im new to cars (only 16) but i have a 83 cabby and shes my baby i love her.. haha anyways i know i can get more out of the 305 but im not sure what to do first. the heads were freshend up last year thats about all thats done to it. im taking the ac out because my dads freind (knows alot about cars) told me i can pull a few hp out of it bu doing that.. what elts can i do that wont kill me on gas, its my every day driver.. thanks alot

Make it breathe easy, an open type air filter like K+N and dual exhaust to start then mabe headers a better carb., yours, if stock is computor controled and most likley doesn't work well any more, and a distributor with a vacumn advance, and a truck or R.V. cam

i do have duals but not headers.. and i do plan on getting an open air cleaner, and when i take the ac out im putting my dress up kit on.. i hear all about this flipping the stock air filter upside down? can u explain

One of my ElCaminos is a '83 like yours and I did to it what I said in my previous post plus a shift kit in the trans. and a 6 cyl. diff. as for your question about the flipping the air lid in my experiance it makes more noise but no better performance it's much better to drill holes around the outside of the lower housing for more air flow

why go through the big hassle of driling and flipping and not getting a open air filter housing through edelbrock or ur local part stores for like $20?

-Anduh

Welcome GMC kid 190!
I too am a high school student with a 1982 Caballero. I'm glad someone else calls theirs Cabi. I'm not sure if I've got a 305 or a 350, but I will tell you that with my 3 quarter racing cam I do guzzle gas. I can tell you that fuel economy is the hardest part about a high school student owning a caballero. I love the way they drive but I just can't drive that far. Do the basic mods such as headers and getting a good air filter. The best modifications are the ones that give you good gas mileage and performance. I know the feeling to punish imports and Fords and Dodges is probably pretty great at your school, but at the end of the day remember you're probably just earning minimum wage. IThats when I realized that only the rich kids can have the best. Drive safely you've got a really great first car!

I'm 16 too. On my 86, I put headers, exhaust, intake, carb and distributer on mine, but left the internals stock, and It has more power, but won't touch a 350. So I just bought a 350 short block which I'm currently building. I will probably use forged internals, stock size cam but with roller lifters/rockers (1.6), and alum. heads.

I don't know how much power gain you're expecting, but with a 305 it won't be tremendous. there's nothing wrong with a 305, they last a long time, but use the same amount of fuel as a 350 for about 1/2 the power.

I am 17 and have a 1984 el camino. just got er painted.


I wouldent even worry about performance untill i had at least a couple thousand saved up and do it all at once. A part here and a Part there only takes away from gas money and causes weak links to appear. By the way the tickets you will get. Read as much as you can before you start building an engine. All engines work basically the same way.

I would agree with JRSoct24, save up your money from work, birthday, etc. get a 350, build up the 350 completely, and drive your 305 in the meantime. You might as well get your money's worth with the 305 for now, afterall you bought it. You might get a little bit more gas mileage with the 305, one can only hope. I would rebuild the 350 while putting in say a racing cam and other mods. I would recommend products from Holley, such as Hooker headers, Lunati cams, intake manifolds, performance carbs and the like. I was impressed with their customer service hotline, straight up performance! 8O

Best bang for the buck? Swap out the block and the pistons with a 350. Then swap out the rods and the crank with a 400!

remember the stock tranny, rear end and brakes might not handle all of the hp your looking to make

thanks alot guys this place is the best forum iv found for the elkys.. im not trying to make a pro street out of my car but i was just wondering what i could do to the 305 to get the most out of it... iv been working on it w\e i have time taking the ac and crap that i dont need out i have a set of chrome valve covers for it and im gettin an open air filter for it soon.. then i was thinking maybe messing with the gear ratio..what would be a good gear radio for me?

your rear end ratio will depend on the type of transmission u have. If it is original it is probably a th-350 (3 speed 1:1 final drive), in that case, I would get around a 3.08.

If you have an overdrive (th-200-4r/ th700-r4) a 3.23, 3.42, or 3.73 at most should give you OK mileage.

no i dont have an over drive so what are the stock gear ratios for this trans? remember im new to this stuff.... thanks alot

3.42 would be about as big as you should go with 3 speeds. I have a 4.10 posi in mine, for the drag strip, with 3 speeds and tach out at 6000 rpm @ 70 MPH :cry: If you do alot of Highway miles, than a 3.08 may suit you better. 8)

6000rpm and 70mph? Are you sure?

:laughing4: :laughing3: :blahblah: :screwy: :poke: :barf: :banghead: :buttkick:

Hans, my calculator indicates (depending on tire diameter) that at 6000rpm you should be doing 110mph or there-abouts.

Tim....Take your calculator, turn right on Catlin dr, get on N Nimitz hwy to exit 18a, Hwy 92, and jump into Keehi lagoon :mrgreen:

Unless your calculator takes WindDrag and weight it is useless on calculating top speed. :lol:

Wasn't trying to calculate top speed, but I'm sure Hans' Elky can go at least that fast.

OK Hero, figure it out with 275r15s that stand 29" tall.

CALCULATOR (http://www.angelfire.com/fl/procrastination/rear.html)
With a direct drive trans, 4.10 rear axle and 29" tires at 6000rpms your Elky should be going 126mph.

i think he meant 3k rpm before...man thats pretty high reved for only 126mph....i was expecting more like....150 or something lol.

-Anduh

It's that 4.10 gears and non-overdrive trans. If Hans switched to a TH200R4 trans and 3.42 rear gears he could do 225mph at 6000rpms!

I don't know why you think I'm stupid. :evil: I told you square-up that i'm reving 6000 rpm @ 70 mph. :mad: I told you what you can do with your calculator. 8O p.s. Did you vote for my calender pic? :P

edited by moderator

Maybe you are not in high gear; could be stuck in 2nd; and yes of course I voted for your Elky.

There you go again. :mad: I know how to count to three. :? Look man, I know this Elky inside and out, building it from an empty shell to what it is now. I got it with only a rolling chassis, 2.56 gear, no motor or trans, no front clip, no doors, and no interior. I'ts been 5 years now to get it to this point, all by myself. I wasn,t asking for your advice when I stated what my motor revs at, but just stating what IT IS! I now declare i am DONE with this thread! Hans

Mathematically impossible. What do you have for rear tires-Airplane tires?

Well if Hans' rear tires were 16" in diameter he would be taching 6000rpms at 70mph. He did say the tires were 29" in diameter; maybe his ruler is broken?

Mabey the torque convertor is not Locked

i have that edelbrock intake it actually works pretty good i think. if ure gonna go with duals. go ahead and go for the gold dont just get fakes like me it does nothing. and dont get glasspacks they sound like crap. best i can say is u get what u pay for lol. how do u modify gear ratios, i dont know anything about trannys

Hans is obviously mentally challenged. I don't know why you guys tried to argue with him. It's impossible to reason with the "unreasonable"!

8) Hey Hans! If you are still watching this thread is there a chance that your tach might be reading wrong? I had an Autometer that gained 500+rpm for every 1000 the engine turned. Just a thought. :cool:

If ya got that 4.10:1 for the drag strip and it's only doing 70@6000 RPM then your ET's should be pretty crummy. SBC is generally capable of pulling up to 7000 RPM safely and I've built some and known other that built a few that would crank up to 8000 RPM without stuff like titanium rods and pistons, really high dollar stuff.

What, just out of curiosity, are the ETs for the 1/4?

By the way, you seem to be sporting quite an attitude, we're all here for the fun no one is picking on you, just trying to understand.

I had to bring this 1 back. I laughed for a solid 20 minutes. No ofence Hans.