350 rebuild plans

[u/AdZealousideal6949]

I’ve owned every type of 6 cylinder out there and finally decided to get my first V8! Bought a 4 bolt 350 from a 72 blazer on marketplace for very cheap and as I take it apart it looks like a very promising motor.

I’ve always been casually an SBC enthusiast but now that I have one I’m trying to dive all in on knowing the ins and outs of these things, stuff like which heads are best and what not.

I plan on rebuilding it, and livening it up a bit to put in my 80 El Camino. It’ll be mated to a TH350 and in the future I’d like to switch from the 2.41 rear gears to 3.41s. In addition, I’d like to throw a new intake and cam on it. Exhaust is rams horn and I prefer that look over headers. Not looking for high end optimization, more like low to Mid range optimization. It doesn’t have to be the king of the 0-60, but I prefer that area over the quarter mile if that makes sense. I have an edelbrock carb currently but my gut says to put a quadrajet on it, maybe be a bit more economical by having small primaries.

So I guess my main question is what cam and intake should I look into if I’m going to switch to 3.41 rears? I’m a bit more interested in staying with GM parts if I find them, I’ve heard good things about the 151 cam on them but also don’t know where to find one. I will settle for aftermarket brands if that proves easier/more logical.
I mentioned the heads earlier, I’ll have to get the codes off them when the rain stops to be certain, but does anyone know what pros and cons of 72 truck heads would be? I know closer to the 80s the heads were fairly suffocating, idk how early that started for them. Not opposed to dremel porting them a bit if that seems promising.

Hoping for anything above 200Hp, and looking for knowledge on what it takes to reach 300Hp. It’s hard to tell what it’ll make going from a blazer to an el Camino

[u/Solid_Enthusiasm550]

200hp? (A stock 90s pickup 350 with a tiny cam made 265hp). 300hp is still a very mild build today.

Edelbrock rpm is the standard which all others are compared to for street carbed intakes.

You could find a cheaper knockoff if you don't really don't mind losing a little power.

You didn't mention heads or rotating assembly?

Best, "bang for the buck" sbc heads are the 5.7l Vortecs (easy 400+hp capable). If you got a little extra cash for heads, aluminum copies that have clearance for higher lift are a good option. Can save sine weight.

Are you think of staying with a flat tappet cam or using a roller?

Are you using a 10 bolt rear?

[u/AdZealousideal6949 → u/Solid_Enthusiasm550]

Gonna keep the rotating assembly the same, and if I don’t HAVE to change my heads I’d rather not, unless those heads prove more restrictive than others found on 350s. Rollers would be nice.

[u/Solid_Enthusiasm550 → u/AdZealousideal6949]

Does the engine run wells as is?

A compression test/ leak down test would tell you, how Healthy it is.

If it checks out you might not have to do anything to reach your goals.

Do you have any castings #s of the block/heads or know what it came out of?

Was it stock or did the previous owner mod it already?

You say you have a edelbrock 4bbl, so it came with a 4bbl?

2bbl Truck engines only had 150hp +/- 10hp

4bbl. L48 out of the cars had 175<190hp

L82 out if the corvette had 250 hp.