Chevy 350 V8 Mods: Making Power on the Cheap
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f7mvgf6_p1g
Small Block Chevy power for the people!
Chevrolet’s evergreen small block V8 should be celebrated for its utter ubiquity. No matter where you are in the US, you’ll be able to find just about any part to get you back on the road, and have it in your hands within a few hours.
That same parts availability is present in the aftermarket performance market, as well. It can be fairly daunting for someone building a high-performance 350 on a budget to pick the right parts.
Thankfully, Roadkill’s David Freiburger is back with another Engine Masters video to break it down for us. For the purposes of the video, David started with a relatively cheap, basic crate motor with a simple intake, carb, and ignition setup to give us a good baseline.
That “baseline” ended up being a weak 235.4 horsepower at 4000 RPM, and a rather impressive 334.9 lb-ft of torque at 3200 RPM. Those aren’t great numbers, but for the price, we’d be plenty happy. However, David didn’t stop there.
The plan was to stick in a COMP Cams 280 Magnum camshaft, which is under $200 for the cam and lifter package. Next up was the cylinder heads, with an upgrade to Vortec heads from late ’90s Chevy trucks found in junkyards across America.
While the Vortec heads have a few drawbacks and limitations, it’s hard to beat them in the power-per-dollar category. Compared to the older-style, swirl-port heads on the crate engine, they’re a revelation. Picking up almost a full point of compression – 9.2:1 from 8.25:1 – doesn’t hurt, either.
After an immensely satisfying installation montage, it was time to put the 350 back on the dyno and find out what those mods gained. The results? A mind-blowing 397 horsepower and 364.9 lb-ft or torque. Not bad for well under a grand in parts! If you’ll excuse us, we’ll be scouring salvage yards, peeking under the hoods of recently deceased work trucks and family haulers.
