hi guys. I have a 350 its already bored .030 over to a 355, with a mild cam, and shaved heads. what i wanted to know was how can i squeeze the most power out of that thing for least amount of money possilbe. *i know those things dont really go well together* but im still in high school. i was thinking of a new cam, valves, valve springs and roller rockers for now. then possibly later in the summer, or next year, aluminum heads.

 

What heads are on it now? What size stall and gears are you running or planning to run. Without know these things theres really no way to pick out a good cam. Oh also is the motor a roller or flat tappet motor?

 

right now, pretty much eveything is stock, just cam, and shaved heads. im not sure what size they are? im at 2800 stall, with 3.42 gears, working on 4.10's. I'd like to sink the car well into the 12's it ran 8's in the 1/8 last summer, spinning one wheel almost the whole way (bald street tires to hook up very good) i think thats a reachable goal, right?

 

Do you know what cam is in it now? You would have at least a mild aftermarket cam to into the 8's and you really want to know what heads you have. Check the casting numbers. When choosing a cam you always want to match it with the heads.

 

In order to know what to do to make it faster, one has to know what's already there.

"Stock" isn't near specific enough. It's not "stock" for the car, so we can't go by that. Is it "stock" 70½ LT1? is it "stock" 87 TBI truck? is it "stock" 76 Impala 350 2-barrel? and so on. And, "shaved" is meaningless, as a description of heads. I assume you mean that they've been milled; in order to have any meaning at all, we'd have to know how much they've been milled.

Head casting numbers and an accurate description of the cam are essential; as well as what exhaust it has, what transmission, what gears, etc. etc. etc.

Additionally, one doesn't necessarily work under the hood to make a car faster. All you can do there, is make the engine more powerful. Which may or may not actually make the car any faster.

You say the car spun one wheel all the way down the track.... you know of course what will happen if you make the engine make more power? It will just spin that one wheel that much more. The car won't go any faster.

Sounds to me like you need some work on traction first, and leave the motor alone for the time being.

 

for a tranny ive gotta TH350. like i said before ive got 4.10's waiting to go in there. im hoping a spohn torque arm, and subframe connectors will help traction. as for exhaust, ive got 3inch flowmaster, with mufflers. and i believe there are heddman headers on there? again im not sure. as for other mods, performer RPM intake, holley 650 carb, im not sure what cam its got. im going to try and find out this weekend.

 

Dont forget to pop off the valve covers for the casting numbers. If your only spinning one wheel, then while your changing gears, get a posi droped in. Check out the drivetrain board and read up on what to get, you shouls have a 10 bolt 26 spline rear. Ebay has posi units used, they are cheaper than a set of gears. If you plan on driving this on the highway and expect to get more than 12mpg, then get a rebuilt 700r4 and stay with the gears you have now.

If its going to be all track then get posi, 4:10s, th350. And address the suspention issues.

 

its just going to be a sunday cruiser. ive got a saturn that is crazy good on gas. hopefully i can keep both cars on the road this summer. im doubting it, but im deffinetly shooting for it.

 

Well, once you get the cam & heads identified, then we'll be able to get a much better idea of what to do to it. Until then, it's pretty much a mystery.