after i do my exhaust(parts ordered, just need to sandblast the headers and por20 em) im looking more into doing a cam/intake/carb replacement. my engines stock, so stock heads and all, stock bottom end, and i know im not getting a roaring monster out of her, but just something to have fun with on my 305 w/ TH350. I've been browsing other boards(one for malibu) and they have reccomended the rpm performer from edelbrock or the air gap edelbrock. I was wondering what ya'll are running on your elky, anything to stay away from? I was looking at doing heads too but have since been turned away from them because i can't really see investing another 800-1000$ for heads on a otherwise stock motor. I want a cam with a mild/street stance so i can get a half decent idle, as well as pull some better power. I've heard the air gap makes you lose low end power, would the dual exhaust and air gap be a good combo to get 60 ft times, or should i just stick to the performer rpm.

one last question, the performer says something about not being street legal....now i have never seen a cop checking serial numbers off someones intake, so what does this mean exactly?

I put my engine in last week, pulled out a 305 and put in a 350, but they are both Chevy SB. I have L31 Vortec heads with .550 lift spring upgrades(593.00 for pair new), Edelbrock Vortec Air Gap Performer(like 200.00) as far as air gap losing low end torque, she'll spin the tires from take off untill you get out of it, Comp Cam XE274H .487/.490 lift( there IS no decent idle, at 800 rpms in gear at a light, it lopes like hell, but response is awesome 97.00), Holley 600cfm manual choke(more than enough carb, I have had NO problems with fuel or air starvation 253.00).

I have alot of other stuff, used Comp Cam hi-rev lifters, push rods, rocker arms. I figured if you are gonna do it, just do ti right, don't half step along the way, you'll regret it. You can see my finished engine BEFORE it went in car on members rides/5th gen/page 3/Humble Beginnings. All in all I spent about 3300.00-3600.00 bucks on the engine, but the only thing I used old was block(bored .030 for fresh start) and rods. Everything else was replaced. If you use Vortec heads, you WILL have to buy a set of shorty headers. I got mune at chevy dealer for 117.00 bucks.

as far as air gap losing low end torque

A 1" composite spacer will cure that problem real quick....If you have enough air cleaner to hood clearence. But then again, that's the perfect excuse to add a cowl hood if you don't already have one!

Look honey, that darn carb. sits higher than the fender line, I guess I''ll need that cowl hood now to finish... :P

heh more like "look dad, i am spending a lot more money then expected on the car...." :)

well shortie headers are out of the question, as i just spent 750$ on long tube and dual exhaust.

and the idle you were talking about, thats what i consider a good idle ;) mines just too stable.....heh

anyways, is it a problem running a cam on stock heads? i'd get the kit so it'd come with new lifters, just i'd leave my heads alone. this is my daily driver so having it out of commission for weeks while i rebuild the motor is out of the question, i can finnegle like a week w/o it, but much more then that is risky. I suppose the airgap is good then, do you have any sound clips of your camino?

I am lucky I can even upload pictures...lol. Gimmie a call and I'll hold the phone at the back of the car....rofl.

well i would, but a 350 bored out with that agressive of a cam will sound nothing like my 305 stock, maybe it'll give me an idea of the lumpiness....im game for calling lol, they make exhaust clips online, why dont they have cam clips!!

Weiand Action+ intake, Elgin cam (.420/.443 lift "RV" style cam), Edelbrock 600. All this on a stock engine with stock/milled "882" heads. Torque curve is great for a daily driver, idles well @ 800rpm.

does well mean lumpy? :)

does well mean lumpy? :)

You can tell it's not stock, but it's far from radical. Maybe, umm, a "healthy" idle 8)

healthy is good :) i like healthy....now for the real question im not doing heads, so will stock heads be able to handle that cam? someone reccomended the comp cams 268...will my stock springs handle it?

the technical data from my engine you can find here
TECHNICAL STUFF (http://www.elcamino.rockcrawler.com/technical.html)

you can use stock heads, and have bigger valves put into them. but the best way to go is a set of aftermarket big valve heads.
my 406 has a crower hyd. hauler .500 - .518 lift and a .232 - .242 @.050" w/ rpm performer intake and 750 carb. lots of lope.. streetable barley..

The 268 is a little "rough" at idle but not so radical that you can't deal with it and it is the largest that Comp says you can have without a Stall Converter. However with the 1.6:1 rockers it is a bit more than a 268 now. Here is a trick. Use 1.6:1 Rockers on your intake and 1.5:1 on the Exhaust. You'll defiantly notice the improvement in performance. SC magazine has done several issues where they've done this and dyno'd with a nice improvement.

Here is what I have in my 383.

Cam: Competition Cams Xtreme Energy XE268 Cam kit.
Specifications:
* Advertised duration: 268 intake/280 exhaust
* Duration at .050 in. cam lift: 224 intake/230 exhaust
* Gross valve lift: .479 in. intake/. 480 in. exhaust
* Lobe separation: 114 degrees
* RPM range: 1,800 to 5,800
Proform Extruded Billet Aluminum Roller Rockers: 1.6:1 Ratio
Edelbrock 64cc Performer RPM with straight plugs Heads (1500 - 6500 RPM)
Edelbrock Performer RPM Air Gap Intake (1500-6500 RPM)
Edelbrock Performer 750 CFM Carb

elkypete, i like the set up that yer runing, i been considering running the same kinda set-up.. i wanna run Edelbroock Performer RPM everything, the only question i have fer you is, i was thinking about running a 600 cfm or would i be better to run a 750 cfm like yerself, or should i be ok with a 600??

John

Depends on you. 600 / 650 is good. I will probably go a little larger XE274 perhaps in the future but the 268 produces good torque along with the Edelbrock set up. DD Dyno said that combo produces about 380~390 Hp with capped headers. I can't say for sure I've never had it in a real dyno. Comp ratio is about 10.2 ~ 10.3:1.

The 1.6 - I / 1.5:1 E rockers are more noticable for stock heads and Vortech. For the performer heads it doesn't gain you anything, from what I've read. I want to get a newer block, one piece rear seal, OEM roller lifter galley etc... There is a quicker response from roller lifters better RPM etc.. But that will wait for a while. My engine has just been built, less than 2600 on it so I have little reason.

I noticed that GM Performance parts sells a 383 Short block. So should the need arise then I'll do that it has everything I would look to upgrade now. And my Pistons would work on it.