Planning on intake, exhaust, cam, headers, air cleaner. Does the computer on my 82 firebird adapt and change to make it richer or will I have to reprogram the computer or something

 

The range of adjustment available from that factory ecm is extremely limited. With the extensive changes you're planning, you'd do well to step away entirely from the stock setup and look at one of the aftermarket FI units from Holley, FiTech, etc.

 

camshaft would be the main concern-should have similar idle vacume to stock,rest of the tuning can be done to the carb in the usual manner.Anything halfway wild would be better to swap in non-CCC carb and dizzy.

 

As 8t2 said, the carb is QUITE adaptable, but the ECM is not.

The ONE THING the ECM is least prepared to deal with, is a cam that gives low idle vacuum. Not least because, the carb is similarly ill-equipped for that.

It's not about "make it richer"; it's about feed it the right amount of fuel to match (a) the air it's taking in, and (b) the conditions it's taking it in under.

I was able to get my 83 (same thing, except it was the L69 carb) to work on a 400 with a Comp 282S cam. Yes you read that right: 282 duration (230° @ .050), solid lifters. I was never quite completely happy with it but it ran like that for many 10,000s of miles and passed emissions inspection besides.

Give us the details on these mods, along with what ACTUAL motor they're going on; not, "crate 350" or something. Details matter. Details, details, details, details, details, details, details.

 

edelbrock performer intake, some kind of air cleaner (I need help with that), cam specs are.420/.443 duration @.50” 204/214
Competition shorty headers from jegs and a matching y pipe
it’s a 305 quadrajet in a 1982 non trans am

 

you'll be fine running ccc quadrajet, I had a 305 but went to a 350 with similar cam & headers and had zero issues, actually ran real good for a carb. I did have to increase idle speed a tad to smooth out idle compared to the stock 305.

 

Should work fine. That's a really tiny cam, won't bother the ECM much at all.

 

it’s better than stock though right? I think the duration is a lot more than stock

 

Your stock cam had something like 193/202 @ .050". Not much less than that generic one from Summit or whoever... you can buy the same grind from any number of sources.

The cam you are putting in is what everybody calls "The RV Cam". Very mild. Not "the best" choice you could make, but, a moderate step up. You'll probably like it, and the computer won't make a fuss over it.

 

how much would it change my torque and hp? My problem is my budget and if I put in too big of a cam then I need more intake and exhaust which costs money and also I’ve gotta daily it so hoping for decent mpg (I got 16 before pulling the motor)
let me know if you have any suggestions
I’m glad the cam won’t mess with my computer
ill keep you all updated I know it’s not an exciting build for you guys but it is for me

 

You will gain almost nothing if you leave the stock exhaust on.

The intake will make no detectable difference.

The way to upgrade a CAR is not to unbolt and re-bolt the big shiny things that sit up on top of the ENGINE, so people can oooh and aaaah over it when you pop the hood. The only way that makes your car any faster, is by weight reduction; centered on the driver's wallet. This isn't like "The Fast and Furious" boyz, where you just go to the store and buy [something], bolt it on, and it "adds" [xxx] horsepower... but the car is still SLLLOOOOOOOOOWWWWW.

To make a CAR faster, the most effective way is to find the ONE thing that is most strongly keeping the CAR slow. Which might or might not be the ENGINE. Often it is, maybe even usually; but that's not the only thing.

In the case of the LG4 (the engine you have) the things keeping your car slow, are, in approximate order of effect:

Exhaust
Gears
Converter (if your car is an auto)
Exhaust
Cam
Air cleaner
Exhaust
Suspension (traction)

Until you fix those things, nothing else will do any good.

Think of your CAR as a SYSTEM. It contains BOTTLENECKS. You can make all the other parts as big as you want, but if that BOTTLENECK is still in there, it doesn't do any good.

Before modifying the car, make sure that all the stuff that needs to work, works right. I'd start out with good tires, completely working brakes, decent shocks, any worn suspension or steering components replaced, tune-up (plugs, maybe wires, dist cap & rotor, advance the timing to around 12 degrees at idle), carb rebuild, cooling system, etc. It is BEYOND FOOLHARDY to "modify" a worn-out, defective, used-up car with parts that don't work. Get the car into top mechanical condition before modifying ANYTHING, and go from there.

The VERY FIRST THING you need to upgrade is your exhaust. EVERY SINGLE PIECE from the heads to the pavement. That means, headers w/ Y-pipe, a cat, and cat-back system. But DO NOT get anything that will "tit" 82 Camaro, or that is listed as "compatible" with the LG4 at all: doing so will preserve one of the WORST bottlenecks in your whole car, which is, the tiny Y-pipe diameter. Instead, get stuff for a 91 TPI or something. Likewise DO NOT get anything that says "universal". It WILL NOT fit your car AT ALL. Won't go in, won't bolt up, won't work. You'll need chassis-specific stuff, for 82-92 Camaro/Firebird. Unfortunately, exhaust BY ITSELF probably won't make much difference to your car's overall performance; some, but not "alot"; but without that FIRST, NOTHING ELSE has the slightest chance of improving it, either.

Next is gears and converter. Your car probably has 2.73, 2.92, or 3.08 gears. It will benefit DRAMATICALLY from gearing that allows the engine to produce power at the RPM that the new exhaust now allows it to run at. Your stock converter stalls at around 1600 - 1700 RPM, meaning, if you start from a dead stop, that's all the RPMs that the engine can turn. It produces more power the faster it goes, up to a point. For a very lightly modified LG4 car, a stall RPM of around 2500 to 2800 RPM (depending on gears) is about right.

THEN, consider a cam. Keep in mind that ANY cam you put in will REQUIRE replacing your lifters for sure, and your almost 40 yr old valve springs; it'll be the ideal time to put in new valve guide seals; new push rods; and new rocker arms. People will tell you all day long that you don't "need" any given one of those things, and they're right, to a point; but then, do you really "need" a new cam, to begin with? All of those parts either make the cam work better, replace worn-out stock garbage, or will be over-stressed by even something as mild as The RV Cam.

For the air cleaner, the best thing you can get, if you had a Camaro, would be the L69 setup (dual snorkel). That takes in cold outside air from above the headlight pockets, whereas an open element will take in hot underhood air which is less dense and therefore makes less power. There are also considerations based on where you live and what the weather is like. Yerbasic cheeeeeeeeeeeep open-element may well NOT be the right thing for you at all.

I would not waste money on an intake manifold unless something is wrong with yours like broken-off bolts or excessive corrosion that prevents it from sealing.

 

another limitation is my transmission I have the 3 speed 200C or whatever it’s called I don’t think it’s real tough for high hp

 

yep I’m getting headers and a new y pipe I believe it’s 2.5-3 inch diameter and goes back to where the cat would end. For now I’m bolting that to a reducer and then to the catback that’s on it now (for moneys sake) and will are a catback in the future. I’m also rebuilding the carb, new mild cam, valve job and springs lifters etc, and yeah the guy who’s helping me work on the car said just to use the stock intake manifold. For an air cleaner I’ll get a 14x3 one because somebody took the stock scoop off my car before I bought it and just left the “stem” if you will. So I’m currently taking in hot air anyway and the scoops are super expensive so might as well go with the next best thing. The reason the scoop is gone I believe is because the PO put an aftermarket ac compressor on and it created a clearance issue so they just removed it
not ready for gearing just yet just because of streetability with a 3 speed auto I don’t want to be screaming the engine. This is just going to be a mild street build with better than stock performance
my engine is in good shape I got the heads off today and the cylinder walls have the original cross hatching