Hello third gen lovers. I am in need of some knowledge. I have a 91 rs with a 350 TBI Rv cam in it out of an 88 GMC. The car runs great but I'm looking to get some more power on a low spending budget. What can I do?

Is there anything good about swirl port heads power wise when ported and polished? Or is there anything with can and roller rockers and lifters? I'm jus looking for good ideas

Another side note is it possible to turbo or supercharge a TBI motor? If so how much would it cost and what would I need.

Thank you for any help

 

There's not much porting to do on the swirl heads. A different set of heads would make more sense. You just won't make much power over 4000 rpm. A megasquirt would work well with the tbi to benefit from a cam a head upgrade.

 

What heads should I look for?

 

WHat's your budget?

 

Sadly not much. I'm in college right now so most of my money from working doesn't hit my pocket. I'm mostly looking for info and ideas but if I find that awesome deal I have a few ways of getting extra cash

 

The easiest / cheapest improvement would be a pair of 081 heads. Actually, that's the second best improvement per dollar if yours is an automatic with the original 2.73:1 gears. If that be the case, start with a 3.42:1 rear from a V6 / automatic. Then you're ready for an LT1 cam.

 

A good low budget upgrade would be an exhaust upgrade. Headers, cat, and catback. Also a good wideband afr gauge would be a good investment to see if your engine has any lean areas. If you've already done an exhaust upgrade I would look into a set of Dart aluminum heads. http://www.summitracing.com/parts/drt-127122
You would have to slightly modify your intake. Or you could get some vortec heads and intake with a tbi adapter. You would need to retune after these mods.

 

Those are some expensive heads lol. I'm not sure if I was reading right was that a pair or 1 for $512? If it was the pair I can do that if not I'm **** out ta luck lol. An I already have headers and 2.5 inch exhaust straight piped all the way back. I also have an aluminum intake. What's price range on the vortech heads? If you know off the top off your head
Thank you

 

Those are price each. Vortec heads aren't much cheaper which is what makes those dart heads such a good deal. If you want to do heads I would look for some used heads.

 

Maybe I'll just save up for those dart heads. Do think a nonwc t5 could handle the extra torque and HP those heads would produce? I've heard putting metal straps around the trans will keep it from stretching under high torque. Would that work?

 

It came stock with a manual with I think 3.83 gears. But not sure gotta pull the cover and check it

 

You can get a set of assembled vortecs new for about $600. Caveat is that you will need a vortec intake as the vortec heads have a different bolt pattern and intake port profile. There are cheaper cast iron alternatives that work almost as well as the vortec heads, but will accept standard SBC intakes. A search of these boards should bring them up.

 

Do you have any details on it? The torque specs vary quite a bit across the T5 line.

The small spacing and gears in those results in high forces. Ive never run one, but I've heard some common problems can be the case stretching around the bearings for the counter shaft, gears stripping, case splitting, etc. It will be even worse if its one that has numerically higher gear ratios in the lower gears. Not much you can do externally to stop it from puking if it decides to. It might survive just fine if you take it easy when shifing and dont dump the clutch. There aren't too many cheap alternatives for a weak T5 manual these days. Back when I did my manual swap, a mustang TKO could be had new for a little over $1k, but theyre a lot more now. Cheapest thing would be to try to find a WC T5. If its a good core, you can rebuild it while you use the current one.

 

I had the ratios written down at one point but lost the paper and can't remember them.

 

So if I got the vortec heads and intake would I need some type of adapter to put my throttle body on it? And and would my exhaust manifolds bolt up to them?