i just got a 78 firebird with a 350...im gonna put an intake manifold, carb, headers, and true dual exhaust with glasspacks and a fuel pump
i want to make this car run 11's or 10's...unfourtunatly, the engine comes with a whopping 170 hp stock, and i figure with these mods, i might get up to 250...according to Desktop Dyno, if i throw a 200 shot of Nitrous on there, i will have 400 hp and 900 ft/lb torque...can the engine handle this? if not, how do i mod it so it can handle this? the carb 350 was the same up through 1984. if it wont handle 200 shot, what can it handle? can i upgrade it later? thank you guys for your help.

 

When I had my little 305 under the hood, I was gonna try and tweak a little until I got ready for a new motor-unfortunate cam swap kinda changed things in a hurry though. I did alot of reading on the Juice and if the motor is old and burning a little oil, adding NOS, especially that much on a probably stock short block is not a preferred idea, shorten life. When the juice is introduced
into the cylinders and it leaks a little oil past the rings, this will attract the nitrious and create a "hot spot" which will prematurely burn up a cylinder. I'm assuming it's an older/stock motor anyway, and if you did add a 200 shot, you MIGHT get by for a few passes, but after everything I've read I would'nt hold your breath. Most say a stock small block chevy can handle a 100 shot okay as long as the fuel supply is up to the task and the timing is set right, usually retarded 2 degrees for every 50hp, so everyday driving would really suck, cause @ 200hp shot you'd be retarding 8 degrees, and that's ALOT. You could always get the MSD set-up and all the electronic goodies, that would take it out for you when it's needed, but then your getting into some serious cash. Might want to post on the power adder board as this is what they deal with all the time.

 

eh...its a carb...id be a track car only.

 

when I was talking about fuel supply, I meant the actual fuel on hand and in reserve when the juice kicks in. Alot of people that are running nitrious say the "right" way is to have a seperate fuel pump in addition to the primary pump, that only kicks in when the nitrous is activated, if you starve the motor for fuel when the juice is introduced-bye, bye motor. That's where most people make the mistake, lose a motor and give nitrious a bad wrap, they don't have the "proper" set-up to deal with the addition power. On stock cast pistons when the nitrious is added to the mixture, it's kinda like beating the thing with a sledge hammer, that's why all people that are running juice in serious hp numers always go forged pistons cause they can withstand more of a beating and not shatter like cast would.

 

Unless you are A) trying to see how much money and time you can put into a motor before it explodes; or B) seriously beefing up the entire crank and valve assemblies, you should avoid any Nitro system. If you just rebuilt it and have it properly tuned, as well as used forged pistons and connecting rods (more beefing up on the valvetrain too) you are safe to run a small to medium shot. Personally, I would never use it, because even in small shots, it deterorates the engine at a faster rate. Good luck,

 

I'm sorry, but I can't agree with the last statement. Nitrous Oxide does not deteriorate a motor. true, it puts an additional load or strain on the motor, but in no way does it deteriorate the motor. It's similar to a supercharger in that it allows more oxygen to enter the combustion chamber. When nitrous is heated to a certain high temperature it chemically breaks down and releases oxygen atoms that the engine burns with the additional fuel that will be added from the fuel enriching sollenoid thus making more power. Using the stock cast pistons and maybe a pulling a few degrees on the timing (usually one degree per 50 HP gain is safe) I wouldn't go with more than 150 Hp on the stock cast pistons.

If youre looking for 10's, 11's, on nitrous you'd be looking at a mild rebuild and maybe a 150-200 shot. an example of a rebuild I would look at is something similar to GM's ZZ4 350, or the fastburn 385. 58 cc heads, along with a mild roller cam, can be obtained either brand new, or at a junkyard. You can run nitrous with a set of cast or hypereutectic piston, just be extra gentle, don't get carried away anywhere from 50-150 is pretty safe in my opinion. Anyone whose had experience with nitrous will agree that 50-150 is pretty safe.

I don't know much about the cylinder heads that are on your 350, but I would imagine you could send them out and get them ported to some extent if you can't afford a new or used set of cylinder heads.