Thread: 1980 Corvette 350

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I hope I'm in the right place. I recently (a year ago) bought an 1980 vette with the original 350 in it. I been straightening it out and now she runs pretty good although overheats in the summer. Here's my question: I like to go fast. I was thinking about dropping a 427 in it and port it. (no air blowers for me). In your opinions would you rework the 350 (new heads/cam etc) or go for the larger motor? Money is an issue so the larger Engine would have to wait until I could buy all the parts. The 350 is sitting here (less costly). I recently lost my viper/supercharged SRT Dodge tuck and I was wanting to get my car up to over 200mph like the truck was. It will do 150 now with no problems.

Thanks for your opinions.
Perry

To go 200 in an 80 Vette you're going to need a lot more then just heads and cam, and money probably couldn't be an issue with that kind of build! Takes a lot more then just horsepower to hit 200!

Perry,

I would check the T-stat to see what the rating is. I had a 77 Vet that ran 215+ all of the time. I found that it had a 160 deg t-stat. I changed it to a 180 deg and it ran 180-185 all of the time.

The way it was explained to me is that the coolent needs to stay in the radiator long enough to cool it off a bit before going back to the motor. This was from a Corvette geru.

Not saying that is the answer for you, but it worked for me.

Welcome to CHR -

I think I'm missing something here - are you sure it's the original engine? In 1980, Corvette's "biggest" engine was the L82 350 that produced 230hp. In it's stock form this car turned 15 second quarter mile times and on a good day (according to GM) saw 130MPH at top end - probably with a lot of track.

To see 200 in this car would be not only expensive but without a lot-o-work it could be border-line nuts. A thirty year old platform would not be my choice to build for this kind of speed unless it included a complete replacement of every nut & bolt with a mind toward compliance with safety much like that required at Bonneville to run those kind of speeds.

You might want to re-think 200mph in this car.

Regards,
Glenn

Originally Posted by Bug

Perry,

I would check the T-stat to see what the rating is. I had a 77 Vet that ran 215+ all of the time. I found that it had a 160 deg t-stat. I changed it to a 180 deg and it ran 180-185 all of the time.

The way it was explained to me is that the coolent needs to stay in the radiator long enough to cool it off a bit before going back to the motor. This was from a Corvette geru.

Not saying that is the answer for you, but it worked for me.

I wish I'd thought of that

Originally Posted by glennsexton

Welcome to CHR -

I think I'm missing something here - are you sure it's the original engine? In 1980, Corvette's "biggest" engine was the L82 350 that produced 230hp. In it's stock form this car turned 15 second quarter mile times and on a good day (according to GM) saw 130MPH at top end - probably with a lot of track.

To see 200 in this car would be not only expensive but without a lot-o-work it could be border-line nuts. A thirty year old platform would not be my choice to build for this kind of speed unless it included a complete replacement of every nut & bolt with a mind toward compliance with safety much like that required at Bonneville to run those kind of speeds.

You might want to re-think 200mph in this car.

Regards,
Glenn

I totally agree with what Glenn said.

Originally Posted by glennsexton

I wish I'd thought of that

I was looking more into fixing the over heating issue. I did not even want to comment on the 200MPH question.

Originally Posted by Bug

Perry,The way it was explained to me is that the coolent needs to stay in the radiator long enough to cool it off a bit before going back to the motor. This was from a Corvette geru. Not saying that is the answer for you, but it worked for me.

It also allows time for the coolant to absorb the heat from the block/heads to be carried into the radiator. I am also a fan of the sleeve type of thermostat and not the cheapie poppet style. Most of the parts houses will gladly sell you a cheap poppet style for around 5 or 6 bucks. Ask for a sleeve type or get a "high performance" unit from Summit or Jegs. It usually costs a couple bucks more but the performance difference is well worth it! IMHO / FWIW / YMMV

Since when do the SRT Rams go 200 mph? The Vipers don't even do that. At least from the 1 mile shootouts I've seen. You looking at the speedo and assuming?

If your going to push a car or Truck over 130 MPH ? 200 MPH . Best to get the car set up right first Wheels Tires Drive Line axles brakes bearings . Then build an Engine . You try and do that on the Street and get caught you will most Likely get Jail Time .