Power vs. Looks

[moliva1568]

Good afternoon everybody. i'm new to this post as well as a new caprice owner and i must thank you guys for your questions and answers alredy posted. they have helped me with a lot of questions i had about my new car. it's an 84 caprice classic with approx 48,000 original miles. perfect for me cuz i'm no mr. fix it.

to my question,
i have a lot of idea of what to do but no experience or expertise in doing them. i read all your posts about hp gains and they sound like fun but my budget won't allow the performance upgades and visual upgrades i want to do at the same time. with that said, can anybody recommend or point me in the right direction of a great sounding exhaust system, preferably dual which will work with a 305 and is compatible with a 350 if and when i get that far. also, headers, intake, etc. not really concerned with power gains, yet. just looking to upgrade the appearance and give her a nice little growl. i'm also looking for the chrome trim and panels to replace. thanks for your help.

[silicon212]

You can't just go bolting performance parts onto the engine without doing the whole package. Headers might get you some better economy, and they might give you a little more top end on your LG4 305, but they will likely hit low-end torque performance on that 305 and this is where that 305 is already short power-wise. You have to take into consideration things such as primary tube length, collector diameter and length, and reducer size etc. Also, you will have to retune the carb a bit to compensate for headers (on these cars, you need a dwell meter to adjust the carb as it's computer controlled).

For an intake manifold, I'd recommend an Edelbrock Performer 3701 intake. Works very well with a 305, and can be used on a 350 with equal results.

There's not really a legal dual-cat dual exhaust (true duals) that you can get for it. You can get a 'split pipe' or Y-pipe and make the system dual after the cat. Where to get one of these? I can't really tell you. I fabricated mine myself out of an LT1 Caprice dually setup and some angle pipes from Autozone.

You can obtain a deeper sound with a FlowMaster series 40 muffler and a resonator in the tailpipe. You can get the tailpipe/resonator combo at a junkyard for perhaps $20 or so.

In short - forgo the headers for now, upgrade the intake with the Edelbrock 3701, and try out a Flowmaster 40 with a resonator.

[moliva1568]

thanks for the help. like i mentioned, i know nothing about cars. i just wanted to get the help of guys who do so i can plan accordingly. thanks again

P.S. anybody know the answer to the chrome trim and panel question?