davidjr74

I fixed all the basic problems in my 85 Camaro. No more vac leaks, stalling, got new spark plugs, tires, sensors, and a new muffler. Still gotta fix that damn radiator fan but that's it.

I'm ready to start doing some performance upgrades but I don't know where to begin...

New heads? ceramic headers for my exhaust? Would this be a good place to start ...and how do I know if certain heads will fit my 350 (engine is from a 87 Camaro). I'm looking at the Vortecs and Edelbrock but I don't know what the terminology means like 64CC etc....

spurgeon76

Start here.

http://www.tpichips.com/350.htm

davidjr74

This is a great link. Thank You.

el_muerte

Biggest gain for a bolt-on will be headers and exhaust. You'll want a 3" y-pipe and catback; avoid the Hooker shorties (part #2460) if you don't want to fab a y-pipe - theirs is only 2.5". Short tube headers are cheaper and easier to install than long tubes and don't cost ground clearance. You don't need ceramic coated headers, you can save some money going mild or stainless steel and wrapping it in heat tape (I personally think this looks more badass too).

If you're willing to tear into the engine, heads and cam are the best way to make power. As far as head terminology goes, the 64cc bit is the combustion chamber size. This number, in conjunction with other factors such as piston shape and height, and head gasket thickness, will determine your compression ratio. Intake runner size, a larger number (185cc, 200cc, etc), determines airflow characteristics. Generally, smaller runners will result in higher air velocity, meaning more low-end torque, but choke off at higher RPMs, limiting your top-end horsepower. The TPI intake on your car is designed for high air velocity at low speeds, so heads with smaller runners are often a good choice. Finally, the head flow (in cfm) tells you how much air flows through them at various amounts of valve lift. Higher numbers are better, and good numbers at low to medium valve lift are more important than good numbers at maximum lift as the valves spend very little time, comparatively speaking, at maximum lift.