The "Other" 350s re-visited.....

While the big-block cars get all the press and people fight with machetes to buy them, the fact remains that there are hundreds of thousands of  LeMans, Firebird, Ventura, Cutlass,Omega, and Skylark,and Regal models out there built from 1968-77 that have 350 cubes under the hood. If you have or want to buy one of these cars don't despair. If your buying one to swap a 455 into, then by all means do it; but if your not planning an engine swap these "other" i.e.-non-Chevrolet 350s can be made to run to pretty damn good. Good enough that you'll surprise some smug big-block owners in a drag race. # 1. 350 Olds. Out of the BOP ( Buick , Olds, Pontiac ) 350s the Olds engine has the most potential. The reasons are two-fold-one their a large-bore, short stroke design. Two-there was a factory high-performance version-the fire-breathing W31. Olds 350s respond well to basic hot rod tricks-4bbl carb and intake, headers and dual exhausts, cam upgrades. If you have a heavy car with an automatic-most '70's Cutlasses-you want to go for maximum torque. That means 1 5/8 headers and a dual-plane intake like the Edelbrock Performer. I'd also use the matching Performer cam. This simple combo will make more than 350 lbs of torque from idle on up which will give you some great street performance. I'd also change axle ratios. Most '70's Cutlasses had 2.56:1 or 2.73:1 gears which is not conducive to good acceleration. I switch to something in the 3.23:1-3.42:1 range. This will give you a huge boost in 0-60 and 1/4 mile acceleration without hurting drivability or freeway cruising rpm too much. If you want a wilder combination-dig for '68-72 heads. These have 70cc combustion chambers which will give you a full one point boost in compression over later 83cc heads. On '75 and later blocks you'll have to re-tap the bolt holes in the heads to change from 7/16 to 1/2 inch bolts. Not a big deal. I'd use the Edelbrock Performer RPM intake, or if you can find one-( they've been out of production for years ) a single-plane Holley Street Dominator. ( I had one on a 403 Olds T/A and it really woke it up ). The vaunted W31 had a cam with 308 ( 232@.050 ) duration and .474 lift. It was so lumpy that W31s were only available with a 4-speed and 3.90:1 or 4.33:1 gears, and couldn't be ordered with power brakes because the engine didn't make enough vacuum to operate them! This is because the Olds engineers took the cam out of the 400 /455 Ram Air engines. Plus you have to realize this cam is cut on 1966 profiles and is not computer optimized. If you "gotta have" it-and have a stick or an automatic with a 2,800 rpm converter and are using 3.73:1 or 4.10:1 gears-it will run like a scalded cat. But your giving up quite a bit of low-end and mid-range torque for top-end rush. The cam I like better is made by both Lunati and Edelbrock. It has 224 / 234 duration ( @.050 ) and .496 / 520 lift. You'll need some roller rockers and different pushrods but Harland Sharp has you covered, and Crane and Comp Cams also sell adjustable rockers for Olds engines. You'll still need a 2,500 rpm converter and 3.42:1 or 3.73:1 gears, but this cam makes 11 inches of vacuum at idle and has a lot more low and mid-range torque than the factory W31 cam, yet still pulls hard to 6,000 rpm and beyond. Edelbrock claims 397 hp and 400 lbs ft of torque with this combination. 400 hp will make any street car an absolute rocket. There are people who go wilder than this-using factory or Edelbrock 455 heads, custom domed pistons, and a custom ported intake, etc-but to them my question is this-If you need more than 400 hp and 400 lbs of torque, and have that much money, why aren't you building a 455 instead of a 350?  # 2. 350 Pontiac. 350 Pontiacs respond well to 4bbl carb and intake, headers and dual exhausts, mild cam,etc. I'd recommend either a factory '67-72 intake or an Edelbrock Performer or the old P4B if you run across one at a swap meet. For cams the Edelbrock Performer grind is great as is the factory "068" cam which Crane, Comp Cams, Lunati and others make exact replicas of. Again-most '70's LeMans, Firebirds and Venturas are going to have salt-flats gearing; swap the 2.56:1s for something in the 3.23:1-3.73:1 range for a stunning improvement in acceleration. These simple mods will give you 325-350 hp and 400 lbs of torque. You simply amplified what the factory did-made big torque at low rpm. If you need more than that then you need a 400 or 455, period. The limiting factor is the 350 is a small-bore design. The big-valve high-performance heads used on the 400 and 455 engines necessary for big power can't be used because the valves will hit the block. Some people will talk about releiving the block to clear the big heads, but why?  If you need that much power then just build a 400 or 455.  # 3. 350 Buick. The Buick is last for two reasons-one-unlike it's Pontiac and Olds cousins-there was never a factory high-performance version. Two-there is very little aftermarket support. Edelbrock doesn't even make a manifold for them, and they make manifolds for everything-including 472-500 Cadillacs, Flathead Fords, Hondas, LS motors, everything. There's just no parts available. There is one company called TA performance-don't ask me why-they don't make Pontiac parts-they do Buicks-and they offer aluminum intakes, cams, headers etc for 350 Buicks. You can make 290-340 hp and 375-400 lbs of torque pretty easily with parts from TA. Beyond that you'll need a 400-430-455-which Edelbrock, Crane, Comp Cams, Hooker, and many other companies DO make parts for!!  Hope this helps the owners of the "other" 350s out.  Mastermind