FlippinCorvette

I love my vette. Me and my father and brother have worked on it and practically built it, so I plan on never getting rid of this car. I know doing resto mods on these old cars destroys value,but I don't care about that. So that being said.., this thing is wicked, however It is stock performance wise and I need to up the horse power. What are some ways without going out and buying an 8k engine, that I can up the horsepower big time. I love working on my car, my area of expertise is fixing it not modifying it.... I'm not actually sure what to do. Please help! Thank you in advance

Shark Racer

Put a performance curve in the distributor and build out the exhaust system. 1 5/8" headers and dual 2.5" exhaust. You'll add a lot of power and torque.

From there on, I'd be looking at engine building, especially if the motor is original and has some miles racked up.

G-Sting

If you put on the Corvette Central dual exhaust system (true dual), and then do the infamous "Lars timing" with appropriate distributor springs and advanced timing over stock, you might be amazed at how it wakes it up. Then go from there if you'd like…

7t9l82

dont be worried about hurting the value of a car your not going to sell anytime soon. and don't worry about the value of a 79 corvette as it has little, i own one less than 14k actual miles .
i agree set up your distributor and 2 1/2 in dual exhaust with headers and you will be much happier. and richen up the carb a bit .

FlippinCorvette

What do I need to do to the carb, the distributer, and what kind of headers do I need to buy???

pacecar620

Agreed with 7t9l82 on the resale value point. 1979 was the highest production year for the C3, so collector value is a moot point. Long tube headers will offer best power improvement and Hookers seem to be most popular. Go for the ceramic or Jet-Hot coated as they will last longest and transfer the least amount of heat underhood. You didn't mention which engine you have, L-48 or L-82. L-82 is already fairly hotly cammed so you won't have to open up the engine for a cam swap. Maybe some 64cc heads (say bye-bye to regular gas though) and 1.6:1 roller tip rockers down the road, and

FlippinCorvette

I have the l48 I believe. The engine has almost no markings on it that I have found.

Bloodzone

Flowtech makes some nice ceramic headers that fit a 79 and wont break the bank.

http://www.summitracing.com/parts/big-31106flt

7t9l82

headman,hooker as mentioned flow tech all make headers .
use the Lars papers for distributor set up and quadrajet tuning. email him someone I'm sure will chime in with his email address. you may try the search function.

96 lt-4

Headers will help with a true dual exhaust setup(though the true dual swap will be beneficial on it's own).The distributor curve will help a lot.If you are not satisfied with this you have to go into the motor or trans/rear end.
A stall converter can wake things up as will a set of rear gears depending on what you want the car to do.
Another option is a head swap or heads/cam upgrade but exhaust is mandatory for this or you are just wasting time.
There are plenty of aftermarket aluminum heads with smaller cc that will make power and still allow regular gas with the aluminum heads.You can usually find a set used(I paid $600 for my Trick Flow 195's.)
Another option is to swap to some vortec heads/intake and keep your cam.

Figure out what you want the car to do and how you will be using it and then build a plan.Matched componets work well together.

bluedawg

Assuming your lower end is good and with out knowing budget, goals, rear gearing and stall if automatic tranny, a good set of heads afr, Dart ect, a roller cam, headers and duals with an aluminum intake probably dual plane working off the previous assumptions get most folks were they want to be. If you can inform us on the forementioned assumptions we can get more specific.

DO MA NEU!

American Raven

If your tranny is in good shape, think about a turnkey ZZ4 Performance engine with true dual exhaust (I have cat-back 2.5 inch exhaust with Flowmaster Delta Series 50 mufflers). It's a direct fit, the accessory drives are a direct fit and the engine has a warranty.

Or, if you have the patience to do it, a LS transplant seems the way a lot of people are going. Reliability coupled with good fuel mileage makes for a great combination.

jb78L-82

My 78 L-82 is now a 355, roller cam-.525/.525 lift, AFR 180 64 CC aluminum heads with 10.2:1 compression-zero detonation with 87 octane during breakin and I run 89 now just as a margin. Have not heard it ping once in 650 miles. Iron heads usually require higher octane but in my case, no need so far…pretty much what others told me and the builder for the bottom end of the motor stated as well.

2box

Good luck with your 79. I also have a 79 so i'll be looking at this thread.

As someone stated already not hurting the value by modifing it as it is a high production car.

Gordonm

I have a real nice 79 in the garage right now. The owner is not to worried about value and honestly I believe it will be more valuable after this work. I am swapping in a 425 HP 383 and a 700R4 automatic. It will have more power and get better mileage and be a lot quicker than any 79 ever built. I also put in a VB. Suspension system on it In The spring with some decent 17 inch rubber. This was not an inexpensive venture for him but the car will be a hoot to drive when done.

TheSkunkWorks

IMHO '78 & '79 C3s make very good candidates for resto-modding, as you might actually increase its value if you know what you're doing and do it well. 427 BB '78 SAE here. My $.02

bluedawg

78 and 79? I believe the words you say, but can you elaborate some as to why 78 and 79 and not 75, 76, 77, 80 and 81? I've always thought my 76 was high production vette.

DO MA NEU!

TheSkunkWorks

Sorry, rather than attempting to exclude others, I was merely limiting my comments to those two very similar years due to the OP having mentioned the '79 specifically.

bluedawg

No worries, thought maybe my 76 was sought after for a second.....lol! All kidding aside, it is the Corvette I grew up to love, sought after..no, grossly underpowered...yes...or at least it was.

DO MA NEU!