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350 upgrades

hillbilly deluxe

hillbilly deluxe

Professional Pile-It
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Mar 6, 2007
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Aurora, CO.
Hey everyone. I would like you opinions on using a 350 in my 73 sub. It's what I've got. It runs really well. I put on a new q-jet and distributor recently. I have headers and custom exhaust. Other than that it's all stock. It has always kept clean oil.
The problem is as many of you know it is not powerful enough. Well, let me be specific. It's fine for cruising trails, town and general highway use. It sucks trying to go up I-70 or any other pass for that matter. The 465 pretty much is never in the right gear. I was thinking about doing some mods. Pistons, cam, intake manifold and heads. I want to know if anybody thinks all that will be worth the money and effort. Will I put it back in after the mods and be happy? I know alot of people are going to tell me to put in a 454 or a diesel or whatever but I'm interested in using this motor. Thanks!
 
My honest opinion is that if you have a motor that works good now, leave it alone. :)

What are the gears and tires you are using? Is it possible your combo is making it harder for the engine to work? If you can't get up a mountain pass, unloaded, going 60-70MPH, something doesn't sound right. As old as the truck is, I'd think the gearing to be decent, but I don't know for sure.

My bone stock, worn out 305 with 3.08 gears could pull mountain passes at the speed limit, so a 350 shouldn't have any problems doing the same, if unloaded.
 
lower rpm torquey cam makes sense , good coil and plug wires makes sense , a decent set of heads could be considered a bolt on if you have fundage .

Messing with the shortblock isn't really neccessary until the ring seal is gone . And even then , attention to detail and quality parts is all you'd need . Like some decent flattops , Cevite bearings , melling pump , cloyes chain and gears , and speed pro rings . While again having the cam truck use orientated and favoring the low end ...............Its too easy to go overboard and have a motor that is more light car orientated than truck use .

I'd go with lower gears , especially if you have larger tires .

My 305 woke up the most with 4.56 gears versus the 3.73's that I used previously .
 
Okay here's my setup:
350-465-205
4.11 gears
37" HMMWV tires
Dana 60 - 14 Bolt with Detroits. (Truck is at the shop now, soon to be an ARB in the rear. Yes the rear. I want to quit eating up expensive tires now and will put another one up front when I can afford it.)

I had the truck weighed when I was hauling some scrap metal and it is 6000 lbs. I don't see it getting any lighter either because I still want to do a rear bumper with tire carrier, roof rack, dual batteries, air compressor, rock sliders, rear winch, t-case doubler, blah blah blah, etc etc etc. You get the point.

It's a tough decision. A diesel may get better mileage but a diesel may or may not do much better on the passes. A 454 would do better but I am weary of putting in an even bigger engine with these fuel prices. It's a cost/benefit equation I'm trying to figure... I could probably get a used 454 or a diesel for $1500-$2000. Or put that money into this motor.

See how stumped I am? :confused: I would love to hear everybody's suggestions.
 
There's no replacement for cubic inches..or longer stroke motors...in my book.
That's where the torque is.

If you can find a good running big block or diesel for 2K I'd say run with that.
Maybe a 500 CI caddy motor would fit what you are looking for...
 
I'm not a pro nor do I have any experience with larger tires, but I'm going to agree with pauly in that you might want to try gearing first. Its cheaper in the short and long run versus going BB or diesel. You might want to tweek the timing (someone else can maybe tell you whether to advance or retard the timing) and see how tht affects performance.:D
 
If the bottom end is strong and you want to throw 1500 or so into it. This is what I would do:

World S/R Torker heads with 67 CC chambers to bring the compression ratio up to 9 to 1. (This is assuming you have the stock dished pistons)

Comp 4x4 extreme Cam & Lifters. I cant rember the grind # but they have a 4X4 cam good for 1000- 5200 RPM that is a very strong low range and midrange cam. It works great in heavy trucks.

Edelbrock Performer spreadbore (to fit your Q-Jet). Or Air gap Intake manifold.(Spreadbore).
Dont get a Performer RPM manifold as it is a high RPM manifold.

Top it all off with a MSD or other performance distributor.

With a weekend's worth of work and a little $$$ you will have a nice little powerhouse. You MPG should not take a hit and you will have plenty of power & torque to turn those 37" tires with 4.11 gears
 
I would go with vortec heads, a new intake (required with the vortec heads) and new valve covers (also required with the vortecs).

The kit here would be a good way to go

http://www.jegs.com/p/GM+Performance/749896/10002/-1/10187You will also need a set of centerbolt valve covers, there are many choices here.

Replace the cam with one that other people here are recommending, just make sure you stay under .475" lift (max for stock vortec heads).

All that stuff will cost you $1100-1200 and you should pick up at least 50 hp.
 
Yeah. The Vortec heads are a good choice and a better deal . Less money than the Worlds and same gains in HP. As long as you dont need an EGR valve they work great.
For a heavy truck like yours I dont really like the Kit mentioned above because the intake manifold is a Performer RPM, and a is made for square bore carbs. It is a high RPM manifold using a Holley or edelbrock carb. So you would need a new carb.
If you could get a Performer spread bore manifold instead it would be great. You can use your q-Jet and dont have to deal with all the Holley/Elelbrock offroad issues.
 
Hmmmm... It sounds like everybody thinks the engine would do good with heads and such. I think changing the gears would be a good idea. The problem is I already dropped the truck off to get the ARB put in and I know that there's a carrier size difference if you go above 4.11's so I'd be screwed and spending a ton of money. Mght call that guy.
I don't have an MSD distributor but I do have a brand new ProForm with a 50000 volt coil. Also a brand new JEGS Q-jet tuned for a truck 350 (it was only $300!). That stuff stays. I like Q-jets no matter what anybody says. I need to change out the wires. They're not that old but they were exposed to header heat. I just recently Pulled the headers and wrapped them with fiberglass tape. Holy s%#! That stuff is amazing. I could sell it. You can drive your truck, then stop, open the hood and touch your headers and not get burned. My buddy showed me his and I was out blowng $90 on it the next day. (You can get it cheaper on ebay)
Thanks!!
 
I say that if you plan to rebuild the motor you have, might as well start from scratch. You can buy a decent shortblock/longblock, probably less than $400. Machine work, new pistons, rebuilt stock heads, cam, oil pump, etc. would be around $1200. Then you have everything brand new and it will last. Sell your old motor for 4-500 and you are even better off.
Hell- if you want to pay the shipping I could build you a decent runner for 1200...
 
if you go all out and rebuild current engine, make it a 383 stroker, the added torque will help alot soecially with decent heads a truck rv cam and performer manifold. if you have dual exhaust put in a crossover pipe as well if you dont have one already.

or since its apart and you pan on doing the front later you could put in some 4.56's or 4.88's to help turn thsoe big heavy tires.
 
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