this guy has a 79 for sell for 2800, it should have a 350 with a 4-speed tranny. what should i look at for problems and whatare some common problems for this year?Also from what Ive read the stock 350s have 170HP what kind of mods and money am i looking to spend to get it up to250HPor so?

 

You can get some performance gains with just a new cam or higher ratio roller rockers. If you want to jump it up some more you can get new heads. Rockers can run from 60 bucks for some stamped ones to 300+ depending on what you get. Remember, you're putting this into a vehicle so it's wise not to skimp when you're going for a specific application. Failure with a vehicle leaves you stuck on the side of the road and usually spending more to get back on it. A new cam can run from 120 and up with it again just varying one what you want. But there's the support equipment that you'll need to get with it such as lifters, pushrods, higher rated valve springs, etc. Heads can cost anywhere for 400 bucks for cast iron up to 2 grand (or more) for aluminum Brodix heads. Headers can give you some extra power also. It's like a lot of people say, "you can ask 10 people on here how to build a 350 and you'll get 10 different answers".

Look for leaks from the rear seal, oil pan, heads, valve covers and front seal. Excessive corrosion of the radiator, body, etc. Check the rear shock towers and their support for any rot. Look around the battery compartment to see if there's any major corrosion. If possible lift the battery up and make sure there's not major structural damage underneath. See if you can pull the carpet up (ONLY IF IT'S POSSIBLY LOOSE) to see the floorpans or crawl up under the car with a flashlight and see if the pans are not rusted out. The rear pans seem to get the worst wear from what I've seen so far. Make sure all electrical is sound by checking lights, gauges, and looking at the harnesses. Most of these are just common sense "look for these" answers to your questions. Some of this is from my personal experience with my 74 and other cars I've had.

Hope you the best in your car search.

 

look at the rear frame rails as well. those rust out on these cars.

 

you have to remember that those horsepower numbers were what the engine had when it was new and tight, not when it was 30 years old and tired. the HP number is probably a lot less than that now

 

I got some pics of the rust spots. If you guys could look at them and tell me how bad the rust looks.

http://i189.photobucket.com/albums/z...o/P1040584.jpg

http://i189.photobucket.com/albums/z...o/P1040586.jpg

http://i189.photobucket.com/albums/z...o/P1040589.jpg

http://i189.photobucket.com/albums/z...o/P1040587.jpg

http://i189.photobucket.com/albums/z...o/P1040588.jpg

http://i189.photobucket.com/albums/z...o/P1040593.jpg

http://i189.photobucket.com/albums/z...o/P1040597.jpg
http://i189.photobucket.com/albums/z...o/P1040599.jpg
http://i189.photobucket.com/albums/z...o/P1040600.jpg
http://i189.photobucket.com/albums/z...o/P1040601.jpg
http://i189.photobucket.com/albums/z...o/P1040602.jpg
http://i189.photobucket.com/albums/z...o/P1040603.jpg

 

It doesnt look all that bad from what pictures I looked at. As was previously mentioned the frame rails in the back of the car to the front leaf spring perch are the most critical, if the front leaf spring perch is rotted it is a real pain to fix and line up(might as well back half). the trunk area where the rear frame rails are spot welded to is prone to rot as is the transition area from the ront floor to the firewall. Check the body mount locations on the front of the firewall area. It looks like a fairly unmolested find.