Might be getting a throttle body 350 chevy...

[IH POWER]

As stated above, Im just curious on what are some of the cheap power upgrades or good changes I can do to a 350 chevy? Never have been a gas motor guy, mostly diesel. But I've heard about changing cams, throttle body spacer, intake, or even a carb conversion. Whats you guys' opinions?

 

[PackRat]

If you are still interested....
Headers make a difference, but wrap them, or you will likely get a check engine light, when decelerating. The O2 sensor cools off too quickly & goes out of range.
TB spacer makes about the same change as a carb spacer used to.
ECM, or power chip is easy enough.
I have also been told(but never tried), that drilling the cam gear & installing a 2 degree advance button makes a noticeable difference, without all the hassle of a cam change.

 

[IH POWER]

Yes, I got the truck. It is a 1994 K1500 with a rebuilt 350 with about 70,000 on it. It came with gibson headers on it and it also came with a taylor throttle body spacer.

 

[tanman_2006]

Spacers are junk Imo but they make it sound cool.

454 fuel pump and throttle body is a big upgrade. There are some timing and distributor upgrades that will help too. I had a 95 305 w/ 454 throttle body on an edelbrock intake running a 454 pump and it got 22 mpg w/ decent power. My dad just traded that truck in on a new dodge, it had 290k on the stock engine w/ a shift kit and mid tube headers.

 

[IH POWER]

Don't you have to change the intake manifold to run a 454 throttle body? If so, I'd just switch back to carbuetor and run a holley 4 barrel and throw on an external fuel pump for the carb

 

[79jasper]

I don't think so. But I do believe you had to redril the holes. Can't remember though.

 

[jonathan]

Just putting a edlebrock intake made a big difference on my old truck it was a 95 z71 extended cab and it would would out run my friends 98 z71 standard cab that had 125000 miles less than my truck

 

[Black dawg]

As stated above, Im just curious on what are some of the cheap power upgrades or good changes I can do to a 350 chevy? Never have been a gas motor guy, mostly diesel. But I've heard about changing cams, throttle body spacer, intake, or even a carb conversion. Whats you guys' opinions?

How much power are you looking for? What kind of rpm?

It takes very little in mods, to NEED prom tuning.

 

[tanman_2006]

I had an edelbrock intake manifold. Found it cheap used. You wont get as good of mpg with a carb as the throttle body.

 

[79jasper]

I would say it really depends on the setup. The newer MPFI units are great and better compared to the old tbi units. But I think carb'd vs tbi mileage could be debatable.
But there's so many factors that we may as well not get into it.

He said Gibson headers, so I'm guessing the shorty headers.
What's your opinion on changing to long tube headers?

 

[Black dawg]

If I were building a hotrod tbi 350, I would add a computer friendly roller, and everything needed for the conversion. I would use vortec heads, and the intake that is neede to retain egr. I would use long tube headers, and if the 94 doesnt have it already I would add a heated o2. Then find someone to tune it, because it will be needed. There are better throttle bodies, and ways to modify the stock one, but I dont think that the 454 tb is really needed on a 350 cu motor.

 

[IH POWER]

Not looking for drag strip power, but enough to really throw me back in the seat. I mean it has balls now, no doubt but with those 35s on there it drags it down compared to stock tires. And yes they are shorty headers and it was a mothertrucker to change the back two spark plugs on the drivers side. Had to custom make a socket. And as far as milage, im only getting between 8 and 9.

 

[79jasper]

I prefer long tube headers.
A cam and a good tune would really help. If you want to learn tuning yourself, look into moates, tunercat, and tunerPro.
It's simple enough for a novice. And you can find everything needed online for cheap.

I let a obd-1 chip tuning setup run past me on Craigslist for $100. Had the chip eraser, burner, cable, extra chips and a lot more. I would've snatched it up but I don't have anything to use it on.

 

[79jasper]

Oh and as far as mileage goes, that's ******. My 92 z71 got at least 15 driving it like the young ******* I was. (Burnouts, mudding, and racing.)
Make sure the normal maintenance stuff is up to par. Also invest in a timing light. Make sure it's set right. Mine was day and night difference in mileage and power.

 

[Black dawg]

Not looking for drag strip power, but enough to really throw me back in the seat. I mean it has balls now, no doubt but with those 35s on there it drags it down compared to stock tires. And yes they are shorty headers and it was a mothertrucker to change the back two spark plugs on the drivers side. Had to custom make a socket. And as far as milage, im only getting between 8 and 9.

You say it has 35s on it, what gear ratio? This may make more difference than anything you can do with a small block.