350 2bbl Build-up

Q: 350 2bbl Build-up

I am trying to figure out the best way to get performance out of my 350 2bbl.

1. Whant is the best Intake
2. what would ba a good carb.
3. What would e the Biggest cam I could use with a stock valve train
4. How much can I mill the heads

The reason for this is to keep the stock motor and for the Sleeper look with April gold paint and Ivy gold Interior!!

A: The 350 2 bbl buildup has been discussed at length both here and on www.classicalpontiac.com, I suggest getting a cold one and do some reading. Just go to www.classicalpontiac.com, click on QandA, then try BOTH archive #6 and the current QandA and search the title for “350”.

Also, I reccomend going to http://www.classicfirebird.com/hand/hand.html and reading the complete series of articles by Jim Hand.

The best “peformance” from you engine varies depending on your goals for the car, so it would be best to give more detail about what you want to do with it, from a quiet easy to drive and mild mannered street machine to a lumpy idle, no low end torque, race engine.

Also, I’m always an advocate of following this sequence when building up a car.

1. Decide on some general goals for the car. Why? Because your car will have the best “performance” when all components are matched up well and working in harmony.

2. Tune, Tune, Tune. Why? Because you’ll need to learn how to do that well anyway when you’ve built your “ultimate” engine, and you can often squeek a lot more performance out of your current engine, for almost no money.

3. Start with everything EXCEPT the engine. Why? Because to make the most of your car you will need to do this anyway, and sometimes this may be all you want/need. Start with rear end gears (remember, matched to your goals), tires, and transmission/torque converter.

4. Now do your engine stuff…….

Finally, here is the very, very short version of answers to your questions…assuming a “normal” streetable car.

* 1967-72 Intake
* Quadrajet
* Duration wise no physical limitation. Lift around .450 General consensus is no more duration than 214/224 at .050 but I have no personal experience with cams this big in a 350, and some people run bigger ones and are happy.
* If virgin, .060 is all you can go. This will take 12 cc from the chambers.

There are caveats to almost all of these answers. Again, a good search of the QandA on classicalpontiac.com will expose all of the details.

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