The drastic dip in the economy has left a lot of us car guys scratching our heads. Our budgets are stretched to the max, and luxuries that aren't vehicle-related are on hiatus until further notice. Still, it's possible to add parts and make power during these tough times, all the while staying within a strict budget. The truth of the matter is not all of us can afford a brand-new crate engine, nor can we dig up the pocket change towards forced induction. Heck, even a basic engine overhaul these days seems unimaginable.
The good news is that with a budget frame of mind, it doesn't take much to free those locked-up ponies from your muscle car. Take into consideration what an engine needs, namely air/fuel and spark. Any approach to improving these characteristics is bound to both increase power and create a much more efficiently running engine.
A perfect opportunity to illustrate these efforts came to us. We jumped at the chance to prove our theory on a street-driven '64 Chevelle that was recently purchased on eBay. The Chevelle was a clean sweep with glossy black paint, a new interior, and a solid-running, iron-headed 350 small-block with a factory-style HEI distributor, a Carter carburetor, and stamped-steel rockers. While Colin Hicks' gem survived the northern-Oregon-to-sunny-SoCal road trip without a single hiccup, he was still after a bit more performance out of the mill. Of course, everything had to meet within the constraints of his wallet, so we limited our performance enhancing to an ignition upgrade with an MSD 6AL and a Pro Billet distributor with new wires. We also took advantage of a set of Comp Ultra-Gold rockers and banked on the valve lift for increased air into the cylinders. We also replaced the archaic Carter carburetor with a fresh unit from Holley.
While we don't expect you to run out and buy a project car, the results we obtained should be close to what you might experience on a similar combination of your own. Would you have tried something different? Email us at chevyhi@sorc.com and let us know!
Quick Notes
What We Did
Ignition upgrade with roller rockers and a Holley carb
Bottom Line
Perfect for your everyday hauler or project car
Cost (Approx)
$1,500 for the components, $175/hour for dyno time
 The engine bay of our '64...  The engine bay of our '64 was nothing to write home about. The 350 locked inside was virtually stock aside from the Doug's headers (D308) and new spark plugs. The small-block was sporting an outdated Carter carburetor, stamped valve covers, a Delco-Remy HEI with shoddy wiring, and factory rockers. The owner was pleased with his purchase, but the sloppy engine characteristics were progressively getting worse and would often shut down for no obvious reason. In stock trim, we ran the Chevelle on Lou's Performance chassis dyno to set a baseline. Without changing anything the small-block only produced 194 hp and 264 lb-ft. |  Mike Consolo got to work digging...  Mike Consolo got to work digging out all the old components and made room for the new ones. We began by removing the K&N circular air cleaner and Carter carburetor. We detached all the linkage and the vacuum and fuel lines. We kept the air cleaner for later. |  We then pulled the old wires...  We then pulled the old wires and removed the plugs with a 5/8-inch spark plug socket. The old wires won't be necessary to keep around, but we did hold onto the plugs since they were still in pretty good condition. |
 This Delco-Remy HEI distributor...  This Delco-Remy HEI distributor was past its due date. We removed the distributor clamp with a 9/16-inch wrench and yanked the old HEI out along with its less-than-satisfactory wiring to the electric-choke setup on the old Carter; this was the reason the engine would shut down intermittently. |  The steel rockers were next...  The steel rockers were next on the chopping block. Using a 5/8-inch deep socket, we began to remove all of the factory-style rockers. Consolo then removed the rockers, starting with the ones that weren't under compression. |  To increase valve lift without...  To increase valve lift without swapping out the cam, we grabbed a set of Comp Ultra-Gold 1.6:1 ratio roller rockers (PN 19002-16). The increases ratio will keep the valves open a little longer, allowing more air and fuel into the cylinders for added power. These rockers are available off-the-shelf for $240, CNC-machined, and notched to clear most performance aftermarket valve springs. |