265 Bolt on Upgrades?

[MrSony]

Plus if you're looking for horsepower with the 265 all you can do for a noticeable improvement is
A) Rebuild the engine w8th the limited selection of aftermarket hop up parts which will maybe get you at max maybe 250hp and the car will be immobile for a period of time
b) Keep driving it as is, give it a tune up, oil, etc
and build another engine for it and gather parts. You can swap them in a few hours time. Less with even a somewhat experienced friend.

 

[fleming442]

c) add a turbo *bonus points for blow thru EFI (Hi, Zach!)

 

[Ribbedroof]

Since A) He doesn't want to swap, and B) Nobody has said it yet LS swap !

Seriously, not a lot of potential there to improve....similar to hopping up a Chev 267. All the power of a V6, and the fuel economy of a big block.

 

[pontiac guy]

His car will have the CCC as '81 was the year every passenger car platform had it on the gas engines. Unless he's in Canada then it's all good.

I always forget if it's 81 or 82. So go with the 4 bbl and I take. You'll have to get a distributor as well. Do all the rest of the stuff I mentioned and it will be a lot more fun to drive. Ignore the naysayers. The 265 isn't a powerhouse but it's not junk. It does exactly what it was designed to and does it well. If you are really feeling sporty, a step up on factory cam wouldn't hurt either but as was pointed out it is a V6 displacement. The valves are tiny, the bore is small, and compression is low. In NA trim it isn't going to run down much but it will still be a fun driver.

 

[jiho]

Beautiful car, BTW.

 

[Doug Chahoy]

Theres a website HOWARDS CAMS, sells Pontiac only cams 265-455

 

[olds307 and 403]

Probably your best bet for a cam, along with a 4 bbl 301, intake and carb along with dual exhaust is the 301 170 hp cam. You need to stay small, about the smallest I found at Howards or Lunati is borderline too big, 204/214 or 215 on a 112 LSA which borderline too big for a 265. I was hoping Lunati had a 207/207 112 LSA or tighter cam for Pontiac like Olds, they do not. I can tell you a TH2004R trans and 3.42 gears is a good improvement. I had that along with shorty headers and dual exhaust on my 260 in my heavy 88 Cutlass. It provided decent performance and helped the 105hp/205 ft feel acceptable. I was in the same boat, only an Edelbrock SP2P intake fit it and the bottom end was toast which was effecting power in the end. I had a 204/214 cam on the shelf but kind of thought it was too big. Good luck.

 

[rubio9800]

thank you everyone for the feedback!
I have my research cut out