cheap horse power

[big10ratrod77]

so im not content with my 350s horse powerits got a K&N air filter flex fan and duel exhaust with summit turbo mufflers. alot of stuff i want to do like headers and intake will go on when i build the engine, but what is some cheap mods for some extra ponys, im talkin mods from 10-80 bucks that WILL make more power

[STOCKISH]

Sounds like you have the "cheap" mods done with the K&N filter. You could advance the ignition timing a little if it is set at the stock specs. Make sure your carb is adjusted properly so it's not too rich or lean.

[piecesparts]

A good quality sparkplug wire set (EXAMPLE: 8 MM MSD wires) with a low resistance rating. The more spark to the plug the better the fuel burn---not to mention the reduction of fuel wastage.

The increasing of the timing setting is a good one, as well as a good match on your tires to your gearing. Too tall of a tire will take away from the acceleration capabilities, to short of a tire will cause the engine to rev higher with no real production of work. What do you keep your tires inflated to? That will make a large difference in fuel economy and HP.

I put an electric fan setup on my DD truck and gained one MPG and a little horsepower from it. The mechanical fans eat about 8 HP.

What size of dual exhaust pipes did you use? Too small of piping will cause resistance int he exhaust and too large will cause a reversionary loss to your exhasut gases that will restrict the flow, also.

If you are interested the install of a MSD or another brand of a multi-spark ignition wil also give you a better use of your fuel that goes into the cylinders.

[big10ratrod77]

the truck had a tune up good set of wires plugs cap and rotor.

i got a 235/75/r15s for tires and i think thats what was factory stock
i keep my tires at 30 psi with a max of 32. what do you mean about increaseing the timing?

i got 2 1/4 exhaust on the truck with an h pipe

would a hotter coil help?

[menace121978]

good advice on the timing. (turn the dist. counter clock wise i think) the only other cheap thing to do that i can think of is take the belt off the a/c compressor and smog pump.

[STOCKISH]

You're not likely to see or feel a difference with a hotter coil. Advance the timing to about 28-32 degrees BTDC at idle with the vacuum advance unplugged. see if that helps and let us know.

[Driveway Dreams]

You may run an underdrive pulley set up on it. My brother in law did one on his newer (mid 90s) truck and said he felt a world of difference. I am not sure on the cost of them though.

[Sniper X]

I tried this with my uh...Ramcharger. Did everything bolt on and never got what I wanted...so. I decided to do a cam when I stripped the motor to put on a new intake. I pulled and replaced the cam with Comp Cams magnum 280H and it was like I doubled the power! it was night and day, and the thing would smoke all 4 tyres in 4x4 Before it wouldn't even spin the 35 12.50 superswampers and it had a 426 wedge motor in it. I did basically the same thing with ,y 85 blazer which had the 350 in it but was totally gutless. The guy I bought it from had said he had a good stout cam in it but right before I bought it he changed it out to a RV cam for gas mileage. He told me it robbed hp and didn't improve gas mileage because now he had to floor it everywhere he went now compared when it had the other cam in it which coincidentally was a Magnum 280H. Now one thing here, EVERYONE was telling me to not go 280 because of the duration and such, but I did it anyway, and the thing woke up the motor big time! It didn't do ANYTHING everyone who all supposedly knew what they were talking about told me it would. It pulled HARD off idle to redline and everywhere in between and was amazing. I suggest saving up a couple hundred and doing a cam.

[big10ratrod77]

the only other cheap thing to do that i can think of is take the belt off the a/c compressor and smog pump.
Today 01:50 PM

i aint got those so im good

i might try the distibutor advance and get my carb right.

I tried this with my uh...Ramcharger. Did everything bolt on and never got what I wanted...so. I decided to do a cam when I stripped the motor to put on a new intake. I pulled and replaced the cam with Comp Cams magnum 280H and it was like I doubled the power! it was night and day, and the thing would smoke all 4 tyres in 4x4 Before it wouldn't even spin the 35 12.50 superswampers and it had a 426 wedge motor in it. I did basically the same thing with ,y 85 blazer which had the 350 in it but was totally gutless. The guy I bought it from had said he had a good stout cam in it but right before I bought it he changed it out to a RV cam for gas mileage. He told me it robbed hp and didn't improve gas mileage because now he had to floor it everywhere he went now compared when it had the other cam in it which coincidentally was a Magnum 280H. Now one thing here, EVERYONE was telling me to not go 280 because of the duration and such, but I did it anyway, and the thing woke up the motor big time! It didn't do ANYTHING everyone who all supposedly knew what they were talking about told me it would. It pulled HARD off idle to redline and everywhere in between and was amazing. I suggest saving up a couple hundred and doing a cam.

well a new cam would be awsome but i want to see how long the engine will last its never been torn down past the valve covers.

would 1.6 rocker arms help horse power?

[60ratrod]

yes the 1.6 rockers will help on that stock cam. i did the electric fan conversion on my 60 and i definitely felt the difference. and if you are looking to do the underdrive pulleys then you can get the serpentine set up from a junk yard, from 4.3 motors all the way to the 5.7 motors. there is a a/c delete pulley that is sold that i've seen on summit since you don't have a/c. i haven't seen underdrive pulleys for anything but the tbi trucks, but the good thing is you can use the serpentine set up on the old style motors

[piecesparts]

Originally Posted by big10ratrod77

the truck had a tune up good set of wires plugs cap and rotor.

i got a 235/75/r15s for tires and i think thats what was factory stock
i keep my tires at 30 psi with a max of 32. what do you mean about increaseing the timing?

i got 2 1/4 exhaust on the truck with an h pipe

would a hotter coil help?

That is decent tire size, try upping the air pressure to 35 pounds when cold and then drive the truck. The 30 pounds will work, but it makes it a litte sluggish.

A 2 1/4" to 2 1/2" exhaust is a good size range, the headers would help in the future.

The timing on your engine is probably set at 6 to 10 degrees BTDC. I personally would not take it to far without the use of a timing light that has an "Advance" feature. I set my timing at 35 degrees TOTAL advance and that allows the initial advance timing to settle out around 23 degrees. however, I am running a larger cam and ported heads. If you want to adjust timing start with 12 degrees BTDC and keeping working your way up to a point that the engine will either not shut off without dieseling or the engine experiences "PINGING" which is detonation in the cylinders, while under a load. That is where I would stopp and back my timing off to a good point lower than the detonation point.

A hotter coil will really help ONLY if you are working with higher compression. That is because a spark will die off under the pressure of a compression stroke in a cylinder if the coil is weak. If you have a problem with plugs fouling, then hotter coils and plugs help in that area.

[Sniper X]

The 1.6 rockers will give a little more lift, but I doubt youll feel any differrence in "seat of the pants power" or that it will be noticeable. I still suggest a new cam, and some roller rockers if you can afford them and youll for sure feel the difference especailly with real headers and a good exhaust system and a alloy intake and riserblock and phenolic spacer.

[dammitmitchell]

200 bucks gets u a cam, springs and seal set...

[mainermikeyd]

When you do a cam swap you dont need to change the cam bearings??

[big10ratrod77]

yea you do my buddy lost a 425 wild cat engine when they werent replaced

[mainermikeyd]

thats what i thought!!!

[dammitmitchell]

umm.. i only have under 30k on the motor since build... so i swapped cams.....
had my cam bearings checked.. fine..
machinest ok'd it... so i diddnt argue....
but hey... u eant horsepowaaah u gotta pay the price...

[asphaltburner]

Yo! Voided my 4 bolt main rebuilt warranties each time by immediately swapping to Crane towing cams from Summit before I even started them. Using roller timing chains and sprockets, I advanced the cams 4 degrees in relation to the crank. Added World heads that have 2.02 intake and 1.60 exhaust valves for breathing and 67cc combustion chambers to increase compression from 8.2:1 to 9.2:1. Roller tip rockers for reduced friction, headers and aftermarket intake, 600-625cfm carbs with spacers for more low end torque, new HEI with springs, weights, and adjustable vacuum advance tuned carefully over many trial runs, MSD multispark ignition, and flex fans. Dump the air conditioner stuff, and any other weight you can throughout the truck. Add the appropriate torque converter (if automatic) and you've done what you can without boring, stroking, blueprinting, porting, etc,...the motor.
Tune for, and run, high octane fuel (if you dare to afford it!) will also help some.
Have fun! Todd.

[dammitmitchell]

roller rockers.. u big punk! that's the only thing i havent done that i realllly reallllly want to..

[Moostifer]

your exhaust & H pipe aren't doing any good without headers! shop around on C-list, swap meets, local classifieds, on here, and find some USED headers, they will be in your price range.

you didn't mention how many miles are on this motor, so for the rest, I am assuming that the valve train you have now is in good working condition... no wore out springs etc...

buy a NEW hydraulic cam/lifter kit with a small lift and duration. you will NOT need new springs, rockers, or push rods, if you stay conservative with your cam choice. IF you are very careful removing the old cam, and very careful installing the new cam, YOU WILL NOT HAVE TO CHANGE THE CAM BEARINGS. If I installed new cam bearings every time I changed a cam, I would have a couple of five gallon buckets full. In fifteen years, I have changed cam bearings four times and that was on three different motors (350, 396, 454), and only because I was doing complete rebuilds on them.

I know a cam swap is a little out of your budget, but that, and the headers, will make the most noticeable difference in power.

[big10ratrod77]

yea ill be lookin sum headers im just afraid to break the stud off in the head becouse its my dialy driver but i will keep my eyes open for some.

well on the performance side dad adjusted the carb on my truck and he got it perfect like i got it out on a back road and stomped on it and it took off like a bottle rocket so it runs better now. but dont headers lean out you engine some?

and could yall break down all this timing stuff i dont quite understand all the terms yall used

[60ratrod]

all headers do is free up the exhaust flow, giving better power and in some cases better gas mileage. as far as timing is concerned, when someone talks about your timing being at 6-12 advanced, they are talking about having your vacuum advance disconnected for initial timing setting. when they talk about anything over 12-14 degrees, they are talking about total advance, with the vacuum advance connected. usually when you set your timing, you will do it/check it with the vacuum advance disconnected, because its easier to check and set your timing with out having to guess where its set. and most of the time you set the timing before top dead center(btdc).

[Thumpin455]

Originally Posted by mainermikeyd

When you do a cam swap you dont need to change the cam bearings??

No, to change the cam bearings you have to drive them out with a special tool. That requires the plug behind the cam to be driven out. Its not typically something the shade tree type can do, but you can change a cam without removing the cam bearings.

What you need to replace are the lifters on non roller cams. If you use lifters that have been run on another cam, you will flatten lobes real quick. Roller cams dont have that problem, and you can reuse hydraulic roller lifters provided they are in good condition.