350 V8 - Cheap Street Chevelle

The engine ran great throughout the entire dyno session. We found that running a total ignition advance of 36 degrees, along with No. 75 primary jets and AU metering rods for the secondaries, yielded the best horsepower and torque results. Notice the exhaust system. Some guys get great horsepower numbers by running race gasoline along with huge race headers and open exhaust, but we ran all of our tests with our Cyclone headers, through the mufflers and on 92-octane pump gas! Our horsepower figures are real-world numbers.

Horsepower god Kenny Duttweiler made many dyno pulls to determine the best horsepower and torque output at various engine rpm. With our rebuilt 355-cubic-inch engine combo, we garnered exactly one horsepower per cubic inch--355.6 peak hp at 5300 rpm. In addition, we determined that our shift point should be in the 5500rpm range for maximum performance.

We took Cheap Street Chevelle to the dragstrip to determine its performance capabilities. It delivered consistent 13.50s at 100 mph running on pump gasoline and through the mufflers. For those of you who like stats for comparison, our '70 Chevelle weighs about 3700 pounds, runs a three-speed TH350 transmission, uses DTS 3.73:1 gears and rolls on P235/60R15 tires. If your car is similar to ours in size and weight and runs similar parts, you can expect similar dragstrip results. In addition, our rig is tame on the street and is fun to drive.