1971 Skylark

[bushkin]

I have a 1971 Skylark Custom dual ext, 350 4 brl coup.Engine runs great 68,000 mi.Can I get much more horsrpower by putting 3 inch pipes,alum intake,maybe bigger cam. Is it worth it? I dont want to win races just a little more kick.I just dont know much about engines.

Thanks

[maxwedge]

Welcome to AF. Most major cam companies can provide a slightly more aggressive cam, I'd stay with the Q Jet 4bbl, a dual plane aluminum manifold is ok, 3" exh. is too large, maybe 2 1/2. If the engine is untouched I would do a valve job with hardened seats to restore some of the original power and be able to use unleaded, of course this assumes the short block is good. Do a cylinder leak down test to check the rings.

[98 Riv]

3" exhaust is too much, go with a 2.5" mandrel bent system, with good performance mufflers. Aluminum intake is not much better than the stock 4bbl intake, unless you are upgrading a lot of other areas, such as cam and headers, though it does give good weight savings. The stock 350-4 intake works pretty well. The leading vendors for the 350 Buick are www.taperformance.com and www.postonbuick.com

Head porting is probably the best bang for the buck upgrade, but is not cheap. There's a TON of knowledge on these engines on v8buick.com