230 performance enhancement advice needed - 12/06/04 11:30 PM
Hello fellow inliners,
I’ve been lurking here for a few weeks and have gathered quite a bit of useful information, but this is my first post. I’ve got a few ideas for performance upgrades that I wanted to run by you all as a sanity check for me and to gather any advice that any of you might have to offer. Please comment/question/ridicule as you see fit.
The Car: 1963 Chevy Belair sedan. 230 CID with Powerglide transmission and column shift. All completely stock except for the addition of a Pertronix ignition system. This was my car during high school and college. It’s been garaged for the past 14 years and I’d like to bring it back to life.
The Goal: This car is very big and very heavy which, combined with a not-so-huge 230 and 1.76 first gear of the Powerglide, made it quite tortoise like from 0-60ish. Once it got to speed, it was always a fine cruiser. Any modifications I might make will be with an eye to alleviating this problem. This car won’t ever be a daily driver, but streetability is important to me. Basically, I’d like it to have the pickup required to get along in 21st century Atlanta traffic. Oh yeah – and to look cool.
Possible Mods:
Transmission: Replace the PG with a TH350
Carburetion: Offy 3x1 intake w/Rochester Bs. I’ve considered a small 4 barrel here, but I really like the idea of a carb at each intake port and of course, you can’t beat the ‘tripower’ for coolness.
Exhaust: Clifford headers (shorties if I have to, full size if I can) into a Magnaflow 2 in – 2 out muffler and then 2” or 2.5” pipes to the rear. I’d like to keep the dual exhaust together and run both out the driver’s side.
Cam: I’m really not sure what to choose here. Should I just stick with stock for maximum low end torque or is an upgrade in order? I was thinking of the Crane H-192. (Durations are 192in/204ex and lift is .467in/.498ex). This cam is nearly identical to the one recommended by Tom Langdon for street use in Leo Santucci’s book, albeit for a 250. Also a possibility is the Crane H-260, but at 204/206 duration and 498/530 lift, it seems a bit aggressive for my little 230. One thing that I know I don’t want is a lopey, rough idling car.
Head: Probably just basic porting and polishing, if that.
Thanks for taking a look. Any suggestions are greatly appreciated.
I’ve been lurking here for a few weeks and have gathered quite a bit of useful information, but this is my first post. I’ve got a few ideas for performance upgrades that I wanted to run by you all as a sanity check for me and to gather any advice that any of you might have to offer. Please comment/question/ridicule as you see fit.
The Car: 1963 Chevy Belair sedan. 230 CID with Powerglide transmission and column shift. All completely stock except for the addition of a Pertronix ignition system. This was my car during high school and college. It’s been garaged for the past 14 years and I’d like to bring it back to life.
The Goal: This car is very big and very heavy which, combined with a not-so-huge 230 and 1.76 first gear of the Powerglide, made it quite tortoise like from 0-60ish. Once it got to speed, it was always a fine cruiser. Any modifications I might make will be with an eye to alleviating this problem. This car won’t ever be a daily driver, but streetability is important to me. Basically, I’d like it to have the pickup required to get along in 21st century Atlanta traffic. Oh yeah – and to look cool.
Possible Mods:
Transmission: Replace the PG with a TH350
Carburetion: Offy 3x1 intake w/Rochester Bs. I’ve considered a small 4 barrel here, but I really like the idea of a carb at each intake port and of course, you can’t beat the ‘tripower’ for coolness.
Exhaust: Clifford headers (shorties if I have to, full size if I can) into a Magnaflow 2 in – 2 out muffler and then 2” or 2.5” pipes to the rear. I’d like to keep the dual exhaust together and run both out the driver’s side.
Cam: I’m really not sure what to choose here. Should I just stick with stock for maximum low end torque or is an upgrade in order? I was thinking of the Crane H-192. (Durations are 192in/204ex and lift is .467in/.498ex). This cam is nearly identical to the one recommended by Tom Langdon for street use in Leo Santucci’s book, albeit for a 250. Also a possibility is the Crane H-260, but at 204/206 duration and 498/530 lift, it seems a bit aggressive for my little 230. One thing that I know I don’t want is a lopey, rough idling car.
Head: Probably just basic porting and polishing, if that.
Thanks for taking a look. Any suggestions are greatly appreciated.