[MrPbody]

ETR,

The '77 intake can be modified to flow quite well. The Q-Jet can be modified to support over 600 HP. So, yes, I guess I AM saying that.

The thing about pistons and compression. Pontiacs are quite "finnicky" about flame propegation. One should not use a "dome' piiston with the factory iron heads. A "flat top" is the most desirable. The heads can be milled .060" to rasie it near 9:1. The '77 T/A should have come with 6X-4s, with 94 CC chambers (nominal, must be CC'd to know for sure). Rule-of-thumb is that for every .005" milled, one CC is removed. SBI makes .060" "short" pushrods for this specific need. A 9:1 with a flat top will make more usable power than an 11:1 with a dome. And 9:1 doesn't need fuel from the track, you can buy 93 anywhere.

The stock connecting rods are made of cast steel, too, and GOTTA GO! There are several aftermarket rods available today, and many are very reasonable in price.

Port work should be done by a professional porter or following closely, Pete McCarthy's or Jim Hand's advice. Seat-of-the-pants work can and will destroy a perfectly good cylinder head. Pete has a video available for DIY port guys.

Depends on how "rowdy" you're willing to put up with, but a whole lot more that 400 HP can be had in street-drivable form. Is your car a manual or automatic transmission? TH350 is pretty weak behind a pumped-up Poncho...

Best advice is to get Jim Hand's book, as previously mentioned. Avoid buying a bunch of mis-matched parts. DO NOT build it "like" a Chevy. It will be a pig and blow up... Chevy engines respond to modifications in one manner, Pontiacs in another. But, like the Chevys, and unlike the Olds and Buicks from the era, the Pontiac repsonds VERY WELL to those correct modifications. You get more "bang for the buck" with the Pontiac, than the "other" GM engines. The great Smokey Yunik said about them: "Don't rev it up, GEAR it up!" alluding to the tremendous low-end power they're capable of.

Jim