hey guys, i bought a 1974 355 after i got my bird. Ive got all the recipts for the parts that are in it but some are kinda vague. I would like to put some new parts in so i know exactly what i have in there. SO far i know ive got the Stock GM crank, new Forged Connecting Rods and TRW Forged Pistons with Chromoly Rings. a 270 duration cam, Thats what the recipt says. No other info. an edelbrock performer RPM intake, and an edelbrock 600 CFM carb. The heads are stock heads off that block but i am reasonably sure there were new valves, pushrods, and rockers installed.
Now so far i have on my list of things to buy, a holley "red" fuel pump( to replace the stock mechanical one), the MSD Super HEI 6al kit, and a Holley 650 DP Carb. I was also gonna look into a set of 1.5 Roller rockers.

Do you guys have any ideas of what else would be good to put in this engine to wake it up a bit more? Or should i just buy that stuff and get some 3.73's instead of lookin for more internals to buy.

 

The 600cfm carb is big enough, I guess I would look into a set of Vortec heads instead of the other stuff. The stock ignition is fine untill you start to really spin it over 6,000 rpm. It its an auto replace the converter with a higher stall and you can pick up around a 1/2 second in the 1/4 with just the stall and the head will add another 40hp or maybe more. A set of 3:73 gears wont hurt either, but it will scream on the highway, I turn around 4 grand to keep up with traffic on the highway and its just a little over 3 grand at 55-60.
you dont need the fuel pump either, there are alot of guy with way more power than you will make running mech. pumps.

 

Well i had a chance to get a set of vortecs but i missed out cause my w-2 forms havent come in yet. SO i gotta find sometin else.
Ive got a t-5 in the car. and the 3.73s shouldnt make it go too bad on the highway, Ive got 3.23s right now. The 600 i belive needs a rebuild anyway and im gettin a great deal on the holley. The damn thing make nearly no power over 4500 for some reason, and i think its fuel/spark related. thats why im going this way with the new carb etc. Also the mechanical pump was the same one that was on the 160K 305 that was in my car originally. so i m pretty sure its not really up to me beatin the crap outta it.

 

Stock heads will definately hold it back, and may be the reason power drops off above 4500 RPMs. Most anything, including 305 LG4/L69/LB9 heads would be better.

I'd also vote for the 650 DP. With a manual tranny, you want that, unless you're power shifting, and you don't want to be power shifting a T-5.

Of course, you never stated your intended use of this car.

 

Rock a set of Trick Flow aluminum heads. They flow a little less than the vortecs up to .4" and then take over at .5" and above. They're about the same price as a set of worked vortecs, but you can keep your old intake manifold. That 270 cam might be a little light for the engine too, you might want to consider possibly dropping a higher duration roller cam in it. The cam might be worthless without heads that can flow though.

 

Yeah this car is just a street car. I want a solid 13 second car. something which i know is attainable with what i have. i woudl love to get the actual stats on my cam and it pisses me off that i dont know them. And No im not power shifting the T-5. i know all too well what that does.

 

You know, I pull low 13's with the crappy motor I have. It's a '72 smog 350, so low compression stock bottom end and heads. The only thing I have on/in it is some high overlap, low lift cam that I had laying around (I don't know the stats either), an Edelbrock Performer dual plane intake, Edelbrock 650cfm Performer carb, and some cheapy hooker headers. The real umph comes from the 3.73 rear end and the light geared L6 M20 transmission. If you want 13's without a lot of power, just swap the rear gear and be done with it. A 3.73 runs fine with my 1.0 ratio 4th gear, so you having an overdrive'll be just fine with a 3.73 on the highway.

 

Id skip the 650 dp and go for 750 the 750 will run great and gives you plenty of room to modify in the future. I run an 850 on my 355 street car i wouldn't reccomend that though because there are some drivability issues that im fine with others may not be and it required alot of tunning. The 750 is the only way to go.

 

well im gettin the 650 at quite a deal which is one of the reasons why im buying it. and i dont think i will be modifying the engine a whole lot more unless it blows up so i dont think a 750 will be out of the question in the future. i think the 3.73s will help out a lot, and with the increased fuel and spark, i should be able to really get this engine to perform like it used to.