Here's the situation, I am 16 and have this nice 1984 Camaro Z28. It has a 5.0L V8 HO OHV. I need help on figuring out what I need to do to add on and make it better. Basically, I have the base to a nice engine, but nothing is good on it like I want it to be. I am in the learning process so I need help. Please suggest things that I can do to this engine. Please help! I have been suggested a bigger carb. and new intake, would this work or do I want more?

 

The HO motor is a very good runner for what it is. As you might be able to guess from my userID, that's what I have (L69 is the RPO code for the HO motor).

The carb and intake are fine. Leave them alone. Get a set of headers, such as SLP or Edelbrock TES, both of which easily bolt right up to the rest of your car. It can use more cam. If your car has an auto trans, it desperately needs a higher stll torque converter.

The HO cars already came with an electric fan (less parasitic loss), higher compression, better exhaust, better gears (should be 3.73s which lots of people on this BBS would kill for), etc. It's a maxed out car as far as performance for its day. It would absolutely smoke a Corvette of the same age, either a carbed 350 one or a crossfire injected one; and it wasn't even funny how much faster it was than the Mustangs of its day, like a second in the quarter. They were the fastest cars on the street at the time. Of course times have changed; but it's still a good car if it's not all ragged out.

Resist the temptation to just change stuff that's easy to get to and un-bolt and re-bolt shiny new romantic-plooking chrome things on in their place. You'll slow the car down. The things that will improve it are invisible.

My car puts a good bit more power to the rear wheels than the factory motor did to the flywheel; but you almost can't tell it by the naked eye. I still run the stock air cleaner, carb, intake, block, exhaust, muffler, and tailpipes (all with over 300,000 miles on them); the only things that are different are the cam (I have a Comp XM264HR-12), the heads(some old double-humps like the early Z28 302s had), and the headers (Edelbrock TES). It's good for around 260 HP at the crank as opposed to the OE 190; makes the Mustang guys sick around a chassis dyno. They get out-pulled by a carbed 305. Hate it for 'em.

 

Welcome Aboard!

RB gives very good advice. I'd consider it seriously before turning the even first wrench. You have a nice, respectably powered car for its age, and compared to many things available even today. There is room for improvement in any system, but you need to consider the benefits you'll get from the money you'll spend to get there ($$/HP). The most effective modifications will get into the $5-8 per Horsepower range, but those are few. A new cam approaches that range. A free-flowing exhaust is probably three times that cost. A new carburetor is way off the scale, since you risk actually losing power with an improperly matched carb, and even a good choice isn't going to provide a lot of power gains.

If you're just learning, learn on someone else's car. You can learn a lot through our mistakes and experiences. The factory did not cheap out on the carburetion, and your current carb can be modified easily to deliver a good fuel ratio to your engine at a lot higher power levels than you are currently running. Simply changing the secondary metering rods, hanger, and spring can drastically change the way the engine runs.

Cruise around the various boards that pertain to your car, and you'll pick up a lot of tips and hints. Check the free/cheap mods in the Tech Articles section of the site for even more ideas. There is a lot you can do for very little cash that can liberate some more power and efficiency from your engine (yes, power and efficiency usually go together - to a point).

While you're looking at various posts on the board, notice that not a lot of the more effective and successsful modifications don't happen immediately, but are part of an overall plan to build the engine and car into what the owner wants.

You'll often see me write "Do your homework first" or something to that effect, and I can't stress that enough. You need to understand what your proposed changes can do to the car before you start unbolting and replacing parts. Once you have an idea of what to expect, you shouldn't be disappointed.

You'll also see my posts about maintaining your car properly (since I'm a maintenance kind of guy). That sparkling new carb and intake won't do anything for performance if the ignition system isn't operating correctly, or the fuel filter is clogging, or the cooling system isn't keeping things under control.

We're all looking forward to your comments and contributions, and following the progress of your improvements. Got a picture of your car to post?