Guys, I have a 1991 305 tpi z28 camaro, with only 59,000 miles on it. Everything about it is pretty much rock solid, the interior is in great condition, the chassis has no rust, and I have just put a fresh paint job on it. So obviously I am now leaning towards doing something to the engine. At the moment its completely stock and runs really really nice. So I would love some ideas, should I stick with my 305 and make some mods to it? Or should I swap the motor out for a different one. I would probably want to swap it for a 350 if I did this to keep some essence of stock about it. Also I do have a budget. But I am wondering about how much else I will have to swap along with the motor. Will my manual transmission be ok? And what about the rear end? Also is there anywhere out there that will sell me the components of the engine so I can build it myself, I could save some money in theory and it would be fun. Anyway I am very interested to hear some ideas, some experiences and information from as many of you as possible, I want to make my car a bit quicker, sound a bit naughtier, and annoy my neighbours a little more than i already do. Thanks a lot!

i would go for a mild 350 and depending on the power your trans might be able to hande it got any pics of the car?

Yes I do I have posted them here
http://gallery.me.com/pete.thickett#100043

Where is the best place to look for crate motors in that case, I have been googling a little, and although this sounds like a contradiction, (aside from building the motor myself) I would want to be able to buy a motor i can drop right in, pretty much right off a dyno, rather than having to source loads of components from half a dozen different places, then find my engines half in and i am missing a much needed bracket or bolt!

Ultimate TBI mods on a 350 with a chip from TBIchips.com would be my choice. Nice car.

honestly, with 59k miles keep it stock....don't see too many low mile 3rd gens around anymore.

Keeping it stock seems to be the common response when I have talked to a lot of other people, especially the restoration guys that did my paint job. If I did that I would be very interested in going for some mods to my 305 that would be easily reversible, but would bump up the power.

So lets hear it, what would you guys do? (I have always liked the whiney noise a supercharger makes )

I'm not sure I would do that, since it's a TPI car. . .

Yeah I noticed that, but they do have some stuff on the TPI. I think he may have meant if i went to a carbed 350 motor.

Anyway I have been looking at some options for my 305, but I am still very undecided, a cam upgrade seems like a good thing to swap out, but I am unsure as to how much other stuff I will have to change to get that working right. Also does anyone have any ideas about how far i can go with headers and exhaust modding before I make the car fail emissions or annoy police? Its registered in CT if that makes a difference.

heads ,heads heads the best way to get more ,of everthing power torque and keep it looking stock. porting and some good valves springs and maybe a cam lots of stuff without changing the stock look.

Ok, so let me just get one thing clear, you think headers are the way to go?

I have thought a lot about them, but will I really see all the benefit if I have to keep the cats installed?

Sorry about the TBI mods..... sleep depravation can be pretty bad. I guess my mind is on vacation.

Any help on the exhaust is always welcome..... on a stock 305 it can be worth 20-30 hp. Third gen exhaust is real bad stock. As for the cam, it depends on how much tuning you want to do with the computer.

Draco seems to be on point with the idea of porting, spring, cam, and so on. Even a 350 would "look" stock. Very few people would ever know the difference. I know it seems like the lt1 cam looks popular cause of lift in tpi 350's. I'm not sure how that would work with the computer on a 305 since it will raise the rpm range a couple hundred..... I am pretty sure it would need to get tuned either way.

So, I get the feeling that swapping out the headers, replacing the cam, the springs, and porting the heads and chipping the computer will give an impressive enough step up in performance. I like where this is going!

Is there anything I should be concerned about on the air side? Or is all the stock arrangement pretty good as is?

The last thing that concerns me is whether or not doing these mods will affect whether the car gets through emissions tests. If I keep the cats on will I be ok?

Use emissions-legal headers such as Hooker 2055HKR for single 3" cat, or Hedman dual-cat headers, and a computer-compatible cam, no problem with emissions.