Looking for some suggestions. I am looking to gather a list of thing that I can do to my recently purchased 1977 L48 all original engine that can boost the performance and hp. I am not a huge car guy so if you could please dumb the advice down for a car novice like me. Also if you could include estimated cost to do that would be awesome. Thanks guys, I appreciate all the suggestions.

 

what are you expecting out of it, whats your total budget?

They didnt have much stock so spending tons to get you maybe 50hp may or may not seem worth it to you.

Assuming auto trans? Slippery slope here

 

Do you have to pass emissions testing?

 

Yes it is auto trans. No budget as of now, just looking for ideas on what could be done and what costs. I am not against a complete engine swap, but just looking for ideas to modify the original. Yes, I would expect I will have to pass emissions.

 

Headers and dual exhaust $1600
Stroker kit and machine work to occomodate the new pistons and stroke $3500(provided you can r and r the engine)transmission rebuild and shift kit $1400, good heads from profiler to afr or dart, $1200 to $1700,
Roller cam, lifters, pushrods and roller rockers $1200, aluminum intake $250, carb (rebuild of the quadrajet) $200, new carb $400 to $700 depending, various gaskets needed $200, 3.7 rear gear $1200. If done properly you'd be in the neighbor of 500 horse and low 12's to high 11's. This list may seem a little daunting and it don't all have to be done at once, start with the exhaust, do the rear end next, followed by the tranny and the start buying the parts needed to do the engine, alternatively you can do just a top end on the L48 and end up in the 350 to 400 horse range for $3500, shift kit for $ 250 installed, exhaust is still the same $1400 to $1600, and rear end the same $1200. These prices might be a little higher than what you'd pay, but I live in alaska and everything cost more mostly due to shipping. Good luck and every step if the way start a thread on that particular step and search the options here as well as on the web, the forum has a lot of knowledgeable dudes that enjoy helping forum members.

 

It truly is Sad that they put out a Corvette with 180HP

These are good suggestions and I have done just about each of these. I went from a stock 74 with 180HP to now which is not stock I am running about 375HP. I did Exhaust,Cam,Carb and Gears. 3:08 to a 3:73. It truly is an Amazing difference and makes the car So much fun to drive and listen to. Afterward I did paint and a new top, but that is quite a difference in $$ to do it Right.

 

375hp with factory 74 heads? my 74 l48 was advertised at 195hp stock with the L82 option advertised at 250... hp went down after 74 due to tighter emissions and a cat in the exhaust. Ive read many times that the small valve smog heads are one of the bigger limiting factors..




This is just another opinion but it doesnt HAVE to cost thousand of dollars like mentioned above... If saving money is at all important You might want to check with other classic and hod rod forums for other options that can net you about the same gains for much less. simply put if you went there and asked the same question many of the racers and hot rodders would likely give you drastically different opinions than some folks here. Its just a regular old chevy 350 not a ferrari mill ... There are tons and tons of aftermarket options both new and used available. Also ask yourself... are you really going to build the engine to put 100k on it without changing things? are you building it to race in competition? Do you really think the extra $800 to 1000 bucks for things like a roller cam that might net you 10-15 hp if your lucky? the zddp additive for a flat tappet is under $10 an oil change...
I know im already planning for my next engine upgrade myself and all that would have been a waste of money for as much as my car gets driven. Craiglist is full of people trying to recover some of their money from their old builds as they upgrade to 383s or 406 or even big blocks.. Its an addicting hobby
I went with a more budget minded build myself vs the higher end estimates above.... dart iron eagle heads on craiglist with harland sharpe 1.6 rollers for $300, Craigslist 4 bolt 30 over fresh shortblock with new flat top pistons and rings but needed a crank replacement $300= 200 for new crank, intake for $175 holley carb-$160, $200 for rods/lunati cam with new lifters and recommended springs (roller cams are completely optional and not necessary to achieve hp or reliability IMO) stainless header/sidepipes $650 with sweet thunder inserts $200 375hp or so with more than 400lbs of torque for $1500 A high revving forged bottom end is simply not needed for most with factory gearing for the street....

Anyway you get the picture that there a lot of options for in between... Even cheap $600 aluminum heads are going to have the potential for large HP improvements over the smog heads and there are a lot of middle of the road options like one of the many many used edelbrock performer intakes always all over ebay and craigslist for $50 unless your apposed to used parts even when theres nothing that wears out on them..

If you do have a budget, dont get discouraged into thinking its some project you have to save so much for that you never get it done like many here end up thinking. the engine doesnt have to cost more than the car is worth to build. If you got it and want to spend it than great but that doesnt necessarily mean your car is gonna be that much quicker or sell for that much more either, or even that you'll ever utilize that extra power since many newbies mistake torque for HP...

You could get an extra 100hp or so by just going with hyper flat top rebuild pistons with a regular rebuild and middle of the road components at 1/4 the higher all out 383 estimates and such that people suggest. 100hp is a lot.

 

GM perpetrated the biggest fraud known to man by putting out a corvette with a pathetic 180 horse 350. I had wanted a black C3 stingray since I was 5 and thought that they would be fast and bad a$$. Fast forward 33 years and the dissapointment began. For some 180 horse is plenty, for others 600 horse isn't enough. I have done all the things I listed. The op could by a small blower and pump the horse up by a hundred and with the instant torque it would 100 times more fun than stock, just enough to get him addicted.

MY NAME IS BLUE AND I'M ADDICT...LOL.

 

Figure out how much you are willing to spend and remember labor has to be included if you aren't doing it yourself.
Start small and do one thing at a time.

First thing I would do is exhaust.If you have to keep a cat then get a high flow one and a larger cat back exhaust with mandrel bends and free flowing mufflers.Headers and dual exhaust a HUGE plus but gains are there to be had without them.

Putting a performance advance curve in the distributor will make a big difference as well.

A good tuneup of plugs/wires/filters as needed(especially a fuel filter).

After that break out your wallet.

 

How many sports cars from 1977 made more than 180 hp?

 

Probably not many, but it's a corvette...

 

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I wanted more from my 76 L-48 and I was on a budget. I scored some 062 vortec heads for almost nothing, won a vortec intake on e-bay for $75.00, and bought some blemished Hooker ceramic coated headers, (I still have not found the blemish) and these changes really woke the stock l-48 up.

 

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tell me about it. after a bunch of F bodies chevelles etc bought a 73. As a youngster always wondered why older guys only drove them 35mph and would NEVER race. Now I know.

Slowest V8 car Id ever owned hate to say didnt own it long
Too bad sure was a good looker.

Back then nothing made any power, there was gas rationing, lines a block long it was nuts. If your late 70s something car got a decal pkg you were lucky. lol Then came the 80s and breaking 200hp was a huge deal
IROCS and the 5.0s kicked off the next HP war still going today

 

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I remeber being a teen cruising main street in my 72 cutlass supreme and using the circular hand motion signaling for the driver of this black stingray Vette to spin his tires, he looked and just shook his head, at the time I thought that he was being a stuck up rich guy with a vette, that was to rich to lower his standards and smoke the tires on what could possibly be the fastest car on the planet...lmao. I realize now that little smirk on his face was a smirk of pain and embarrassment from getting suckered into the biggest fraud known to ever hit the planet and not part of the stuck up rich guy attitude saying "you'll never own one". Lol..At least they didnt do to the vette what the did to the camarro, and completely remove the ***** and insert a 6 cylinder. I mean ferrari and the likes didn't back down due to the oil prices, instead they continued to stand while they urinated. Sure you payed price at pump and you know that the sticker price was so far out that to even look at it would turn , but the 1976 ferrari had 510 horse at the crank, powered by a Gass guzzling 12 cylinder. Like you said we started to get back on our feet in 1983 wit the ford GT 5.0, 4 speed manual, 4 bbl and quick, Plus's it would boil the rubber right off of the rims.

 

The 1976 Ferrari 512 BB, to which I assume you are referring, only made 360 hp. Also, you are comparing an $8,000 car to a $38,000 car. The Ferrari 308, which only cost about $18,000 more than the Corvette, made 237 hp.

 

Was the corvette really that much in 1976? I thought I read my 74 was only about $3,000 new? I know my 84 was pricey in its day.
Also I am willing to bet there were heavy taxes Leveyed on the limited amount of these imported to the states... Not really the same thing comparing a domestic production car to an exotic handmade car... As far as corvette has come in recent years, there really wasnt much comparison back then. Now days manufacturers can make limited amounts of vehicles that fall into different emissions classes and they pay penalties in the form of "taxes" for these.

I almost bought a ferrari 308 when I bought my 84 used... My old boss had a 308 and warned me about them. The $7,000 tuneups to replace the rubber timing belts turned me off since I was only a kid making like 35k back then working 2 jobs.