I only have a vague idea what a PROM is, which seems to me to be some kind of method of controlling engine functions via a laptop computer. Besides that, I'm clueless.

I have an '82 Firebird Trans Am with a rebuilt 350, and anything I do to it must be very cost-effective. Is my car too outdated to do anything regarding PROM? If I can do something, about how much of an investment (besides the laptop) would I need to put into it?

 

You are most likely running a carb, right? Is it computer controlled?

PROM stands for Programed Read Only Memory. It is a "chip" contained inside your cars ECM- electronic control module. It contains all of the data that your car needs to operate.

I suspect that your running a regular carb with no computer, so PROM means nothing on your vehicle. I has nothing to do with a laptop, many of us in this forum use laptops to read the data coming and going from our ECM. We then take that data and decide what we want to change and then burn a new PROM. Maybe that is were you got confused. I hope this helps you.