I was wanting to know cheap ways to gain more power or what type of a ignition system would.be best if I'm building a drag car? Any ideas?

depends on your pocket depth and what you want do with the car. for ease of use and minimal investment they have a msd or Mallory drop in hei. i have the mallory unit, thats got upgraded everything its fine for a NA setup, but if you want to run nitrous or anything more complicated you have to get the appropriate controller

i bought the majority of my firebird from summit.http://www.summitracing.com/search/P...rd=hei+for+455

sweet ill look into that. thanks.

im also needing brakets for the 455. know where i could find any?
also if anyone could go to my engine pic and look at my cam specs and give me an idea of an rpm range.

i dont know about the cam but going by the dual plane intake and stock heads i would think your looking 2-5k, give or take. i think you said you want to put a 3500 tq thats too high for a low end torque built big buick. what gears do you intend to use?

im not sure the guy that i bought the car from had the 3500 stall already in the turbo 400 trans

that would be fine if you had a 350 with single plane, aftermarket heads, and 4.10+ gears. a high strung, high revving engine

What type of brackets are you looking for ? I worked on a friends Stage 1 71 GS Buick years ago and still have some parts so let me know @ rnrark@aol.com.

Speaking from experience here..
(Had a Buick 455, in my 73 Electra 225)

JW has great advice on the upgraded ignition. Either Mallory or MSD make a good drop in HEI. I went with a pirated HEI from a 74 455, with an MSD controller and upgraded cap, rotor, etc.
I had an Edelbrock 750 carb that, with some tuning, really woke it up. Ditched the factory quadrajet and saw a much improved torque curve and peak HP.

I also recommend TA Performance headers. They really let the engine breathe, and it was no longer running out of steam on the top end. I did a TA Performance header (chrome of course) through true duals into a glasspack on each side, then turn downs after. It sounded so sweet like that, but those headers made a big difference in how the engine behaved. It took away a bit of off the line torque to give it some serious mid and upper HP. Pricey, but very worth it. TA really has a lot to offer when it comes to the Buick 350s and 455s.

The 3500 stall is going to be way too high for that motor. You probably want to keep it around 2500.
The problem with Buick motors, is so few people make parts for them. You're gonna spend a lot more to make power out of one than a Chevy. Summit has some parts, but not a lot. TA Performance and Buick specific vendors (Jack Cotton'* Performance in Agawam, Mass) are more likely to be able to help you out, and know the motors a little bit better.

agree with ditching the quad for an edelbrock if it was a street car but i think its going to be a race only peice, a more appropriate carb would be a holley 4150 850cfm. i have a 750/4150 on my 350 and its just right. summit also has externally adjustable metering blocks, i always thought that would be nice but i just carry a plastic bin with some jets in it.