gwade12

Hey guys!
Just bought my very first camaro yesterday, and I love it. I've always wanted a 3rd Gen. She needs a couple little rust spots fixed and a paint job, but my buddy's dad owns a bodywork shop, and I think I'm gonna have him spray it for me. The interior is spotless though! After I get it looking good and save up some money (as I'm a poor college kid) I'd like to work on putting a 350 in it since it only has a 2.8L now. My girlfriend's dad was a mechanic, and he says I should just pick up a block and go to autozone to get all the parts for it. He said about $800 and I should have a fresh 350 to put in it. Does anyone know if the transmission in my car currently will fit, or will I have to put in a TH-350? From what I've looked up, I will need to swap the tranny too, but a website I just came across says I have a 700R4. I already know I'll have to get new motor mounts and a few other little things. I know I'll also need new headers for a 350. Any suggestions on what headers to get? Also thinking of getting magnaflow exhaust eventually.. From your experience, would it be worth it? I'd like to make this a nice car. Thanks for any advice you have!

gwade12

Here are the pictures I have so far. Gonna clean it tomorrow since I don't have class.

HikoriYami

First off, nice Camaro! As long as the rust isn't all the way through those body panels it shouldn't be to tough to fix. How's the underside for rust?

The main misconception with v6-v8 swaps is that the 700r4 will bolt to both. Sadly, yours will not. However, a 700r4 (or TH-350) will bolt to it. Confused? I was.



The bell-housing patterns are different between the two engines, and they are cast into the the main body of the trans, so swapping them is not an option like latter transmissions or manuals. The tail housing and internals are roughly the same and can be swapped with each other.

I got my 700r4 from another trans am when I started my swap. I'm pulling the tail housing off my current R4 and putting it on the new one so that my speedometer reads correctly. That's probably the best way to handle it.

As for building the engine, take a look at my thread a few down from yours. (shameless promotion) There are alot of people smarter than I am, who told me the best bang for my buck and I've kept my build below $500 so far. The exhaust is going to be the most expensive part, not the engine itself.

Personally, I'd recommend Summit Racing or Jegs.com for parts, as they will be much cheaper and (usually) better quality than local parts stores.

I'm sure the smart people will tell you more, but you have a good start for a fast car.

P.S. Read the stickies for more

Night rider327

iTrader: (13)

Yes you have a 700r4 but it's a 60* engine bolt pattern and will not bolt up to a 90* bolt pattern engine such as any of the gen 1 small block V8 engines.

You will need a trans for a V8. It can be a th-350, th-400, 700r4, 200 4r, etc. The 700r4 and th-350 long shaft are the 2 easiest ones.

I have done MANY v6 to v8 swaps in these cars and yes IMHO it is very easy and worth it.

I would NOT buy my engine parts from autozone or any other common part stores. www.northernautoparts.com has the best rebuilt kits with GOOD parts and the best prices.

IMO though I would look for a good used running 1996-2000 L31 vortec 350 from full size chevy/GMC trucks, SUVs, vans. 255 HP stock, great heads. Easy 350-375 HP with the intake, cam, and header swap. You can look around and find the vortec L31 350 for $600-1000 with 100K to 170K miles

Hooker or hedman headers are good headers for the price.

alex722607

iTrader: (3)

Things that you have to ask yourself with this possible swap is this:
budget
efi or carb
parts availability
SBC or LS1/LS based motor
auto or manual

If budget is around 5 G's then you should consider LSx, if not, then you have to decide what 350 you want as there have been many over the years, and would you want to go EFI, which gives you many oppurtunities (if you don't run a stock computer), or do you want to go carb, which will guzzle gas more so than a car with fuel injection.

If you go TPI, it would be best to get a complete engine because piecing it together can be difficult and expensive. Also getting parts for a TPI can be difficult on a budget.

Also do you want to go manual or auto, and which transmission to use. For a manual it is counterproductive to put a T5 behind a 350, so you would have to go with a T56 which is expensive. If you go auto, it is the least expensive option for the money and it should handle the 350 very well.

Likewise if you do LS1, it is adviseable to get a pullout motor for ease of parts and install.

littlevin91

Cant go wrong with a carbed 350 and a th350, summits your best bet for parts, go polyurethane for all your mounts they last longer than rubber mounts I went through 2 trans mounts for about 4 months until I upgraded to polh, as for headers any type of shorty header works, long tubes don't fit our cars very well, you also might want to look into freshening up the rear it would suck to do all that work and then rear goes

Night rider327

iTrader: (13)

I have to disagree with you on that. If you know how to tune a carb you can get just as good or even better fuel mileage than the out dated early EFI systems like TBI and TPI with OBDI in the mid 80's and early 90's

I was getting 15/16 mpg combined in my camaro, running high 11's 1/4 mile. 3 speed th-400 trans, 3.42 gear, 2800 stall, 355 cid engine, 600 cfm carb

Getting 16 mpg combined in my v8S10.. 390 HP 355, th-350 3 speed trans, 2800 stall, 3.73 rear gears, 600 cfm carb

If I was to add in a 4 speed overdrive trans I would get atleast 20% better which would put it at 19 mpg combined

Factory EPA fuel mileage on the 1988 camaro V8 cars was 17 and 18 mpg combined, 15 city, and 23 and 24 mpg highway

That's with a 4 speed overdrive, 5 speed over drive, EFI, 170 HP, 195 HP, 220 HP, 230 HP and 2.73, 2.77, 3.08 rear gears

gwade12

Wow, thanks for the awesome info guys! As for the underside of this car - it looks pretty good for being 28 years old. It just came from Arizona 9 years ago, so the rust is minimal. It also sat for a year. Got home from school today and got scrubbing the dirt off. Didn't realize a car could even be this dirty. It's actually starting to look white! My budget for under the hood depends on my paint job. If I can get away with a $1000 paint job (think I may just have the problem areas touched up and fix the rust spots myself), then I'm willing to spend about $2-3k under the hood. Since my girlfriend's dad runs carbureted engines in all his 79 Camaros, and he'll be helping me, I believe that's the way we'll be going. Awesome info on the difference in trans. The pictures really helped. The car is an auto now and I will be keeping it that way, so I believe I will be getting a TH350.

gwade12

After some scrubbing and $8 at the car wash. Still needs some cleaning, but I was running out of daylight and patience lol. Since the rubber pieces on the sides are starting to come off, I'm not sure if I'm going to try and save them or just peel them off.

gwade12

My next question.. Do I get my rims repainted or go for a powder coat?

gwade12

My friend down the road has a sandblaster and powder coater, and I'm sure he'd do it cheap.

Night rider327

iTrader: (13)

powder coat for sure. Paint does not hold up very well on wheels. It will chip, peel, etc. Powder coat is real tough and can hold up much better.

gwade12

Thanks, that's what I was thinking.. Just making sure.. I'm pretty new to taking care of cars. I'm only 19 and just started really getting into cars and bikes last summer. They are a load of fun though!