What are some cheap ways to get more power from my 350?

Question

I have an '86 el camino w/ an '87 350 in it. right now it has a four barrell holley carb, edelbrock aluminum intake manifold, stock exhaust manifolds, no cat. converter, and an open air cleaner. what other ways can i make this engine have more power, without spending too much money?

Answer 1

Exhaust headers is about all that is left (& free flowing exhaust system). Nitrous oxide will give it a lot of pep, - (be careful, it may blow up the engine - if you get too much). Connecting rods and pistons tend to "go" - if you over charge it! You could trubocharge it, - or put in supercharger-(obstructs your vision some!) Neither is real cheap! Be careful about advancing your igniton "too far" as it will cause a lot of problems, possibly destruction of engine also- (after a period of time!)

Answer 2

Assuming you can't fork out for a supercharger or turbo system and don' t want the risk of nitrous (probably the simplest and most effective way to more power) The following are more traditional and probably more reliable.
In order of effectiveness:
1) Cam change. Don't go too radical as you will lose bottom end torque. A mid range cam is the best. Ask a good supplier (Edelbrock, Crane) and they will usually be very helpful and on the money.
2) While you are installing the cam, take the heads off. Clean them up, eliminate irregularities in the castings and carbon buildup. When assembling, go for a thinner gasket, preferably metal laminate. Ask Cometic for advise as you want to keep minimum clearance between valves and piston at TDC (Top dead center)
3) Change ignition to a modern contactless one. If too expensive, advance timing by 2-4 degrees, and switch to highest octane gas available (do this on any of the mods).
4) Performance headers.

Answer 3

pull the heads and find a set off of an IROC heads as they have bigger valves and better flow and while your at it get headers with at least a 3" inch collector on the end and have a 3 " exhaust system installed out the back with a crossover pipe connecting them for even exhaust flow. Use low restictor mufflers and install them back as far as you can to the rear of the car Get a rev kit for the distributor and have it set up using the lightest springs and the heaviest wts. to allow for a faster advance on acceleration. The intake you have you didn't bother to say what it's for? Is it a high rise type or a low rise type? Each manifold is deigned for different specs, Get a Hot Rod Magazine and read up on whats offered today as different Cam manufactureres offer a combination of cam, heads and carb set ups to deliver more HP by matching these set-ups for your engine. If you want a quicker car,say from red lite to red lite by changing the rearend ratio to a taller gear like 4.11 or 4.56 or 4.88 to 1you can launch off the line quicker but top end speed is reduced because of this

Answer 4

You have to make your engine breathe better. You have the 4bbl, you have the open air cleaner, you have the aluminum intake, but you need a cam, headers, and a free flowing exhaust. If you dual it off, make sure you have an X or cross pipe connecting the two. The exhaust in one pipe will create a vacuum as it passes the cross pipe and pull the exhaust out easier into the other pipe. it creates a scavanging effect.

Answer 5

the best thing you can do is get rid of the stock exaust manifolds, you will need to rejet your carb and advance your timing would be a good idea to get a hotter spark coil your stock dist should be fine for a street car if you are going to race it then change it to a performance unit depending on how you use the car change torque converter in trans and try a rear gear swap your elcamino can be a very hot car I have outrun some very quick ones in my camaro

Answer 6

I have a ninety 8 Z-seventy one, i have executed alot of inexpensive/loose mods, ok&N intake device further alot of means, you get what you pay for, besides the undeniable fact that the proper mod replaced into the hypertech one hundred sixty degree thermostat(you do not want the programmer to bypass with it.). That replaced into the proper hp progression. A cooler engine makes a cooler intake, cooler air is more desirable dense. you may also try replacing your fan with an electric powered one, there are countless countless sizes that are not that prime priced frequently presented at your community aspects shop. Make/kind platforms are presented too yet frequently more desirable severe priced.

Answer 7

1st you badly need some headers.
2nd i hate to sound like a tree hugger, but cats are pretty cheap, and you would be surprised how little a decent one will affect power.
3rd If you don't know what cam is in there, you could throw in a cheapo one from summit for less than $100 i think. It gives you a good chance to look around inside.

Answer 8

like most said headers and a cam...but some vortech heads and some high ratio rockers with the headers mite be another rute...a larger cam could be held back by crapy heads the vortechs would work great get help from an engine shop too

Answer 9

get away from stock manfold goto headers, if you havent yet get a k&n filter to allow more air... headers for this run about 100 to 150... kn filter is about 35 to 50 bux.. also you can get away from the factory distributor if it still has it cheap would be a accel distributor which sells for 114.99 here.. and the coil for it runs about 60.. also wires that handle more spark accel cheap wires run about 50 bux.. and a good set of plugs autolite makes a racing plug number is ar135 for that one.. about 2 to 3 a plug for starters

Answer 10

Only go down hill. It will seem like you are going faster and therefore think the car has more power. If that fails then just ask some guy with a ford mustang to tow your behind his and then you will really feel the power!