Trying to make a 350 street killer out of a 70 Skylark

Ok I have a good question here....whats the diff. between the stage 1 heads for a 350 VS. the stock heads. If there is a big difference I would be intersted in purchacing a set....I know T/A performace has them for $1,000. I'm looking to gain some REAL power from my 350...it was rebuilt about 2,000 miles ago, and I'm really not all that happy with the power its puttin out. Please help, any suggestions will be greatly appreciated. :TU:

Larry :TU:

 

Do you have any track times or dyno numbers from your buildup as is?

 

Right now its pushing 10.25:1 compresson block was decked a little to make it even....stock heads.....30 over with TRW hypertectic pistons....stock crank....mild cam (dont know what kind, but im looking to upgrade to T/A 212 cam) double rolling timing chain...stage 1 fuel pump....stock 4BBL intake with Q-jet 850 cfm on it....Hooker super comp headers with 2 1/2" exhaust running true duals....high press. oil pump as well....recently ran it at E-town with a pathetic 16.2 at 85 mph. Looking to get this motor at leat in the mid to high 14's. I'm still running A/C (dont want to take it off, its still a street cruiser) and still running a points distribuitor....trans has a 2,000 stall torque convert...with everthing set up for street strip trans (semi-manual valve body and beefed up sprag for up-shifts and down shifts) hope this helps out :TU:

Larry

 

Larry you can easily run low 14's with a tuned stock motor with AC. First do a compression test to make sure your engine is in good shape, remember it's not the pressure but consistancy between the cylinders (cam dependent). My cylinder pressure was a consistant 110 psi, which is on the low side due to cam profile (mild). I got my `72 Skylark down from 15.6 @ 87 to 14.2 @ 94 without going into the motor. You need a good exhaust, carb., ignition system, mid-range gears (posi.) and a converter (~2400 stall) that's it.

 

Craig...I do have a 600 holley new in the box in my basement..would you think that would help..instead of the Q-jet? As far as the exhaust goes, I have that prettly well beefed up. What I think is killing me is the gears and the distribuitor (it still has points in it)...the gears I think are either 3:08's or 2:73's I havent really checked, (i know how just too lazy) :laugh: . It broke out of the hole very sweetly when I raced it....its just that its loosing on the mid to top end....the low end grunt is fine...typ. of a Buick huh :laugh: . I have to start looking into the combo between the engine..trans..and rear to really get the full potential of my 350. Thanks for the info craig :TU:

Larry

 

I used a 800 cfm Q-Jet with great success, on the stock manifold. I think Holley's are fine but I would use something larger than 600 cfm even on a small block. Buicks seem to like big carb.'s. I also converted to an HEI which also helped.

 

Ok, so now I'm on a hunt for a 350 HEI for my Buick.....what gears would you suggest..I was thinking along the lines or 3:23's or 3:55's....Im sure that would improve some timing...Would the T/A intake improve on the top end power? Im sorry for the 50 million questions, I just want to be sure if I'm buying stuff.

Larry :TU:

 

Anywhere in this range would be good, I've got 3.42's. This intake would be fine but that's not your weakest link. My advice is first select a gear ratio (posi.).

Carb. and ignition next. You could start by getting what you have set-up / tuned correctly, I'm sure this alone could give you .5 sec. without the gear, 15.7 sound alot better than 16.2.

 

I'm sure that the gears are my weakest link by far....I've beefed up the motor and trans, so the rear is deffinetly next on the list. I'm hopeing with the right gears and getting everything tuned in correctly I will beat that 15.7 time Craig :laugh: . I'll start playing around with it this weekend, if the weather gets a little warmer. Thanks for all the info Craig, its greatly appreciated :TU:

Larry

 

Back to Basics.......

Hi Larry.....judging by your write-up of whats in the car, the way it sits, you should be going faster - both ET and MPH. Before you start changing this and adding that.....i think you should sort out whatever problem exists as it still may plaque you after mods.

My '69 Sky with low-comp 350 2 barrel, 350 trans, 3.23 open rear, points distributor, factory exhaust ......totally stock and not at all "SuperTuned" runs consistant 16.4's at 87-89 mph. everytime.

Using that as a baseline, I would think with your modest buildup, As it Sits, running correctly should easily lop 1-1.5 seconds off of my times.

Somethings wrong, and I feel your time would be best spent looking for the cause instead of looking for a magic bullet.....like switching from points to HEI. Yeah.....that'll help once everything else is sorted out........

My Advice ???

Drive it up to Rob Chilinski at Stage1 Performance and let him diagnose and Dial it in for you......Rob is a great asset to our Buick Community and Im sure he could and will help you out.

Just my 7 cents worth.....

 

I'd say you have a problem there. I ran mine down the track once, and turned in a 15.75@88MPH. It was stock motor. Tweaked Q-jet (not profesionally) with a stock intake, HEI/MSD with recurve, and dual flowmaster exhuast system, with stock manifolds. Also rebuilt trans with a shift kit, but stock converter. Mine is a 4dr, AC car, 2.56 open rear, ran full weight with spare and all.

I'd defianantly start by working with what you have and figure out what is a miss. Check out the Q-jet, rebuild it if it is original. The secondaries may not be opening right. Try adjusting them.
And defiantly run a comp. check on all cylinders. Also check, make sure the mechanical advance is working in the distributer...
Good luck

 

Alan whats the addresss and phone number of stage 1 performance, would be interested in getting my Buick tuned in....I ran this car 5 years ago, and it was able to rip out a 14.9 at 93....cant understand why im having trouble with it... I thought I was dreaming about that 14.9 time...I guess I was right :laugh:

Thanks in advance Alan :TU:

Larry

 

Thanks for the number Larry! I will give him a call after thanksgiving....Hopefully he can solve my tuning problems!

Larry:TU: