Cheap horsepower on V8 G-Body?

[dan2286]

quick question people im new to this forum but im trying to do the same thing to a stock olds 350 im my 79 cuttlass and was looking in to the vortec heads and tighter valve springs idea and was wonder for my 350 what kind of car can i find 350 vortec heads to swap and what size would the valve springs need to be in order to get a lil more power?

If you can find some early 330 (#4) or 350 (#5/6/7 heads) .... find a competent porter that knows what an Oldsmobile IS! Discuss a port, three angle job and possibly larger valves ... but even in stock form the stock chambers will boost compression. This needs to be mated with the RIGHT cam choice for maximum effects. Got any ideas on the grind?

so its not as easy as just throwing some heads on. and the wreckers here in the bay area suck! cant find sh*t for gbodys really. and if u do its an arm and a leg to buy. is there an idea on wat kinda vavle springs i sld jus put on my stock ones for now? im jus tryin to get the most power posible without having it sit forever.

Well, it can be. It just comes down to if you want to get the most gain out of changing heads while they are off. If you find a used set of heads, they will most likely need rebuilt. Might as well have a three angle valve job done, resurface them, replace valve springs, replace guides. If you read up on the internet, you can find info on what type of porting needs done on Olds heads to get the most gains and you can probably do it yourself if you have the tools.

Sorry for the dumb question, where is the bay area, east or west coast? I am retarded when it comes to any locations out of Ohio :lol: You will not be looking for these heads out of a g body. They would be in 60's and 70's cars. If you join some Olds specific forums, you will be able to find a set of early heads from a member for a decent price. They usually go from $75 to $150 for a set that needs rebuilt. You may be able to find a set that are ready to go, but that would be more money.

Also, how much more power are you trying to make? With these engines, the best way to make more power is to raise compression by changing pistons and replacing the cam. The heads may give you a sight power increase, but it may not be a real noticeable gain. It won't hurt changing heads now, and when you are ready, pull the engine for a rebuild. That way, when you get the engine rebuilt, you won't have to worry about the heads. If you want a real noticeable gain in performance, change the gears to a higher ratio.

 

[DrRansom442]

I beg to differ head and cam selection is where you make (or break power) on an Olds. An engine is a pump in it's most simplistic of terms. The faster you can draw air and fuel in and expell it. The more efficeint it's working. The weak part of an Oldsmobile build is typically head flow. A head porter with prior Olds knowledge will be a benefit .... not just someone who is used to SBC/SBF heads who will use what he knows to apply to your SBO.
Cam and heads is where you want to drop the most research and money. After that things that compliment these choices i.e. intake, headers, rest of the valvetrain. Figure out heads and cam first - the rest will follow. No since in discussing spring pressures if you don't know your lift right?
Yes, flat top pistons raise compression but so do much smaller combustion chambers. '77 - '80 Olds 350 came with 3A heads which have 75cc chambers. #5/6/7 heads are 64 cc chambers (I beleive my #4 heads are 60 cc). I could have replaced my slugs with flattops and gotten even more compression but hey it's gonna be a street motor and I was deluding myself into believing I was budgetting.
Forgot if I mentioned it though early heads do need to have the head bolt holes openned up. Windowed main blocks use 1/2" bolts vs. 7/16", but this is a minor thing for a good head porter/machinist, and ofcourse early heads do NOT have A.I.R provisions or E.G.R. so this is a non-complient build ... if you MUST comply. You can have the 3A heads decked and ported and still maintain emmissions' equiptment ... bare in mind your build will have to be more conservative ... especially cam selection.

 

[DrRansom442]

+1 on gears .... even a lame duck can move with the right gear combo. This should be the FIRST step, as it will compliment future upgrades.

 

[DrRansom442]

so its not as easy as just throwing some heads on. and the wreckers here in the bay area suck! cant find sh*t for gbodys really. and if u do its an arm and a leg to buy. is there an idea on wat kinda vavle springs i sld jus put on my stock ones for now? im jus tryin to get the most power posible without having it sit forever.

You never just want to "throw" parts on. As much as some believe power is in "bolt-on" accesorries. It's really in the homework. You must get what you have to work together or it's monies wasted. As for head shopping ... doesn't really matter what you have for G-bodies. G-bodies aren't going to be where you want to look for heads. IF you MUST use smoggers heads. Hell I got a spare set of 3As off of my 78 block that I'd be glad to get rid of .... Any offer that covers the freight and my time is worth hearing. Anyone in St Louis can just come and pick emm up. They have been tanked (not sure if they were checked for cracks or not - I found better heads but not before my machinist had already cleaned emm).

 

[loneSTRregal]

heres a good formula for budget power . I build airboat motors for a living and I use this setup alot on the boats and i used in late 78 regal . heres the formula swap the 307 for 350 , ive bought them for around 150 dollars running !! Then get a set of double hump heads , most common casting numbers are 461 , 462 , 186 , 291 , 492 . since vortechs are around the humps are almost given away . Next upgrade your carb , nothing too big 650 cfm should do , buy it used and rebuild it for 40 bucks . Then buy a used intake, performer by edelbrock is cheap and easy to come by when used . last throw on a spacer and decent cam and that will net you around 300 hp , later install 3.73 gears and your gold .

 

[hotrod87]

heres a good formula for budget power . I build airboat motors for a living and I use this setup alot on the boats and i used in late 78 regal . heres the formula swap the 307 for 350 , ive bought them for around 150 dollars running !! Then get a set of double hump heads , most common casting numbers are 461 , 462 , 186 , 291 , 492 . since vortechs are around the humps are almost given away . Next upgrade your carb , nothing too big 650 cfm should do , buy it used and rebuild it for 40 bucks . Then buy a used intake, performer by edelbrock is cheap and easy to come by when used . last throw on a spacer and decent cam and that will net you around 300 hp , later install 3.73 gears and your gold .

This is it

 

[FE3X CLONE]

The easiest thing when pulling an Olds engine is to replace it with an Olds engine.

 

[DrRansom442]

The easiest thing when pulling an Olds engine is to replace it with an Olds engine.

+1 .... besides I'd kind of like to hear some more details on this budget build and see some numbers to back it up. Just sounds like throwing parts together again. Why do we need (assuming) a carb spacer? I fail to see what gains are made there. Typically a spacer is a cheap answer to a minor fittment issue. Not to mention they often lead to issues closing your hood lol. BTW most Qjets are rated up to 750 cfm .... so how is a smaller carb an improvement?

 

[hotrod87]

+1 .... besides I'd kind of like to hear some more details on this budget build and see some numbers to back it up. Just sounds like throwing parts together again. Why do we need (assuming) a carb spacer? I fail to see what gains are made there. Typically a spacer is a cheap answer to a minor fittment issue. Not to mention they often lead to issues closing your hood lol. BTW most Qjets are rated up to 750 cfm .... so how is a smaller carb an improvement?[/quote]
Maybe you should read this http://www.corvettefever.com/techarticl ... index.html . Also, if you roll up some silly putty and put it on a few places on your air cleaner, then gently close your hood....you can see if you have clearance issues or not(without hurting anything)

 

[hotrod87]

sorry haven't figured out how to just quote part of a post