Pontiac 350

[Geonyc]

Hey guys just joined this site and it's pretty interesting to see news stories and having the forums.

Can anyone recommend what i can do to my 73 firebird with the 350 pontiac engine. It now has a 4 brrl carb, 3:42 in the back spun by a richmond five speed. I am not looking to race or anything just a little bit more power. On a side note. Exhaust gasket went out on me the other day and went to take the exhaust manifold off and two bolts broke in place now i have to take the head out and get it extracted and maybe re tapped. My question is now that i will half way down into the engine since i have to take manifold off and head, should i throw a summit cam and if so what do u guys recommend? I was looking also at a comp cams kit with lifters, valve springs and timing chain.

Carb- rochester 4 brrl
Gear box -5speed richmond
Gear-3:42
Exhaust- dual w/ magnaflows. Dont want to put headers as they are a pain in the ass and especially with the 4 bolt manifolds that dont seal too well.

I hear thumper455 has a lot of indian blood in his veins. Hope he chimes in.

[DanStokes]

Thumper is Da Man on these. He'll have cam numbers and specs, etc. I don't recommend throwing a cam in anything - they require careful installation.

Generally, a cam with a complete kit (springs, lifters, etc.) is a good way to go. Don't be afraid of a flat tappet cam as long as you follow the directions, buy a decent brand, and add GM EOS or similar to let the lifters break in and live a happy life. I used flat tappets (lifters, same/same) from Delta Cams in my 250 Chevy sixes and had zero issues.

Dan

[Barry Donovan]

I would guess passenger rear exhaust?
beautiful sounding engine when they are good, I hope you can keep it going.
I also like the little 307 olds.
comfortable cruisers..

A daydream for multiport.. excellent candidates.

[Thumpin455]

Did you get the pm? If you want to try the Summit cams, go for the 2800 or 2801, the 2802 is too much for a 350 with manifolds. A set of D port ram air exhaust manifolds flow almost as well as headers, but they're 350 bucks. The nice thing is no leaks. Comp Cams 995 springs are a good upgrade, they're $100 through Summit. They will work with cams in the 550 lift range and with the small cams. Recurve the distributor so the advance is all in before 3000 rpm, and your 350 will be lots of fun.

[Geonyc]

Did you get the pm? If you want to try the Summit cams, go for the 2800 or 2801, the 2802 is too much for a 350 with manifolds. A set of D port ram air exhaust manifolds flow almost as well as headers, but they're 350 bucks. The nice thing is no leaks. Comp Cams 995 springs are a good upgrade, they're $100 through Summit. They will work with cams in the 550 lift range and with the small cams. Recurve the distributor so the advance is all in before 3000 rpm, and your 350 will be lots of fun.

Hey thumper thanks for the info. Question, what do u think if i got a pair of 1966 094 heads off a 428, they have smaller combustion chambers correct? How are the exhaust manifolds on these? I have the four bolt manifolds and dont like them. They leak.

[Geonyc]

I would guess passenger rear exhaust?
beautiful sounding engine when they are good, I hope you can keep it going.
I also like the little 307 olds.
comfortable cruisers..

A daydream for multiport.. excellent candidates.

Right now the way the car is I like it a lot. It has hotchkis suspension all around with bilsteins. Car moves decently, my friend in his 87 350 couldnt keep up with me at a stop light either he cant drive or my 73 got a woof of high octane thag day. The 5 speed is what makes this car such a great cruiser. The exahust is dual and it dumps under the rear seat floorboards. People always assume its a larger displacement engine when they hear it, i love coming down a mountain and diwnshifting, it sounds so good it crackles and pops. I ve taken 10 hour crusing rides upstate ny(this includes stops of course) and it never lets me down. I am just looking for some extra power nothing crazy i want to keep it original.

[Geonyc]

Took both heads out and 2 intake valves are cracked. seems like the engine was running lean and maybe heat destroyed the valves. funny because car ran so good. i think the crack did not go to the valve seat so no compression was being lost. i am at a loss now guys, thump gave me excellent advice but i cant locate any heads locally. I need the car back up soon, almost thinking of ordering stainless steel valves for the original heads with springs and a cam and calling it a day. unless anyone has any leads on heads for this 350P. i am i nyc area.