I recently purchased a '79 vette and want to increase the HP. I'm inquiring about the best bang for the buck. I.E. intake, carb, headers, etc. I don't want to spend a bunch, maybe $1000. It's a 350 stock all the way and not very powerful. AT tranny. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

 

It sorta depends on whether you have an L 48 car or an L 82 car. L 48 cars respond pretty well to intake/exhaust mods that are likely within your budget. The breathing needs a lot of improvement in order to free up any real horsepower.
After you do that, the cam and heads would be next, but this is a little past your stated budget.
I don't know too much about the L 82 other than is a higher compression motor with different higher flow heads more radical (though not very radical) cam, and 4 bolt main bearings.
I think for only a little money it would be harder to get much more power out of the L 82 because it is already a "tuned" engine.
I am not an expert however, just sort of repeating things I have heard hear in the past.

 

hey builder, im suffering from the same thing bought a 79 and wouldnt mind some more horsepower BUT from what i gather, easiest thing to do is like the post above says, intake and exaust. that will add a couple more ponies to the car for a very little price tag. other than that, if you want some serious kick, you could look into an engine swap (yearone motors are really cheap at the moment) i believe you can get a 400 hp 400 torque from yearone for like 3-4 grand? i remember seeing a sale on their site. would cost 5grand to install i plan on either going with a yearone motor or an lsX later on (once i pay off my card )

 

I knew I forgot something. L 48 I think. I'm not positive and can't get to the car due to winter storage so I can't get the vin to find out. Thanks for the posts. I have looked at the motors on yearone, but this motor is in good shape with very low miles, so I think I just want a power boost instead of a huge project..Thanks again

 

Okay, here are some basic tips (in random order).

- Remove the smog junk if your state allows it. Saves some weight, simplifies stuff underhood and reduces a bit of pully drag.
- Dito on the airco stuff, if your climate allows it Saved me 60 lbs together with the above.
- Replace the boat anker manifold with an aluminum one (L82 manifold, Edelbrock performer or something equal). Better/more flow and you save 24 lbs.
- Go true dual exhaust by ditching the Y-pipe. With some simple welding you can make it true dual for cheap.
- If your state allows it, ditch the cat (aready implied by going true dual ofcourse).
- Leave your spare tire (and carrier) at home, saves 40 lbs.
- Do a tune up: fresh rotor, spark plug wires and airfilter plus resetting the timing do miracles.
- Spend some cash on a new cam, the stock one is less than wimpy. There are several affordable cams out there. Personally enjoying a CompCam XE268H very much at the moment.
- Cast iron vortec heads seem to be a great upgrade. Although you have to research the right type and they require some machining to accomodate higher lift springs. Also you need a different type of intake (angle and bolt pattern differ).
- The legendary 'camel hump' heads are great too, but also require some research to get the proper ones.
- As your heads are 74 or 76 cc, I think any 64 cc head with equal or bigger valves would/could be an upgrade. Compression is your friend on a L48 (stock compression 8.1:1 or so).

Happy upgrading, I found doing the research, asking the questions nearly as much fun as actually upgrading the car

 

Thanks worship. I know that post took a few minutes to create. Love the info Thanks again...

 

You should ba able to find a bunch of Head\cam packages out there that is proven for the 350 and pretty cheap. A nice torque convertwer would bring that thing to life as well.....Tony

 

I saw this the other day and read through it.. kinda funny, they start with the same cheap block/heads that are in my car currently.

It'll give you a good idea of what you can expect from different parts. Remember though, this is strictly at the motor, not at the wheels, and the numbers are likely a little inflated.. but it still makes a good point (and lists some prices)


Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7, and Part 8

 

Not trying to bust anybody's chops here, but keep in mind that these articles were written several years ago, and the prices have gone up quite a bit for some of the items. Still really awesome articles, tho!!!


Scott

 

Go to duals & replace cam which L-48 needs badly. Comp cams 260H or similar works well for many w/ L-48 auto.
See what many refer to it as my Exhaust topic. http://www.corvettefaq.com/c3/ganeyexhaust.htm
AL. intake can be done at same time as cam. The Q-J works well for many. Heads can be done later if wanted.
Tuning & Timing are basic & should go w/o saying.