my engine
 

i swaped the 305 in my 1988 camaro for a 350(stock rebuild), what would be the first thing i need to do to start beefing up my engine and if i would start putting new performance parts in it will it out work the older ones, also good brands of parts to use to get started............thanks dudes

since when is edelbrock a good brand ? hehe :cool:

what about hooker or headman? which one is the best

I would go hooker, best performance for the price.


-Basically, you want to start with bolt ons. A header back system is a good first mod, you'll add around 20hp there.

-Then throw in K&N air filters: 5hp.

-Throttle body coolant bypass: 5hp/ 8ftlbs (Yes, I have seen a dyno)

-Gut Airbox and do a home made 'ram air' system by ditching fog lights and running 8" HVAC to the intake (you can do something cleaner, but I used this and you cannot see it unless the intake is off). Not sure about the HP number on that one but you will not fall on your face at 4500rpm anymore...maybe 4800.

-The last true bolt on you can do that isn't getting too involved (and will actually make you power) is a new set of runners from SLP or AS&M runners, with an intake port match to accomany them. Although this intake mod is crucial, you will not reap the full benefits until you can get a free-er flowing set of heads (in a perfect world you would want to get rid of the TPI system totally and go with something like a Holley Stealth Ram intake.)

-Other miscellanious ones you can do are a higher output ignition coil, higher capacity plug wires, throttle body air foil, etc. Although these things will gain you power, it will be very minimal, and your money can be spent elsewhere where it will actually make a difference.




After that, you are talking about getting involved, the next obvious things would be heads and a cam, maybe a better intake, but at that point you have to make sure the rest of your car is ready for that much power. If you are putting out 400hp+ but spinning the tires from a launch, you might as well be making 200hp and hooking. You want to be able to put down as much power to the ground as possible. This means looking into chassis and suspension mods: Boxed lower control arms, lower control arm relocation brackets, tubular torque arm, sub frame connectors, and the one thing that will help the most, slicks...BUT when you start making that power and using slicks...bye bye stock rear. Then you have to look into putting $1000+ into beefing up a 10 bolt, or $2000+ for a 12 bolt or Ford 9". The other red flag is the transmission...will a stock 700r4 hold that much power? Yes, but not for very long. There's another project dipping into the four figure dollar amount.

Now, I should really be the one to talk, as I am making an estimated 380hp after heads, cam, bolt-ons, computer chip, etc, and I have not yet done suspension mods, rear strenghening or transmission strengthening (other than a trans go shift kit, but whoopdy doo), but at the same time, I have the mentality of "I'll fix it when it brakes". I am however in the process of the suspension mods, but I just want to let you know first hand here that I know what I mean here.


(In this post, I assumed you had certain parts: TPI, 10bolt rear, and 700r4 trans. If any of that is different, let us know and your application might change.)

As far as part numbers go, start searching on Summitracing.com and looking up parts for your year make and model, and do some browsing...that part is all up to you =)

Sticky tires and a 2800rpm converter will do wonders for starters, especially with the added torque of a 350. When I say sticky tires, I mean 255/50/16 Nitto's or ET Street Radials. Is this a TPI engine? If so, SLP runners worked well for me, along with the port work needed to match them to the plenum. If you're staying with stock heads/cam, I'd like to reccomend nitrous oxide. A simple 100 shot from a Nitrous Express wet kit.:D A stock 350 TPI car with ET Street radials, 2500-2800 stall, 100 shot, + other odd bolt ons would be a hell of a ride for not a whole lot of money. Most people focus on all of the little bolt on mods that gain 5-10hp here and there, I'd rather just try to focus on traction, getting into the powerband, and boosting torque BIG TIME with a nitrous hit.

WOW, great posts guys(lespaulgoth and autoroc) that helps a bunch, the only thing is i have a turbo 350 transmission rather than stock for that year. so after the headers start looking into heads and cam? should i buy both at the same time and install them in at the same time? thanks for the help dudes!!!
Ps, "LesPaulGoth" do you post on http://www.ultimate-guitar.com/ if not its a great place for anything you want guitar wise, fourms, tabs, etc.

As a matter of fact I do, under MirrorrorriM, occasionally.

As far as heads and cam, you need to do lots and lots of research to get the best combination for the buck. Certain things have to mesh together to get it right (airflow of heads vs. lift of cam / lift of cam vs. strength of springs in head / can the stock intake feed what you're putting in to get maximum efficiency and power? Are your injectors going to be able to feed the power you'll be putting out?) Basically, it's a project and not something you can just jump into. If it's something you'd really want to do, I'd suggest picking up a Haynes manual, reading the engine overhaul section, and doing a search here, and on www.thirdgen.org on terms like "heads and cam swap"...something to that effect.

A turbo 350 should last you a while, a buddy of mine ran 400 crank hp in his chevelle in front of a th350 that only had a trans-go shift kit. He beats on this thing constantly, and about a year later, bang out went Reverse. We have since swapped in a 4spd M20 and it's been doing wonders.

EDIT: as far as buying the cam and heads at the same time and putting them on at the same time, yes, it is the convenient thing to do, since you need the intake off. If you can afford to get an intake as well, I'd do that too, again, for the convenience, as well as it will compliment your heads and cam like you wouldnt believe. At the very least, hog out the stock intake, that is what I ended up doing. Not many people realize this, but you can infact siamese the stock runners to the plenum. Not nearly as much as aftermarkets, but all the way to the edge of the top flange of the runners. Visually, this opens up the plenum a hell of a lot so I can only imagine what it is doing to increase airflow.

cool dude, you know your stuff, thanks again for all the help i'll start looking into all the parts and knowledge, i need and need to know. thanks again buddy