I have a '71 skylark, all original parts,drivetrain, etc.  I totally rebuilt the engine about 3 years ago, and used the cam that cam with the rebuild kit.  the car has never had any power, and I've messed with and checked about everything I can.  I just recently got the spec on the replacent cam, 189/208 .392/.377 lift 109* lca,  that's pretty small. the car was a 2bbl, always had a stumble, despite many carb/ign adjustments and checking vacc leaks. compression is 155-160 (9:1 comp) I recently swapped to a quadrajet, using original parts for that year and FULLY rebuilding the carb with a kit from cliff ruggles, also cleaning/drilling out certain passages for stock/slightly modified according to his book.  I lost the stumble but still no power. stock specs for a 4bbl 350 are up 285-315hp and 360 ft/lb, the 2bbl 260hp/360ft, I know I'm not getting that.  I cannot find any specs on the original cam, I found a part# of 1237736, but no specs.  I am thinking of the voodo 67000 for a cam but would like to know stock and what people think is best for low end torque/power.  it is my daily driven car and I want to keep all the parts original.  any buick 350 guru's help would be appreciated  

nightwrencher,
Here are a couple of sites to get you going! V8 Buick.com - BPG .com - T/A Performance.com    

tried in the past, couldn't get the oem spec, BPG.com brought some insurance co up  

TRY this Buick Performance Group.com  

Ok yu have a 1971 Skylark with a Buick 350. I have a Petersen's Auto Repair Manual sitting here it has cam specs and your estimated HP and Torque for stock engines. Ok for your stock application your engine is rated for 230 HP @ 4400 RPM, and 350 lb.-ft. of Torque at 2400 RPM. You have 8.5:1 compression. This means the engine has low duration and low lift cam, with most likely dished pistons, or a large combustion chamber in the heads. Your rocker ratio ia 1.55:1, your lobe lift isn't listed, but valve lift is. You have .381/.398" of lift, with a duration of 282 and 304 degress respectively. You have a 1.88 intake valves, and 1.5 exhaust valves. Both are set at a 45 degree angle in the heads. You have a 3.8 in bore diameter, and 3.85 in stroke. The long stroke of your engine is where all the torque comes from, the lack of power in top end that you are feeling is most likely cam related. Your heads should have some decent flow for their time. You may not need higher duration in your cam, but you may need more lift. Since this is a daily driver, you could look at thing to do with this engine that aren't too costly and too racey. For instance, look for headers and a nice 2 1/2 inch dual exhaust. Make sure the headers are street/strip design, which improves low RPM-torque, without sacrificing High-RPM flow. Also gid rid of that QuadraJUNK carb, there are way better carbs out there, that are perfect for your engine. I recommend Edelbrock Performer sereis. They are simple to work with, they are nothing more than the old Carter/AFB series carbs that were used in 50's and 60's. You can get a 500 CFM with electric choke even, if you have that option on your car, for a reasonable price. Another reason to get rid of that Q-Jet. Most of those are rated for 750 CFM, and as it has ben stated in many posts, over-carburating an engine will kill performance. Good Luck and if you run into some problems, there is a user here by the name of SilverBuick. He has built a few Buick engines and has alot of knowledge about Buick Motors Division.  

Nothing wrong with a Q-Jet on a street/strip car if it's set up right.

Your cam is too small.

There's a good Buick 350 cam discussion here.

For torque, you ought to think about a Comp Cams 260H or 268H with a set of Rhodes Lifters.