I had said in another post I was thinking about the Stage-1 intake from TA for my stock 350. I had a responce that if I just added the intake without headers or a bigger cam I may not get any bennifit? If you read the hype in the TA add for this intake it is the ultimit! Have any of you used it with a stock setup? If I did put it on it was going to be Buick Red and under the Ram Air cleaner. Just looking for simple ways to look stock and run better. Mark
Mark, I put the TA intake on my stock 71 lark 350. I also put on a Jet Performance Stage 2 Q-jet, because my stock Q-jet was shot. So I saw an immediate difference as soon as I ran the car (98000 miles), but it might have more to do with the new carb. Definately a few million pounds lighter! If you have a good working carb, you might not see a difference. A problem I have experianced though, is I took the intake off, I have now completely rebuilt the motor, and the coolant severly ate away some of the aluminum, at the water ports. TA old me it was because I did not use their coolant conditioner. ??? I'll definatley use it this time. Jay
Mark, the stock 350 cast iron intake is already a decent intake. That's why the alum intake alone is not going to give you a big perf improvement. As part of a performance buildup though, it is a decent part, and you also get the weight reduction. Headers, and some head porting will complement the TA intake nicely. All depends on how much $$ you want to spend. Most knowledgable Buick racers will tell you some headwork is where you get your bang for the buck.
I would say stay with the stock intake if you haven't done anything else to the motor yet.The stock intake is a decent flowing piece. :TU:
I would have to agree. I put this intake on my 350 before rebuilding the engine and didn't notice any real change. However after putting on TA's headers and a 212 cam with 10:1 pistons it's a whole different ball game. I do agree with the guys at TA on the radiator conditioner they sell. I use it in all my cars and it does a great job of keeping away scale in the radiator and protects the aluminum.
I'd buy headers b4 an intake. i just put headers on my pretty much stock '71 350 and it revs easier and sounds nicer too. It also dropped about 13-15 lbs off the front end. both headers weighed the same together as 1 stock exhaust manifold. Pick up a set with some copper collector gaskets and you'll love the response. Also upgrade your old points Dist. With an HEI unit. You can get them from junk yards from $20-$50. I got mine for $50 and the guy tested it right in front of me so i knew i was getting a good one. That to made a huge difference in throttle response! Personaly, I would do what im doing. Im buying all the external mods first and running them and saving $$ and then buying internal parts piece by piece as i can afford them. Next thing on my list are 10:1 pistons and rhodes lifters.
