Increasing Horsepower in a 1972 Chevelle Malibu?

Question

just bought a 1972 Chevelle Malibu for dirt cheap. I wanted to increase performance and horsepower but i am new to this and wanted to know what i should do first and what the necessary steps are to complete this. Can i customize the current engine to perform how i want or is there something else i should be doing? I was told right now it has a V8 350/350. With these changes do i have to do anything different with the trans?

Answer 1

Yes you can get more power out of the stock engine..

Being your a novice, I would start with simple, bolt on parts...

Exhaust will get you a good chunk of power.. A set of long tube headers with 1-5/8" tubes, 3" collectors... Dual 2.25" pipes, and 2 good free flowing mufflers.. Dynomax is IMHO one of the best mufflers out there now.

Next.. an alum intake like the edelbrock performer RPM, along with a 600cfm 4bbl carb.

A lot of people don't know this little trick.. The factory set the timing curve up slow, and timing retarded alot. Get a dist. re curve kit, and put 1 stiff spring and 1 light spring out of the kit into your dist.. This norm will bring full mech. advance in around 3,000 rpm (Chevy had the curve set for 4500 rpm or so before it reached full advance)

Then set your timing to 16* at idle. Most stock dist. gives around 19-21* mech advance, so by setting idle timing to 16* that gives you 36* total and thats the common amount for best power on most SBC engines.

Do a norm tune up, using AC Delco spark plugs..

Change the fuel filter, put a K&N air filter on it.

The above listed stuff should gain you 40-70 HP

Then start reading all the car/engine info you can.. Study up on how engines work, learn more then you can get into cam, head, etc swaps.

Answer 2

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RE:
Increasing Horsepower in a 1972 Chevelle Malibu?
just bought a 1972 Chevelle Malibu for dirt cheap. I wanted to increase performance and horsepower but i am new to this and wanted to know what i should do first and what the necessary steps are to complete this. Can i customize the current engine to perform how i want or is there something else i...

Answer 3

Since you bought it on the cheap then maybe you want to stay on a budget. First thing is first decide how you want to use the car (around town vs highway, street vs strip vs mixed street/strip). Decide on a budget, be realistic on what you can do. If you start going hardcore performance then you will have to change more things on the car to keep things working right.

If you are spending some cash, then a 700-750cfm (vacuum secondary) 4bbl carb and a Edelbrock Performer manifold. Tubular full length headers and dual exhaust. Set your timing yourself - there may be free hp and gas mileage there. I dont think you need the Performer RPM manifold unless you are doing more mods and are changing pistons. These things will add ~70hp I would think. With more money, rebuild the motor and add forged high compression pistons, port the heads, add larger intake and exhaust valves. If you want to go hardcore, a solid roller cam and lifters, roller rockers.

If this is a total 'on the cheap' operation: A pretty cheap boost is dual exhaust. Tune you carb and timing after its installed. Borrow a timing light and set your timing anyway as you may be leaving power at the table already. K&N airfilter is always good. The next step is a toss up between the intake/carb and looking into the gear ratios. Changing the gears on what you have now can make a night and day difference.

Remember that if you put a big cam in it then you will need a stall converter in the transmission and drivability changes drastically.

I would think that tranny is fine with up to 450hp or more.

Answer 4

1972 Chevelle

Answer 5

72 Malibu

Answer 6

If you want to get anything out of the engine change the cam. 4 barrel and intake and exhaust . That was the beginning of the smog years and 72 was really detuned. i put a 327 275 hp top end on mine and that did some justice. Put hei ignition in it ,if it still got points . Owner of 72 Malibu

Answer 7

first off id find out if it had the original engine in it,and see how much power it has,if it is the original its the last of the high compression engines,so it will be easy to add horse power to it,,headers ,larger cam and good intake and 4 barrel carb will help it a lot,there's no end to building that engine,you can go as far as you want to with it,its possible to get 600 horse power from it,all it takes is skill and a lot of money,good luck with it.

Answer 8

this is a list of some stuff i have done to increase the horsepower in my 1984 chevrolet monte carlo: 1)Increase the size of your car's air filter or reduce the size of its intake piping 2)Replace your intake manifold with one made of smoother material, or simply polish it to buff out any imperfections 3)Add a high-performance exhaust system to your car 4)Install an intercooler 5)Add a turbo charger to the cars engine 6)Switch the engine's head with one that has multiple intake values and exhaust valves 7)Exchange the ROM chip in the engine control unit of the car 8)Decrease the weight of the car

Answer 9

start with the small things and go from there, like changing the exhaust, add headers, change the ignition system (distributor) change the intake and carb. these are just a few ideas. these changes are mild and you wont have to do anything to the trans or rear end, but if you continue after this, i.e. cam, heads and so on be prepaired to invest money in the trans and rear end

Answer 10

Save your money and invest in Treasury bills, at present paying a return of approximately 6%. Unless your 72 is a cream puff, you will only receive back what you paid for the car. Drive the car in it's present condition for 6 months and see how the car holds up before puting out more money. If then you still desire to modify, sites to check for modifacations are: www.gmparts direct.com
www.classicindustries.com
www.rockauto.com
www.yearone.com
www.edelbrock.com
www.summitracing.com
www.shopmufflers.com