I have an 87 el camino which gets beat off the line by anything. my dad says its the transmission which is a TH350, would a pwerglide get it off the line better?  

to my understanding those el caminos came with the 4.3 or 5.0 in them, most likely that is not the stock transmission in this case, the turbo 350 is a good all around transmission and with the right rear end gears and torque converter it will get you off the line quick, more details on engine specs would help!  

It is not the tranny. The TH350 has a great first gear. I'm guessing you've got a really high gear (low 3.00s or maybe even high 2.00s) and that's why you can't get off the line good.

What gear does your Elky have? Also, what are the engine specs?  

I guess it would be good to know which engine is in it, and if a 305 which option 305, one is a dog the other so-so. How many miles are on everything and what shape are the mechanicals in? Are we looking at a tired motor and/or transmission is where I'm going. Is the engine making any power and can the transmission move that power from the torque converter to the driveshaft coupling?

On the other hand does it bog off the line or do the tires go up in smoke?

Bogging could indicate that the tires are too sticky, there's not enough rear gears, the brakes are dragging, the driveshaft angles are too extreme, stuff like that.

The tires going up in smoke is rather common for an El Camino given the lack of weight in the rear. Other contributors are too much axle ratio, too slick a tire compound, too small a tire both in diameter and width. Tire diameter plays into overall gear ratio, smaller turns the engine faster which gives it a power advantage, larger diameter slows the engine down and can contribute to bogging. Tires too wide and too narrow affect the contact area which can contribute to bogging or smoking depending! A suspension that doesn't hold the tires in contact with the pavement allows them to go up in smoke. The springs, shocks, anti-squat, weight transfer, all the bushings, everything in the chassis right thru the engine mounts adds up to what happens where the tires meet the pavement.

No a power glide would be the wrong direction, they're used in radical cars with lots of horsepower and not much weight because stiff gear ratios and many gear changes are un-necessary.

You have to look at the car as a system, everything has to work right for it to go fast, simply sticking a whomper stomper engine into any chassis doesn't promise a fast car, yet this is where most guys spend their bucks and time. The beast is a system, changes of one thing affect a chain of events in many other places.

Bogie  

its got a 350 in it, its not the original engine and i haven't made it around to getting the specs completely yet but i know it has a blue racer cam in it with a 256 degree duration i believe and its set a lil bit on the retarded side. i have farely new goodyear tires on it now they still have alot of tread on them and it does seem to bog when you put it down. and the car shifts at about 2100 rpm. sorry im not too good at this im only sixteen and im trying to figure this out but its just got the best of me and im pretty stumped  

check timin with a light, should be around 8 degrees, unplug the vacum advance, should do something, but i would look into rear end gears if its stock  

It probably has a really high gear in it being an 80s car/truck. Also, check the kickdown adjustment, you made need to change that to keep the tranny from shifting so early.  

thank you for all your help.  

What is the induction on the 350? Did you carry over the 305's? In which case what is it a computer controlled carb, TBI or TPI.

If the computer is still in the loop, it has no way of knowing it has 45 more inches to feed and will run the engine lean.

Shifting at 2100 again need to know what transmsiion is in there I think you said a TH350 is that correct?

Is the shift point on light or max throttle, seems high for a light throttle and low for WOT. Need to know the exact tranny, whether a machanically/vacuum controlled TH350, a semi-computerized 700R4/4L60, or a fully computerized 4L60E. Each has different systems for controlling the shift points.

If running a carb with no computer in the loop, it could be the secondary barrels kick in too quickly, the primary is under or over fueling, the accelerator pump shot is insufficient, the list goes on and on so that's enough for a while.

Bogie