm going to put it on the bottle,this is my daily driver untill I can save up some more cash to buy another car then pull the 305&have a 350 made..any suggestions?I'm a young guy really interested in learing about cars I just don't know anybody around me (st.louis) Id like to get the car out to the track once a month or so to run 13s Its a fast 305 takes off kinds slow but once I hit 20 I'm gone,well thanx&sorry so long&thanx again
 
#3 · (Edited)
I hope I'm replying right,well thanx for the link to amazon with the books I looked@them&will probally order some this week,I actually know very little about the car everything that I put in this thread was what my grandfather told me&I had it wrote down word for word he had a shop&raced cars or had people race cars way before I was born,but he passed so I can't get no help from him but he was great!,its my first car like I said.I'm reading all I can I think maybe I need a diffrent cam but some people tell me its the 1 I need other people tell me its not&I'm having a hard time learning about them..&sorry for my typing
 
#4 ·
,,, first thing first:)

It seems your grandpa left you a sweet lil car to play with. Don't be too quick to thumb down that 305 just yet. It is after all, a spinoff from the original and legendary stovebolt of '55. Most rodders seem to feel that the only substitute for cubic inches, is more cubic inches,,, I don't quite agree with that,,, I believe it's more important to ''round up'' those 305 ponies in earnest and see how they compare to others that may have more, but ''strays'' they can't round up,,, either from lack of knowledge or interest. I joined this site looking for parts and stumbled on your bleat for help, and I'm sure you will receive it abundantly. Try this, type 'John Lingenfelter on Modifying Small Block Chevys' in your browser or just 'Small Block Chevys' and you will get hours of informative reading. This method also works for your AFB (Edelbrock carb) ;)
Last but not least, looking back, we all were young and lacked experience,,, this expertise comes with time if you stay with it, I'm sure you will one day stroll into the anatomy of a thoroughbred racing engine and make everything look so easy to those around you. Feel free to 'download the old guys' that are willing to share what's stored in their memory,,, best of luck, hope this offered some encouragement to you :D
PS,,,, you are on the right track,,, read, read and read some more,,,
 
#6 ·
hmmm, 194*Duration typo?

Hey kid :)

Out of curiosity, I ran your .507'' lift cam on my dyno, and it appears that your duration is 294*(not 194*as you had indicated) with 109* lobe centers, and overlap of 76* it comes out as follows,,, IVO 38* BTDC,,, IVC 76* ABDC,,, EVO 76* BBDC,,, EVC 38* ATDC. The Dyno has a small error margin that is negligable in comparison to what facts you know or don't know about your cam combo.
,,, the 194* duration may have been a typo from you or your grandpa's notes,,,, best of luck
 
#7 ·
You're right I think it was a typo I don't know what all of that other stuff is you typed from the information from you're dyno,I'm still learnig I just bought a few books yesterday to help out.So from what you found out is the 294 duration 507 lift ok for rhat engine?I meet a guy&he said he'd sell me a 350 for 100 bucks it runs (so he says)I'm just gonna get it&take it apart to help me learn&then try to do a few things with it,not really buying it for any other reason then a tool to learn off of seeings its only 100 bucks,I need to figure out what gears I have &if there hard to change,its like once I hit 20 I'm gone but out the gate there's not much power
 
#8 ·
hey kid :)

There are two methods of building an engine,,,
one,,, you build the engine around a cam.
two,,, you grind a cam around the engine.
I wish there was an easy way to say this,,, but,,, the cam you have is more than I would want with 50+ years of combined,,, extensive,,, racing/hot rodding experience in normally aspirated and supercharged/turbocharged applications.
Inexperience is a passing stage as you build your knowledge base,,,
the decision to have too much cam or too much carb is something I'm sure all the old timers remember,,, I mean after all,,, if a little bit is good,,,,,,,,,,, then a whole bunch should be better.
Not so,,,, stay conservative until you understand why you are doing what it is you are doing.
To clarify the abbreviations of your cam specs,,, IVO BTDC = Intake valve opens 38 degrees before top dead center. IVC ABDC = Intake valve closes 76 degrees After bottom dead center. EVO BBDC = Exhaust valve opens 76 degrees before bottom dead center. EVC ATDC = Exhaust valve closes after top dead center.
,,, sorry for the abreviations,,,, I'll try and take small steps for you,,, ok.
Now,,, that 350 is a great project to get hands on experience,,, take it apart and if possible take notes and pics along the way,,,
now back to the cam,,, get something with .450 lift in street/strip configuration,,, these cams are good for 1 horse per cube,,, no bull,,, if everything else is done right :)
keep reading
 
#9 ·
buggmann

i had one of the DZ302 in the early Z/28 Camaros
and man did it fly the only thing i did to it was change
the carb and intake it also had a 4 speed trans and
a pos rearend i know i had it up to around 130 mph
but i was also only 16 at the time and man what a good time :cool:
 
#10 ·
Ok I see or atleast I think I do,I hope I get this job I just applied its for a transmission shop that specialize in racing transmissions&exhaust. He said he was looking for someone to train,that way I could learn a lot!&does anyone knows what it mean that a transmission has to be oem? I have no idea but I was looking@ the test&tune rules&it says no automatic transmissions inless they are oem????
 
#17 ·
It really pi**es me off that you can get wiki credit by going on the wiki and typing one sentence. "Need more horsepower for my 305".

It's not your fault kid, I'm not blaming you, but the wiki is eaten up with this kind of one sentence crap that just gluts up the whole thing and renders it into invalidity.

Jon needs to address this if he expects the wiki to be something useful....and further....expects continued improvement to the wiki from those of us who have spent considerable time and effort making it viable as a source of information.
 
#20 ·
Nice build but not nothing really informative on how I can gain any horsepower?Like I said it was 435 hp on te dyno with the blower so with it off I should be pulling like between 330 350 hp..&-ve decided to put the blower back on&baybe a small shot I'm gonna. Put on an electric water pump drive kit today maybe its allready about 6grand in the car its a built 305 I just wanted to pick up some more hp&torque,well like I said I'm gonna put the blower back on so for a 305 like my dad says...it'll haul balls for a 305
 
#25 ·
Yeah I think I am because a friend of my grandpas has a speed shop&I went there to ask him what I should do to it&he said...this a ****** 305!&that you don't see that that much so to keep it,but then tonite my car was idleing high so I turned the stop screw till it slowed down&now I can't power brake...before I did that I could smoke em good...its a new carb&I'm not really sure how to adjust it
 
#26 ·
Gosh I thought I was gonna die in this car the other day!I'm building a roll cage!I love this car but I've. Been working on it everyday!all kinds of things are giving me trouble now1I'm kind of learning on my own&teaching myself not really nobody around to help I ask questuons to a couple of people I know but they seem to be to busy well thanx you guys you rock!
 
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