You didn't say what was put into the engine when they rebuilt it.  It
will make a difference as to what kind of hp numbers you can get out
of it if they put back the low compression pistons that work with the
turbo.  I don't know for sure that they used lower compression pistons
but that was usually the way it was done.  I personally would try and
put the turbo system back together again.  The 301ci wasn't exactly
known to be a great horse power builder even with a turbo on top of
it, but I'd do it just to have it the right way.

A good friend of mine in the 80's had a 80' or 81' Turbo Formula with
a slushbox.  It was very respectable on the street.  1st gear would
shred the tires while 2nd. and 3rd. would always catch and make a
great chirping sound.  It was loaded with most of the options
available at the time, including 4 wheel disc brakes.  Nice.  If I
could find one I'd buy it up in a heartbeat, even if I had to get rid
of my 88' Formula.

If you don't care about having the correct engine in the car then you
should look into either a larger Pontiac engine or go the corporate
route.  Both will fit.

                              ...Ron
--
68'RS Camaro
88'Formula
00'GT Mustang

There is not a whole lot you can do with the Pontiac 265/301 cu. in.
engines.  They are "short deck" blocks so they don't use traditional
Pontiac heads or intakes.  The 301 uses siamese intake ports which were
good for weight reduction and economy but did nothing for performance.

Porting the 301 heads and intake, a better cam and bumping up the
compression about all you can do.

Due to the intake design they run out of breath around 4,000 RPM.

First I'd re-tune/fiddle with the advance curve on the HEI to let the cam
work better. You didn't mention if it was carbed or had the TB FI system,
both have things that can be tuned/tweaked.  Exhaust, bigger cats or a good
cat back system.  The numbers you want are easily attainable for a price tag
that won't set your wallet on fire.

I can't really think of any reason to keep the 301, any decent 350 would
be so much better, and would be much easier/cheaper to get decent parts
for. A T/A is, weight wise, a tank. The 49 cubes of a 350 would be a
huge help dragging it around. Just about any GM motor ever made will
fit, the hood scoop is the main problem with the swaps. I saw a totally
stock looking T/A bout 15 years ago with a Buick 455 in it. The hood
scoop was home cast and looked like GM had made it. That thing was great
on the street..as good or better than my car.

A friend had a 403 Olds in his 79, like I did, and when it blew up, he
put a 454 crate motor, and a turbo 400 in it. It was a pretty simple
swap. Ran about .3 second quicker than my intaked, cammed, head ported,
etc 403 T/A did, but my car was a much nicer street drive. That thing
had amazing off idle throttle response, his car had to be revved pretty
high to equal my car's 0-60 or so shots, and I got 3 MPG better than he
did. Side by side at the track, with both cars having 3.51 gears, we
both had problems launching, but if we both hooked up, my car would
barely beat his car to the 1/8 mile, but he would drive around me, and
really start to pull away as we came up to the finish line.

I was a dope to sell it, a Vegas car with no rust, all it needed was new
paint, carpet, and seat belts. It wouldn't have hurt to rehang the front
quarters too.

But I wanted an Iroc Camaro..so I was stupid

BDK

The 301... well... sucks.
No torque down low, no power up high.
I don't even know if you can get headers for 'em.

My $.02 (and I have an 80 TA project car that had a 301) is either a 350
or 400 or 455 Pontiac V8, or make it a Camaro under the hood with a 350
Chevy.  The 350 Chevy is easier and cheaper to find, but you need to do
more fiddling to get it in.  Example -> the Pontiac and Chevy V8
bellhousing bolt pattern are different, so your TH350 won't bolt up to a
Chevy without an adapter.  (Unless you've got a dual bolt pattern
transmission, they do exist, but you probably don't.)

Basically, the problem is the 301 was a "dead end" motor - not a lot of
power in stock form, and virtually zero aftermarket support, and not a
very strong foundation either - it was a "lightweight" version of the
regular Pontiac designed to shave some weight, but at the expense of
durability at higher than stock power levels.

heck, for $1600 you can get a 290HP 350 Chevy from Summit.  Brand new.

I do have to add that if you go with any other engine, start hunting
ebay for the correct shaker, or be prepared to mod yours... each engine
used in a second gen TA uses it's own shaker... and they're sometimes
different year to year - the styling and the opening changed as well.

You could also consider a set of steep gears if you want to keep the
301... it'll get you moving off the line a lot better at the expense of
wrecking what fuel "economy" you're already getting.

I'm holding out for a 455 for mine, but at the rate it's going, there
won't be any gas left when I finally get it back together.  My dirt
track Camaro sucks back all the time and money now...

Ray