352 rebuild

[birchymm]

I just found this forum and thought I'd throw a question out there for everyone. I have a 64 Galaxie 500 352 4 barrel, actually two of them, and was wondering if anyone has any tips for improving performance/power without going out and buying a dual quad intake setup. Size Cam, overbore, valve job, headers,etc? Has anyone here tried any of these improvements and has it really made any diff? The 352 is rated 300 hp and 350 ft-lb torque, or somewhere in that neighborhood. I want her to look fairly stock on the outside but I wouldn't mind updating the inards to get some extra ponies out of her. Any help would be apprecited, thanks!!

[Dave Severson]

Welcome, Birchy. I used an Edelbrock Performer RPM package on a 352 a while back (cam, intake, and carb), it worked out quite well. Motor was bored .030 with Hypereutectic pistons. Got it in a 63 Galaxie, works great. Or, just slide in a 428 CJ where the 352 used to live!!

[BowtieGirl]

I agree with David the pwoer package takes out a lot of guesswork out of it. Vic dynos them all for the best bang for the buck.

[birchymm]

Wow, thanks for the quick respones!! I thought about the 390 but I'm a bit of a rare breed in that I like to keep things stock as much as possible, even though the 390 and 352 look very similar and I think even have the same block? I like to upgrade suspensions and brakes but prefer to keep the engine tranny and "look" of the car as intact as possible. I read the 390 truck thread and saw that alot of people prefer to just yank an engine and replace with bigger, and though it is certainly cheaper in some cases I think it takes away from the aura of a car by swapping powertrain, etc. thanks for the pointers, I didn't realize Edelbrock carried a kit for 352's, as they're not very popular. If anyone has anything else please add!!

[vara4]

Birchymm; Here is a site for a few intakes for your motor, looks like the 390's use the same intakes.
http://www.4-lesco.com/edlebrk/edle4.html


~ Vegas ~

[76GMC1500]

I would stick a 390 crank in there and raise the compression. Then do all of the standard upgrades that are done during an engine rebuild like a new cam, and whatever else you think is necessary.

[inlineidiot]

[birchymm]

What about the idea of upgrading the ignition to a Petronix type? Would actually improve performance or just make the likelyhood of having problems less? I just replaced my points and condenser last fall, and although it was a cheap fix I'd hate to trash it and go out and fork over $100+ for a new ignition! Any thoughts?

[madgrinder]

The Pertronix is a nice piece. I've had the Pertronix I and II on a couple of rides. Zero maintenance, no points to adjust. It's not really a performance thing until you see 6000+ rpms (my Corvair turns 7500) because you eliminated the bounce from the points. Although the Blue Streaks I had didn't float, either.

The advise I got from most people is to keep your points plate and a screwdriver in your tool kit for the first few hundred miles, if the Pertronix passes that test, it will last a long time.

Make sure to bypass the points resistor when you install it, or if you have a ballast-type coil you need to change it to a standard-type with no built-in resistor.