In the spring I'm going to be getting a custom exhaust done on my car because my friend's buddy will pretty much do it for just abit above the cost of parts/pipes. I've already got used edelbrock headers sitting in the garage waiting to be used, and the exhaust is going to be headers and then 3" all the way back with no cat.

From my understanding, since I have a 305, this may be abit too much of an exhaust system for the engine and I'm going to be losing some low end power. So my question is, what is the best ways to gain some low end power without breaking the bank? As of now, the car is pretty close to stock; ignition is all done, ported intake, holley AFPR, cold air intake, and a new edelbrock timing chain. I'm working on a bit of a budget because I'm in the middle of restoring a 79 TA for collector plates.

I figure that on top of the cost of the exhaust, I'll have about $400-$500 to spend to help bring my low end back up to par. I was thinking about a new cam and some roller rocker arms or something like that. But if anyone has any better ideas, it would be appreciated. Thanks

 

My 305 with hedman long tubes and dual exhaust didn't lose low end power. I spun the tires better than ever and all over the powerband was much better. That AFPR will really help you too. I'm not sure of other ways to pick up better low end, but I think you'll be fine. The big bad 350 guys just want to scare you .

 

Agreed,,,, you won't loose any low end once tuned for the change. After the exhaust, reset your min idle, and make sure you have full travel on your TPS (get as close to 5 volts as you can), set your timing as high as you can for the gas you run (could be around 10 degrees on premium). You'll probably have to bump your fuel pressure a tad and you MAY have to set the TPS a little higher than what you have now (depending on where it is now and how it is running now) to avoid a slight tip in throttle response problem - that is unless you get the equipment to burn your own chip. If you were to feel a slight loss in power right at first, before you do the above changes,,, it would ONLY be because you would be running a little lean with the new found exhaust flow.

 

Gear swap, you have a 5spd so most likely you have 3.23's or 3.42's. Look for some 3.73's.

 

a 350 crank might not be a bad idea and gears would be another good suggestion.

 

Luckily his 305 already shares the same stroke as a 350 therefore basically the same crank.

 

Is that a TBI or TPI? If it's TBI, they naturally have pretty good torque for what they are so I doubt any loss will be all that noticable. If it's TPI, go with the next higher diff ratio gear.

 

Maybe I'm reading that wrong, but TPI has much more torque.

 

TPI has more power overall, but unless I'm mistaken, I believe TBI has more low-end torque.

 

The TPI makes more torque through the mid-range stock and a little more HP. TBI makes more torque under about 2,400 RPM than TPI.

 

Alright good to know. Thanks!

 

Well I'm in a TPI thread so it's a TPI car. Thanks for all the advice. Looks like its going to be a new exhaust and gears for spring.

 

my fault...i knew that put a 400 crank (3.750 stroke) in it. that'll make it a 340 stroker! Thats what i was trying to get out!

 

Hehe, stroking would probably be abit out of my budget, besides, if i wanted a stroker, i'd get a 383