Is it better to hook up a 301 turbo, or a 350?

[81turbota]

a 301 is basically a short deck, lightweight pontiac v-8 with crappy siamesed port heads, hence the problem with swapping heads, they will bolt on, but the 301 manifold won't work with them and the regular pontiac manifolds need to be milled because they are made for tall deck motors, the pontiac 350 isn't a great replacement, it has a smaller bore than the 301 and a long stroke (the same as a 400) a 400 would be a better choice, and cheaper too. However, i feel there is some real potential with the 301, if the bottom end will hold together. Another thing i am considering is adapting a chevy tpi to work on it with a custom intake manifold and running that with an intercooled turbo and some good heads, that could be very interesting.

 

[Jim Puehl]

81turbota,

You're not going to get a Chevy TPI to work with the siamesed intake ports of the 301, unless you use the Edlebrock heads. When connecting the computer, remember that the Chevy distributor spins the opposite way as the Pontiac, same firing order though. If you are going to use the Edlebrock heads, have a new cam made that swaps 7 and 4 in the firing order, makes a few extra HP. Also get rid of as much overlap as possible. Neil Smedley is getting 21# of boost with his "stock" turbo. The search is now to find head gaskets that will hold up to that much boost.

 

[80banditTA]

Using the 301 is workable for some serious power. The trick is in the flow of the heads (if you can get it). I currently own an 80 Turbo TA that I have been racing since I bought it in 94. I have had many mods done but nothing serious till now.

I was getting Mid 13's runnin 9 psi with just a Crower Cam with about .454 lift on Intake and Exhaust. Boost was run up to 13 on my "Friday kill Mustang Nights". No idea what my 1/4 times were with 13 lbs. boost but it was noticeably faster. My tires definitly felt the difference.

These are some of the ideas im ramming into my current project that might give you some ideas but some I won't use due to expense or confidentiality.

1. Arias Pistons Co. can make custom forged pistons if needed for around $100 a piece.

2. Crower Cams is known for carrying "Turbo" type cams modified for turbo engines. They carry them special for Pontiac. (unlike other popular brands who don't carry them at all.)

3. Polish your intake ports. They can be widend slightly. If you can, have a shop weld in a small triangle shaped pyramid below the inlet. This will help disipate the pressure to the sides.

4. Polish head ports to match intake. Some might be more narrow but it can't be helped (what were they thinking?).

5. Get Pumped! Get a boost controller. They can be found at http://www.turboxs.com/ . This might be the easiest way to play with your boost and help you decide on what octane fuel to buy due to the latest gas prices.

6. Get the right flow, get an Xtreme air flow top by K&N. This will help extremly well when an intercooler can not be done.

7. Run big exhaust.

These are some good basics but the pistons are the only real pricey item. Just use stock. I haven't blown one yet.