I am about to get a 350 chevy out of an 84 C10 to put in my 46 Willys wagon project. I want to know the best way to get somewhere around 250 hp, but thiis is going to be a daily driver, so I don't want to make the already stellar mileage any worse. I would like to spend as little money as possible, but what is the best way to attack it? Heads? Cam? Intake?
cam intake carb and ignition. 268h comp cam, performer intake, 600 cfm carb and MSD streetfire should get you close as long as the rest of the internals are decent.
If you normally drive a Ford and now you have a 350 chevy and you want to make some serious power, just start that bad boy up. Now if you normally drive a Chevy and you're used too that much power but you want more, then follow the advice from above. Cam intake and carb should wake it up a bit.
^^^ good suggestions. Exhaust manifolds and exhaust set up can tweak it some. Not much but you are saying low budget.
on the 84 models there is a bump in the exhaust manifold or the end of the exhaust port on the head that needs to be ground out/ smoothed as its a restriction for the egr system , if you take the manifold off rub your finger in it and you will find it , unless you have a area limitation headers will help greatly on these motors as they ( log exhaust ) have small ports and alot of restriction , if your running a factory 4 bbl intake leave it alone and just replace the cam , and put a better exhaust on it ( headers and 2.25 pipes )
Most of the power gains will be from a good set of heads. The 96-2001 vortec heads would be a good choice & cheap from a junk yard. You'll want a higher static compression ratio -- smaller combustion chambers. You'll want better breathing -- nice runners and valves. Now you need to pick an RPM range where you want your sweet spot to be. With that you can choose a cam. Once your cam is picked get the valve springs that match it for the heads. Pick a torque converter that matches the cam's rpm range. Mileage stems from the efficiency of the engine and the amount of fuel used to produce given power. If you make your engine more powerful and more efficient your mileage should go up.
Edelbrock sells matched kits, carb, manifold, cam and heads. In the end, you'll have a ball park figure of HP and torque.
Like a couple of guys said above^^^^raise the compression ratio. Yours is 8 to 1, with a "smog" cam. 12 MPG and NO power!!!!!! raise your CR to about 9.5 to 10 area and choose a mild cam of choice. you can't beat a quadrajet carb. that works right. You just gained 5 MPG and 50???? maybe even 100 HP
X2 on above, be extra careful on used vortec heads they are very CRACK prone especially if ever overheated,,,Quadrajet done RIGHT would be my choice
What Vicky says is true.... Simply put, let the engine breath properly. How you get there? well there are many different roads... Most HP and TQ in any engine is made with an efficient top end.... The other thing I want to mention. If you cant hook it up, its worthless to have. SO if your engine is makin power, you need to get it to the ground.
You need compression for Fuel Economy, 64cc Heads will get you there. There are lots of heads out there but used need to be rebuilt etc. Enginequest CH350 Heads are a good choice new under 700 pair ***embled. With something like a 260Adv/212 .050 .440 lift cam, 9.6 Cr and small tube headers with a 600 carb you should get decent economy and about 280 HP. You need around 34 mechanical timing and 16-18 vacuum advance. I did a sim set at 92 PCT (-8 pct for fan, alternator etc), this would be a nice driver.
Thanks, that gives me a good starting point of where to go. In your opinion, what would be the best progression to do this. I would like to slowly get all the parts I need and just replace things as time goes on, so what would be the best order to do all of this?
The 350 as is will probably move that little wagon around pretty good and pull 15 or so MPGs. I'd try it that way first and go from there. Then you can gather your parts up and go back and change it later.
That's the plan, getting it going and on the road is first priority, I'm just trying to make a plan on what order to do things and what is the best way to get the most bang for my buck. But the plan is to put the ****er in and go with it for a little while
The only mod I'd consider doing as part of the install is any headers or exhaust work, it should save some trouble down the road, unless you go Vortec - not sure those use the same headers or not.
If it's a decent runner , I'd just save my coin and do it all in one shot and be done with it .Make a plan with the suggestions by the Hambers , get your stuff and install it. I'd do a bit of reading on the Vortec heads and check the header fitment as there can be sparkplug interference on some brands . Camshaft lift is limited with the stock Vortec spring/retainer package. No big deal with the heads on the bench.
Ok here you go, 250 HP (Conservative SA Net) The stock engine was modeled and came in about 175 HP, factory was 165 torque was 260 on both. Changes: Base Timing is 8 degrees and 20 in the distributor for a total of 28. Distributor recurved to 27 degrees at 3400 RPM with 8 initial, 35 total.; Effect 220 HP at 4,000 RPM. Small Tube Headers 255 @ 4000 RPM New timing Chain, 4 degree retard on stock cam; 265 @ 4500. Here are the first and last runs; Follow the instructions here for the Dist: http://www.pontiacstreetperformance.com/psp/distcurve.html Use a VC-24a advance canister.
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