i am about to start a project. its a 81 trans am turbo and im wanting to build the origanal 301 turbo. any potential with this engine? any suggestions?

 

301 is usually tossed in favor of a 400 or bigger Pontiac or Olds or a 350 or bigger Chevy. The deck height is lower on 301s, so while perf heads will bolt on, there is no intake available that would make the swap worth while. And the better heads have bigger chambers so compression ratio would drop even lower. etc, etc. That's why guys that aren't going for a full resto put their $$$ into a better engine.

Might also want to ask over at TAC: http://transamcountry.com/home/

 

People have built up the 301's, but it's expensive and not worth it. Will cost you more to build a 300hp 301, as a 500hp 455.