I have a 1971 Monte Carlo with a 350 small block engine and 350 tranny... I am looking to get more HP and Torque out of what I have.. What is the best way and cost effective way to do this?..

I have been told to get better Headers (aluminum).. possibly Hooker Headers.. and a better Cam shaft (any suggestions).. as well as change my currents gears to 373's.. Will that get me the sound and "giddy-up" I am looking for? And what kind of cost am I looking at?..

Is there anything I will NEED to do to the main block?..

 

Yes, and really.. it depends on what you can afford. There's a significant following out there for SBC stuff, And you can spend anywhere from a couple hundred to tens of thousands really quick.

 

Just how much of a budget do you have?

 

not knowing your budget I will just give a few suggestions for more power without breaking the bank.

New air breather

Headers and true dual exhaust, you can add the H part crossover which will also give you a bump in mid range power.

Edelbrock intake and new carb

Plugs and wires and an msd ignition (depends on how far you really want to go, but they do look nice under the hood)

To get much more noticeable power you are going to have to rip things down a bit, this is where you want to really consider how far you are willing to go, as the sky is the limit. From personal experience boring the pistons 30 thousand and working the heads, or finding a pair of already done heads will give you a noticeable increase, throwing a cam in at this point will also give you a great power combination. This is also where you will be spending some serious money at this point as the work is not cheap and you have to take the motor out of the car and rip her apart, in the end though you will have a much stronger and reliable motor (pending how far you go with things lol, sometimes bigger is not better) as you will have new gaskets and have a chance to address any issues that you or previous owner have put off. Also if you are putting a new cam in, make sure you budget for new rockers and lifter as you will want to upgrade at this point as well, and throw in a nice double roller timing chain to accept the extra ponies the motor will be pushing through.

 

Ken:
Great Suggestions/Ideas!
I would probably also add maybe run a 4:10/4:11 Rear Gear for added Launch capeabilitys. VS the highway 373...

 

Nowadays you can get a new set of aluminum heads for as low as $600. Aluminum heads heads tend to flow better outta the box. You can run higher compression with them and the cool bet as well as reducing weight. My $0.02

 

just doing a bit of research for you and here's what I found

Headers - approx 16 hp and 53 ftlbs of torque, but really need an intake and carb to get full performance as well as exhaust

Horsepower increases for carburetor and manifold are dependent on the rest of the engine; however, gains from 20 to 50 horsepower and the same number in foot-pounds of torque is reasonable. The cost is less than $200 for the manifold and under $400 for a reconditioned carburetor.

Camshaft - Radical cams affect the engine at idle as well as the behavior of the engine in low speed situations. A better camshaft may add up to 20 horsepower and costs under $150.

Heads - A new cylinder head comes with bigger valves, intake and exhaust runners with smoother sides for better airflow. It should be matched to a new camshaft. This fix will immediately add 100 horsepower. The cost is typically under $200 if you are lucky enough to find a used set, a new set is considerably more expensive, but a shop may also be able to do the work for you at around $200

Performing the above mentioned mods will give you approx 156 hp and up depending on your actual combination and what's done to the heads as the more you shave the higher the compression will be. Not certain on the bump in torque you will get but again it will be noticeable.

As David mentioned at this point if you put in some 4:11 gears you will have a nice 1/4 mile runner for around town, and at that point you will want to look in to suspension upgrades so that when you are putting the power to the rear tires it actually does something instead of sitting there and spinning the tires, which don't get me wrong is always fun to do but not when you are trying to do any kind of racing lol.

 

Streetable-monster.... first thing that comes to mind to me is a turbo. You get great street manners when not in boost- but can really make some good power for the cubic inches.

 

Thanks for all ur great suggestions..

I will get the set of headders (hoooker headers????) or any other suggestions?

A comp cam shaft and gear change.. (373).. was told if I go to 4:10 then i will need to change out the rear differential.. (current 8.2 10bolt)..

And changing to a Holley 4 barrel carb..

I'm trying to keep my budget between 4 to 5 thousand..

Not looking for a 11 or 12 second car.. but something that lets my neighbors know I'm pulling out of my garage and going for a ride..

I already have a true dual exhaust (flow master 40 series).. sounds great, but want more..

Also...