HELP 1950 inline eight preformance

i got a 1950 gm straight eight
i know little about it so im rebuilding it to learn
if there are any sugestions on the rebuild or preformance (as many horses as possible) i realy appreciate it
drock

 

its a pontiac for sure but maybe its a 268 but im not positive

 

Forget about too much more horsepower. Pontiacs just weren't built, they were old mens' cars.
But:
If you add compression, you'll mask the valves, hindering flow;
If you relieve the block (if even you can), you'll lose compression.
There was a high-comp head, but finding it would take a detective years.
Rebuild it, enjoy it, then buy something faster when you want faster.

Cosmo

 

if it were a 1950 Buick straight 8 you cold do this to it

 

cut it in half and weld it back into a "V" shape...
just kidding. stick to the basics and dont set your expectations too high. we did a buick straight 8 with 3 duces and split manifolds and I swear it wasn't worth 30 horses. (it also had a mild cam) I think it was too much! I would try looking at the clifford or offy stuff sites. or just doll it up and let it purr. if you concentrate on trans and rear gears, you could drive with modern traffic, no problem.

 

Agree with what the others have said here Drock. The old straight 8's are a good motor for rollin' down the road at 60, but not much hop-up potential. Don't think Cliffords even has headers for them. The crankshafts are pretty fragile too. If you wanted to rod a straightie, the old Buick would be the way to go. But if you have an old Poncho, and just wanta drive it and have fun cruisin', pretty that baby up under the hood, and have a ball.
D