Questions and Answers

Fact Or Fiction?

Q. My name is Kyle and I have been taking Mechanics in school for a few years. I have learned a lot about car repairing and theory on how systems in automobiles work. I don't really know a lot about improving performance on cars and I'm not really that interested.

One of my friends is into cars because he wants one but he does not know very much about cars because he has never taken a mechanics class.

His sisters boyfriend is a mechanic and he talks to him about cars a lot. My friend told me that this mechanic has old Camaro that he has "hot rodded". He said that it has a 300 cid engine that was bored out to 350 cid. He told me that this car has 600hp. He said that the car had headers and turbochargers and all of the extras. I don't know a lot about increasing hp but 600hp just doesn't sound possible. Is it possible or not?

Also he said that this mechanic could make headers for a 4 cyl car for him for under $35 (no labor). This doesn't sound right either. Is this possible?

Thanks for the help

A. I don't know Kyle, it sounds to me like someone is playing with you. The GM 300 cid engine is an inline 6 cylinder engine used in trucks. They did not use it in cars. They used a 250 cid inline six in their cars. Let's assume for a moment that this Camero did have a 300 cid engine. Why bore it out to a 350 when it would be much easier and cheaper to just buy a 350 V8 engine?

Headers and a turbocharger will increase horsepower, but not to 600. Headers will give you five, maybe as much as ten added horsepower. The turbo might give you twenty. But to squeeze that much horsepower out of a six cylinder is impossible. To squeeze 600 horsepower out of a 350 V8 is barely possible, but it would require extensive, and expensive, modifications.

I have fabricated quite a few custom headers. I have made headers for race cars, fire trucks and racing boats with four, six, eight and twelve cylinder engines. The material is not that expensive, $35.00 would just about cover it. It's the labor that is the most expensive cost. If you make them from scratch, there is a lot of bending, fitting, more bending and more fitting and welding. It's a matter of time. And time is money. Keep in mind, also, that the machine you need to do the bending runs about $5,000.00 to $10,000.00.

Now maybe this guy did get 600 horsepower out of a bored out 300 cid six cylinder, but I would have to see it to believe it.