First off, here are some pics of my car.









I bought it last fall without much knowledge of Corvettes or even cars in general, :o but I've been working hard to learn, especially the last 2-3 months.

Now that I'm done replacing the weather stripping (well, almost; I still have to do the T-tops), I'd like to start focusing on increasing my horsepower. The engine has always seemed a bit sluggish (I know the late C3s weren't made for the dragstrip, but I don't want any old rice rocket beating me off the line at a light )

I did a compression test and got numbers that were all around 115 psi after 4 strokes.

It's a crate 350 with casting numbers 10066036 and the front number is 4VP. After digging around online, it seems that it should put out around 250 H.P., but I'm not quite sure. I'm pretty sure the Cam has not been upgraded. I have an Edelbrock Carb. It's the 1406 Performer 600 cfm model. I have aftermarket performance mufflers (from the P.O. -- i'm not sure what they are), but I don't have true duel exhaust on and I'm not running any headers as of yet. The only thing I've changed in terms of performance so far was when I upgraded to a K&N air filter a couple months ago -- otherwise the pics above don't lie.

I can set aside about $1500 dollars over the next 4 months or so and probably more after that. Knowing these things, can any of you write me up a short, prioritized list of potential mods to get some H.P. gains? As you can tell, I'm not too concerned with keeping things stock. I would also appreciate it if you can tell me anything about the engine or refer me to a website that has specs on it. For example, I'm not sure what the 4VP means (possibly 4 bolts?). Much thanks in advance!!

 

Do the headders and exhaust first. Then have a nice summer. Next winter get inside the motor. You will also know a lot more about what you want next winter and you won't have waisted your money. What ever you do it will still require the headders and dual exhaust.

 

Oh yeah, speaking of winter/summer......I know of no such thing. I live in Hawaii

 

1. Make sure timing is set correctly and carb is tuned.

2. Get/build a CAI...that is by far the best HP/dollar spent. You got around 20hp being lost because sucking in hot air kills HP.

3. Headers and free flowing exhuast

I think after this you start to get into the more expensive mods like intake/heads/cam/etc.

 

When you say get inside the motor, are you talking about upgrading the Cam mostly or just checking out the gaskets and rings, etc? Like I said, I'm kind of a newb, so if you could throw some specifics at me that would be excellent.

 

Isn't a CAI an intake system? What other kind of intake might you be referring to? Thanks for the ideas!

 

yes, into the motor, I was thinking different cam. Heads, pistons... The list goes on.. Don't ask how I know. I am still trying to sort out my little winter project
Just make sure the timing and carb is set correctly and install the headers and dual exhaust. PS, do the exhaust and headers first then tune to perfection. That should do it. Start saving your money. You will have the fever full blown by next winter...

 

I think he is talking about a cold air induction system. This is a ducting system that seals the carburetor intake off from the warm under hood area. It draws air from outside the engine compartment.

The first thing you need to do is to get the ignition system setup properly. Make a map of the centrifugal advance curve. Go here to learn more about that.

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/show....php?t=1430339

You'll also need to do some timed runs so you can gauge your progress.

Then start on the headers and exhaust.

BigBlockk

Later.....

 

nice car

 

Thanks to everyone who has chimed in on this already!

 

Put a 150 shot of nitrous on it and save the money you would have spent on everything else.

 

Ha - I'm no expert on regular engines, but nitrous injected engines is a topic that I'm COMPLETELY clueless on.

 

I am sorry to hear you can't experience all four seasons

 

Well, as you'll see, I tend to look at things a bit differently than the others...

There are quite a few things going on, that could be addressed... But first, let's start with the cheapest (cheap is GOOD! )

I'd suggest a new distributor cap and rotor, and then fit an HEI supercoil on the engine. It should run you about $50. Also, an aftermarket pickup module for the distributor, about another $50. Add in a decent set of 8mm silicon spark-plug wires, and your ignition system (as far as a relatively "stock" motor is concerned) is DONE.

Next, look at your exhaust. At the BARE minimum, make sure you have a free-flowing exhaust system. That means at least 2" pipes all the way back (are your catalytic convertors plugged?), making sure the pipes have nice, smooth bends. No "wrinkling" of the pipes at the bends... If yes, then you're ok. If not, then consider replacing them. Also, consider using exhaust headers. I'd recommend the Jet-Hot coated headers, as they don't rust, and they make for a nice bit of eye-candy...

Since you're in Hawaii, you don't have to worry about running 70 MPH on the highway. Which means you can run "deeper" gears (numerically taller). Say, if you're running a set of 3.08 gears in your car, you could swap them for 3.55 or even better, 3.73... And you'll see an increase of rear-wheel torque of (1-3.08/3.73) ~17%, which is a difference you will DEFINITELY feel when you're leaving the stoplight...

My suggestion (on the rear-end) would be to see if you can swap with someone on this forum, for a center-section which has the deeper gears (you'll probably have to toss in a few $$$ to make it fair), and then bribe the local gear-heads with some beer, to help you swap out the center-section. It's a big job, but when you have someone to help, it'll be okay... After that, you need the new speedometer gear to fit in the transmission, for the appropriate gear-set, and you're good to go.

This will also allow you to thoroughly check out the rear end, so that if you DO decide to step up to higher horsepower at a later date, you'll know your rear-end will handle it (kind of iffy, sometimes, on an old IRS-equipped Corvette).

Later, when the HP bug has REALLY hit, then you'll be able to dig into the engine...

JMHO.

 

Should I order this stuff online or can I get it at Checkers?
I don't think so. Is it hard to plug/unplug the cats? Never done it b/f.
I'm not sure if the chrome looking headers would look good next to my mostly black and red engine, but I'll look into it.

Thanks for all the ideas.

 

as far as online or checkers Try summit or jegs let them know you budget and hp your looking they are very helpful.

 

Thanks, I'll give that a try.

 

nice vette welcome to the club. first thing as stated above headers & true dual exhaust. 2.5 pipes and a pair of magnaflow or flowmaster mufflers. then make sure your timing is set right. Put 93 octane in and you should be good for a while. next think about heads and a better carb, the 600 is ok but no performer. I have the 650 thunder series and its makes a big difference when you step on it. G/L post some pic's of the big island..or just girls in bikinis..

 

That's me standing in front of some lava on the big island. Sorry, it's no bikini picture. Thanks for the advice though.

 

doesn't count w/out the girls.....