1980berlinettaZ

Ok heres the deal i just purchased a minty 1980 Berlinetta Camaro which the speedo reads 120,xxx km, but the last owner put in a new stock 350 with only 4000km! The last owner was a senior who passed away who had the car covered in a heated garage for 4 years, so i know the car has been babied.

Now, i have 2 grand to spend to get this thing to run 300+bhp with 325lb torque

Option 1: Keep the 350, put on headers, exhaust, holley carb (2 barrel?). With the slight possibility of stroking it 383 style, but with the boring and balancing ill have to do i probably wont be able to affoard it on a college kid's bank account.

Option 2: GET THE NEW BLOCK! LS1 5.7L. I've been told that the stock tranny will bolt in fine. The only other mod i would need is exhuast. Any suggestions on the exhaust? i was thinking 2.5" no cat straight back exhaust. I can sell my old motor to a buddy for 500 bucks no strings. Is the new block worth it? Think i would make it to 300 at the wheels with high performance exhuast?

Any suggestions or info that could pursuade my decision would be greatly appreciated Thanks!

Marc 85Z28

Speaking from experience, most college kids on a budget don't have the funds for an LS1 swap. Regardless of what anyone tells you, it's not cheap, nor quick. As long as you have a good running 350 SBC, might as well work with it until you can afford better.

AL SS590 M6

Ditto.

Marc 85Z28

And unfortunately I may have some bad news for you. Most seniors with smog era Berlinettas don't put in a healthy 350. You'll probably find something along the lines of the typical generic rebuild that's got low compression, poor heads and a puny cam. Figure a lazy ~220HP. Intake and exhaust will wake it up, but you'll need to do a LOT more to get to 300 at the wheels.

Find out exactly what you're working with first and go from there. www.mortec.com will help identify the major engine components and give you a general idea of what you have.

1980berlinettaZ

One of my close friends dad owns an autobody shop and has alot of experience with rebuilds, he says its a strong 350, stock to the bone, approximatly 190bhp, 280lb torque. The heads are poor quality but they will be replaced this winter with high flow aluminum heads.(600$). High performance exhuast(probably flowmaster)(ebay says around 500$, not sure what the actual cost will be). New K&N air and oil filter. I would still have some money to spare but im havin a hard time finding the best place to spend it on. I would be somethin pissed if i only got 50 or 60 rwhp out of that.

Like i said im in college still, but only have one year left untill im an mechanical engineering tech, then money will be less of a concern. This car is going to stay in a garage untill spring time anyways so if it has to sit longer than expected thats not a problem. I just want to find the best use for my money, while leaving room for improvement.

I have unlimited tool and space resources so all this work will be done by me and my grease buddys who blow up their 11 second monsters monthly.

1980berlinettaZ

Does anyone have a 350 that isn't using the factory carb and fuel lines? If so is it worth the cost for the small amount of power i will increase?

1980berlinettaZ

And thanks marc for the website, alot of good info at one source.

Kraest

Exhaust and heads? Get ready to be "something pissed." My guess is 20-30rwhp at MOST on a low compression 350 with a crappy intake, small cam, crappy exhaust manifolds and small carb.

Kraest

You need to change pretty much everything on that motor to make power.... including the internals. Seriously.

If I were you, I'd go the cheap route -- Nitrous.

Start with the exhaust:
Get some longtube headers (cheap Hooker LTs) and exhaust (nothing fancy.. just some regular pipe with a bullet muffler or 2 and turndowns)

Then an aftermarket intake manifold/carb (decent single plane and a 600cfm 4bbl)

Then I'd spray the house down.

That's about the only way you're going to make power with that motor for cheap.

Maybe add an aftermarket cam (21x/22x duration at .050") and some roller rockers.

Finally add some aftermarket heads.

Then once again... spray the house down

Marc 85Z28

The stock pistons, crank, rods, and block will be fine with your goals.

Forget about $600 aluminum heads. You won't find any good aluminum heads for that price, not even used. That kind of money will get you into a set Vortecs though. My recommendation would be finding a set of 305 Vortec (yes, 305 Vortecs - they flow just the same as the 350 stuff but with a smaller chamber for more compression which you desperately need) heads and have them cleaned up. Pair them with an Edelbrock Performer RPM, a 600-650cfm carb, some cheap Hooker long tubes and dual exhaust, and a Comp XE262 or XE268 cam. That should get you really close to 300rwhp and keep the motor civil.

Another good thing about the 305 Vortecs: everyone overlooks them so they're abundant in junkyards. Check the late 90s to early-mid 00s vans.

Not really an LSx thread anymore

1980berlinettaZ

Forgot to mention i have gears 3.73's and i still have 1000 dollars in mods to make it to my goal after headers and exhuast,which i might be forced to build out of 2.5" pieces.(More than enough for dual) I have a good exhuast manifold all i would have to buy is tips, keep it no cat obv.

If i get 30-40bhp from headers, +15bhp exhuast, 3.73 gears, i can still put on used performance cams for 400 bucks, and have money for some good street tires, i will be close to 300bhp i believe.

I have no idea if it will hook up with a setup like this but i can get a welder to indian rig a posi. A friends 240 drift car welded his diff for an easy way to get no slip and its held together for 2 years now.

1980berlinettaZ

I got some good condition heads off a buddy with a 69' short block, he said he would sell for cheap, plus a fair sized cam for 400. I looked at vortec heads and the ones from the csb are better quality for the price im going to pay, but your right about the 305's thats what im looking at.

I wouldn't exactly be happy with 8.6:1 compression but it is supposed to be civil. Ill look at the comp cam but more than likely its out of my price range, if im getting good lightly used parts for half the price they bought them for it saves alot of hastle.

I dont plan on getting to 300rwhp unless i droped in the 5.7L.

Obviously id rather have holley, but wheres a good place to look at Edelbrock carbs? Ebay doesnt got much and i dont really want to pay wholesaler prices.

Marc 85Z28

"Fair sized cam for 400"

Even the SBC hydraulic rollers shouldn't cost that much. It's probably a flat tappet - and new cams should cost just a little over $100.

I hate Edelbrock carbs. Holley's 670 street avenger should work really nice for you.

Kraest

Yeah, but in real life you aren't going to get anything close to that on a low compression motor that doesn't like to be turned up high RPMs... Maybe around 15 horsepower from the headers and 10 horsepower from the exhaust...

You aren't going to get away from spending a bunch of money to make this motor run well. I STILL think that you'll be a far cry away from 300rwhp mainly because of the lack of compression/quench of the severely dished pistons -- getting some heads with a small combustion chamber will help out a ton, but unfortunately won't be your saving grace.

Hopefully you prove me wrong.

Mike

Kraest

BTW -- Moving this to the appropriate forum