I have a 79 camaro with a 2 barrel 305 and it gets up n goes pretty well but it doesnt have any low end. Once your up around 55 you can stomp it and get up and go but I want alot more lowend so it will take off fast and even do burn outs when i want haha. Should I get a 350 and build that up or just build up the 305? What are some cheap ways to get more lowend power? What are some good aftermarket parts I should put in the engine either the 305 or the 350 if it will be better to go off the 350. Thanks

 

It depends on your budget and what you want to do. If you are working with a few hundred bucks or so then obviously you are limited to what you can do. If you are going with a bigger budget then it might be a good idea to get the extra cubes in there. If your just looking to add a little extra kick a carb and intake kit could definitely bring some new life back into the old girl. This is all assuming that the car is in fair or better mechanical condition of course.

 

I have a 79 also it is a berlinetta model that came with the 2 bbl 305 and a low 2 to 1 ratio rear end. In stock form it ran somewhere in the 10 second range in the 1/8th mile. I changed the intake to a factory 4 bbl aluminum($20) and a elderbrok 600 and flowtec headers. The rear end was swapped (big difference in low end) for a gm 12 bolt with 4.56:1 gears the best the car did was around 9.3 in the 1/8th. We then picked up a well used 350 2 bolt main with a broken crank snout for $70. I got another factory crank on a trade for an old carb, had the crank polished honed the cylinders with a hand hone, replaced the rings, bearingsand the oil pump, I never balanced the engine. Went and bought a set of complete vortec heads from the junk yard($200) I ported and did some extra clearancing and reasembled them put them on a .015 coated steel head gasket, got a summit intake 750 double pumper a summit cam (I think its a 420 lift) and used the old headers, crane ignition, 2800 stall th350 trans, 10 x 29 slicks. The car will run in the 8.20s now in the 1/8th on 89 octane, the engine has over 100 runs on it.Idont reccommend building a engine this way our plan was just to test the car outwith this prior to installing the 400 we have sitting but it does give you an idea on where some gains might be. Long story short you are alot further ahead buildinga 350 costs the same to build but the bore size will allow heads to flow better making more power in the process

 

I'll just pick up a used 350 off of someone like I was going to originally. As far as building up the engine, where do I start? I'm new to this and am really looking to learn. My dad knows some about engines so he can help me with it if i need help.

 

well if the shortblocks good then u should start with a good size cam and nice heads. if it needs a rebuild then start by building a stout shortblock

 

How do I know what a good size cam is? How do I tell if heads are any good or not? sorry trying not to ask dumb questions but im new to this stuff and im really interested in it so im trying to learn. Thanks for your patience!

 

How much do you want to spend on the engine is the first thing you need to figure out, second is to find out what kind of shape the engine is in, was it running, smoking how was the oil pressure. From there check the casting numbers to see what you have, block and heads see if the owner knows what it was originally in. Let us know what kind of price range you are looking towards and the other details. I would also suggest some reading such as the Small Block budget engines by David Vizard or the Lingenfelter book on small blocks. This is a good read http://www.bestwebbuys.com/How_to_Bu...?isrc=b-search
advanced engine building stuff http://speedtalk.com/forum/viewforum.php?f=1
general engine stuff http://www.hotrodders.com/forum/engine/

 

or another way would be to find a crate engine put a good intake and carb on it along with a nitrous plate system that'll get u ur goal but again ur budget would help us out building an engine isnt cheap

 

I want to second griff. Big, find a couple of good publications and read all about it. If you get a decent running 350 from someone you wont really need to worry about the internals just yet. Get it running and drivable first with the stock stuff, then think about moding it. There is nothng more frustrating that completeing a build with all new and upgraded parts just to have the mill not work and you have no idea which part doesnt mesh well with which other part.

 

If your looking to build this car to drive a lot think about getting the 350 jasper 350 hp. 380 foot pounds. long block cost about 6,000. comes with a warranty and runs very good have the motor in my 79. 750carb. mild came. you should be able to keep the same trany and rear end. this will wake the car up big time. along with an accel ignition. get a electric fan this will also give you about 15 to 20 hp. electric water pump will give another good hp gain. Good luck put some money into this car it will be lots of fun you will be buying lots of tires .