[chiphead]

Love the darksider! (slang for big pontiac that's not a GTO). What size engine? Do you know what cam he's going to use? One man's "mild cam" is another man's "wild cam". The Pontiac valvetrain is really finiky when it comes to modifications. You gotta set it up right or it'll break stuff. What heads are on it? If it's a high compression engine then you've got to be even more careful with parts selection.

I would keep the quadrajet carb if it's still on there. It's a much better carb when set up properly than most of the edelbroke units. The Q-jet is rated for 750 cfm and provides superior throttle response on the street. The trick is finding someone who understands them. Many Quads were tossed in the trash simply because the mechanic didn't understand how they work.

The stock 4bbl pontiac intake from '68-71 are the best of the stock intakes. '72-later had smog/egr passages and get restrictive on the secondary openings. These '68-71 intakes aren't 'high rise' like an RPM, but they had good plenum volume and runner size for even 455s. The idea that "stock sucks" came from the big block chevy engines of the same era. Their intakes were a totally different design that really did hurt power. The pontiac factory intakes are spreadbore, and will not accept a squarebore holley or edelbroke without a goofy adapter. I avoid the adapters because they add sealing issues and port flow issues. If you want to run a squarebore, go with an aftermarket intake like a performer, performer RPM or other aluminum intake.