Hello I have a 1970 350 pontiac motor that I am rebuilding at the moment, which is going to be installed into my 1979 chevy monte carlo and would like to know if I'm taking the right route!

The car is to be used only on the road so no visits to the track but I wanted that extra bit of lauch from the lights!

The engine has a stock bottom end so no change to the crank, rods,, pistons or bore!
However I have had the steel heads skimmed 40 thou which is going to give me a comp ratio of 8.93:1 and I will be fitting a Racer Brown Cam set at EH20C  460 lift 220 at 50 110 LSA with +5* advance ground in. also have a 750 holly ontop of a offenhauser
inlet manifold running on 93 octane fuel
any comments would be great! either poss or neg

ALSO whenever I read on other forums I see a lot of people putting down the 350! and saying you should have gotten the 440! but why is that! surely I can get good performance from the 350! surley!!! after all it's all I have to work with

Kind Regards Tez
based in the UK  

HPP ran a great article in the 2001 annual "Pontiac engine guide" about 326/350 engines , as well as an article on getting more power out of 301's. The info is pretty much generic to all pontiac engines but could be helpful. My own view is this- the Holley 750 may be a bit much, try a 600, the Offy manifold should be ok as long as it is a dual-plane not single-plane/open plenum design, your cam isn't huge but you will likely need at least 3.42 or steeper gears to keep bottom end response ( unless you're looking for max top speed!). If you're running an auto trans (hope it's a th350 or th400, not the th200 that was common in late 70's Chevy's) you may need a mildly higher stall speed converter- no more than 2000rpm stall. Yes, most people say to use a 400 or 455, because the larger cylinder bore allows better breathing, but a 350 is just as reliable and probably easier on gas with todays prices! Enjoy your 350 in your Pontee Carlo and remember Jim Wangers had/has a later (85+?) Monte SS with pontiac power so you are in good company!  

Thanks Barneyformula I've not be able to find the HPP back issiue yet I have a dual plane intake so thats one box checked but am afraid the auto box I have is a th200 however I am just in talks with a guy who is selling me a complete 350 plus a th400 he's asking £500.00 am guessing as this is complete then the stall will already set-in how can I tell if the stall has been done! apart from installing the engine and blocking the wheels and testing at what rpm it stalls?
Regards Tez  

You're right the stall speed can really only be checked in the car as you described. If the converter is large (approx. 13" diameter) you can likely assume it is stock stall speed (1500-1800rpm)  

hey barney, you seem to be extremely knowledgeable with pontiac engines, so id like to ask you a few questions.., first i have a 400/th350 combo from my late 77 *** how does this sound as a foundation? i want to rebuild them both, i have no idea what it costs to get a tranny rebuilt, but i know neither of them have been run in years. as for the engine, i really wanted to buy the eagle specialties products 467 stroker kit, have you heard anything about it? what bore size should i go with? you also seem to know enough about the poncho powered monte carlos so i wanted to ask if i am going to have problems getting this in my 86 mc? thanks for any help you can give me, ive been having lots of trouble finding info on this swap. -Rob  

467MonteeSS, first I'll give you guys some background about me. I appreciate the kind words, but I'm no Pontiac guru. I've been in the mechanic trade for 20years now, the last 12 as a diesel truck tech at an International truck dealer. My experience with cars came from years of messing with my cars and my buddies projects, surprisingly mostly Chevies or Chevy powered at least! The thing is, most of General Motors products from the late 60's and up shared frames, suspension and drivetrains freely from one brand to another. A 1978-81 Grand prix with a 301 uses the same chassis as your Monte SS and has all the same mounting holes in the crossmember for motor mounts. Same for rear ends, did you know that the gears and posi from an S-10 or an Astro van will fit your car or a 82-up TA or Z28. My point is that all this stuff was designed so GM didn't have to waste extra development dollars, all of which makes it easier for us to swap stuff around. Now to your questions. I only know one guy who used that kit, he loves it, but I couldn't tell you what he used for heads, cam etc. To put your 400/350 combo in your Monte, you could simply use the mounts I mentioned above and the accessory drives from the 77, your 77 PS pump will require the flow control valve to be switched out (it screws in the back of the pump and the line threads into it) because around 81 or 82 GM changed from a double-flare line to a bubble and o-ring style line- your SS has the late style- use the flow valve from it's pump. All the wiring will have to be moved to the driver's side and so will the fuel lines. A/C might cause a problem as the compressor style may be different. Depending on the rear gears you may want to consider an overdrive trans instead of the 350, I think this topic is covered elsewhwere in the forum. Cost is dependant on how far you go with the engine and what trans you pick. Good luck.  

thanks barney, this helped a lot, ive been searching the net for weeks, i make one post on here and an hour later, most of the info i need is here. one more quick question, you suggest using an overdrive instead of my th350, is the any chance my th200-4r will hold up to the task? if not what would you suggest?  

467,
Glad I could answer your ??, hope it helps, yes the 200r4 will bolt up and make life easier, there are lots of upgrades available so it will handle more power, as for the cost of those upgrades, check with one of the advertisers in HPP that do trans work. This is one area I am not particularly strong on, I never got beyond shift kits and converters, I leave that to guys who don't do anything else!