INCREASING PERFORMANCE 1981 350

[Vincent Ross]

I WANT TO INCREASE PERFORMANCE IN MY 1981 STOCK 350 ENGINE WITHOUT MAJOR MODIFICATIONS OR CREATING PROBLEMS IN OTHER AREAS. I WOULD LIKE TO KEEP THE CAR AS ORIGINAL AS POSSIBLE. DOES ANYONE HAVE SUGGESTIONS FOR ME.

[Joe L.]

Re: INCREASING PERFORMANCE 1981 350

Vincent----

You're wise to have included the phrase "...without creating problems in other areas..." in your question. That shows that you recognize, and wish to avoid, that changes in one area for the BETTER can result in changes in another area for the WORSE. I'm always absolutely amazed by the number of folks who overlook and/or fail to take this fact seriously.

In your case, your engine is highly contrained with respect to modification by emissions control devices and systems. In fact, your 1981 was the first model year Corvette that computers were used on all cars. It was an archaic system by today's standards, but it was a quantum leap from previous systems.

Unfortunately, there is really no way that you can significantly increase the performance of your car with easy "bolt-on" mods. That are lots of folks that will SELL you things that PURPORTEDLY will increase performance easily, but few, if any, actually will do so.

If you want to increase performance of your car, I would recommend the installation of a performance camshaft designed to be compatible with your current engine contol/emissions control system. Edelbrock and Crane are among 2 of the manufacturers that have such pieces available. Beyond that, I would recommend the installation of performance cylinder heads designed to be compatible with your current engine. Once again, Edelbrock would be the manufacturer of choice if it were me.

By changing the camshaft and cylinder heads as I described above, you should be able to increase power by about 50-75 hp and torque by about 50-75 ft/lbs. At the same time, you'll maintain good driveability and emissions performance.