Well I have finally got the money together to do a 350 swap. I want to do carb'd to save hassle, time, and money down the road. I was all set to do this swap until a friend of mine told me the road ahead. He said the newer third gens are completely computer controlled. Hes not 100% sure on what is computer controlled but he said I am looking at a mess of problems during this swap. He told me to post up here because you guys would know a lot more than he would. So what am I looking at here? I am not doing fuel injected because I don't want to mess with dyno tuning and stuff like because this 350 is going to be mildly built. The guy I was talking to also has a built 700r4 tranny that he said he would sell to me but it is also computer controlled but said there was a way to change that. I just want to know what I am getting into before I dive into this project because right now it sounds like a lot of hard work. I don't really want to sell the car because its a 25th anniversary edition with the factory racing stripes and all. I love the car to death. Can you guys please tell me exactly what I am looking at? Thanks a lot

 

first, read the last sticky. Then, as for the 700R-4 your friend has, the solution is a 700R-4 lockup harness from PainlessWiring. Problem solved. No computer needed.

 

While more is computer interfaced than 2nd gens, 3rd gens are less so than 4th gens.

The only thing tied to the computer on the transmission is the torque converter lock-up. As 'tilla says, that can be worked around with an aftermarket kit (several available out there).

The fuel pump will be one of the bigger things to get going, but even that isn't that big of a deal.

Changing the engine mounts on the K-member is one of the most exasperating things. But, that's just a matter of 6 bolts & nuts.

So, read the sticky, go from there.

 

Will I have to leave my 3.1 ECM in because my key has the chip in it?

Also, the speedo is ran off the computer? Will I have to get a mechanical one?

 

No, you'll just need to use the VSS setup for a '90-'92 V8 Camaro. I can't say for the T5, but for a 700R-4 it's no big deal.

 

What about fuel lines? I heard I gotta change my fuel lines to 3/8 or something like that. This is sounding like a lot more ***** than it should be.