hello all, i have a 1985 camaro with a 305ci 4 barrel carb and and auto tranny. the engine is almost on its last leg and i want to make the car more reliable. im interested in spending no more than 2 or 3 grand on an engine. because i have to buy headers and whatnot. i remember there being a complete how to on this forum for 305 to 350, but i cant find it. could you either point me in the right direction. or tell me what all i will need to do in brief steps. i have a great deal of experience working on cars and all the tools i need to do it at my disposal. i just have never swapped an engine on a car. i have however swapped an engine on a jet lol. thanks in advance for the help. was thinking bout this engine http://www.jegs.com/i/GM-Performance...ductId=1231165 Erik

I swapped out my 305 for a 357. All I did was put a hypertech Thermomaster chip in it and played with the metering rods on the Computer Controlled Q-Jet to get the mixture right and that was it. The carb is plenty big to handle the extra cubes and the chip only handles idle and igntion and fans. It was too long ago to remember what rods I put in it.

Erik

I am by no means an expert but it seems that this is a pretty strong engine just to get street reliability. The HP poses many additional problems in that will the tranny handle the horse power and does it have a posi rear. I have found many other engines for half of what you want to spend. If this is going to be a street car then there is no need to spend the money for a four bolt main engine. I am converting the 92 Camaro I have to a V8 from a V6. I'm toying with the idea of building a 327ci as apposed to a 350ci just for the street. The 327 has a unique sound from the exhaust that I miss. If you build the 327 just right you can really play around with the rpm's up to 6 or 7 grand. A 350 will keep you at 5 grand and rear end ratios around 356 for a top end gear and 273 for a streetable car. If I do this right I can use up to a 410 gear with a 327 short stroke engine screamer (soundwise). I have five cars and this is going to be a Sunday car to just cruise with or go to car shows. Good luck and shop wisely. I think you can do what you want for less money.

Buddy

thank you,

im not only looking for reliability. the engine it has right now has 167k on it. i want a new engine, i want a better engine. i want my car to be alot faster. this will be my weekend cruiser. somethin to take to shows. it does have a posi in the rear. a long time ago i had a list of everything i needed, interior and exterior. engine and electrical. i had it all mapped out. i lost the list. lol.

the set up i have now, the only thing that the computer is controling is the distributor. nothing else is attached. theres a rochester model holley carb on the top with a edelbrock performer plus intake and camshaft. i dont want a computer to control anything, so i will be puting in a distributor with a vacuum advance.

i just have a few questions,
will i need to change the wiring harness?

how much hp will the 700r4 be able to handle?

how about the rear end?

what will i need to do when i recieve the engine to prep it for install?

what steps major steps would i need to take during install?

what kind of problems should i expect?

what kind of parts should i change or keep from the old engine? damper, tourque converter, carb, fan?

i also live in virginia, i want to scrap the smog crap.

what should i look for in headers, and is it necessary to have them tuned?

thanks again,

erik

Any 350 will be a blast compared to the 305. I picked mine up already built carb to pan for $600 - it's no HP monster, but it's a great improvement over the 305 - I'm guessing I have about 270hp in my old 1969 rebuilt 350, about 100 over the 305, but no monster like some, and it's a blast to drive - even with the tranny rebuild I didn't spend more than $1500 in all for my swap. The wiring harness is fine. All guages will work fine. Might end up rebuilding the tranny like I did - the 350 has the power to let you know the auto is slipping when the 305 can hide the fact pretty well. You'll need alot of extensions and such to get those two bolts at the top of the tranny - they are a PITA and you can't see them.

Not a bad choice. Your 4 barrel carb will work fine, but you will need a "Vortec" style intake manifold for that engine. About $175 from Summit.
I would recommend keeping the computer controlled carb and distributor. It is a good street performance set-up, will not need a bunch of tuning to get it to run well, and will be more reliable than a non-computer set-up.

No.

Without a performance rebuild, not much more than stock. With a good rebuild, it'll handle that engine with no problems.

It would be best to beef it up (aftermarket gears and axles if you don't have them, aluminum support cover).

Nothing special. Follow the information that comes with the engine.

Safety and cleanliness are the main concerns. Personally I prefer pulling the engine and transmission together. But, I'll remove the flex plate to torque converter bolts first, and install them once the engine/transmission are back in the car.

Being organized will be your best insurance against problems. Your basic Haynes shop manual has sufficient information for the engine removal and install. Keep parts labeled and bagged as you disassemble. Pictures taken before anything is removed and during the disassembly process can be worth a lot at reassembly time.

Carb, distributor, and fan. Unless you go electric radiator fan. New dampers are relatively cheap. You'll want a higher stalling torque converter than stock, at least 2000 RPMs. Your '85 flexplate won't fit that new engine - get one for '86-'92 V8 f-body.

It isn't legal to do that, because it's Federal law that requires the equipment, not state law. But, that engine isn't legal, either.

Hooker 2055HKR, cat & cat-back for the '86-'90 TPI single cat application. "Tuned" is a marketing ploy at this level. Equal length headers simply won't make enough difference to be worth the loss of clearance vs. shorty headers like the 2055HKR's. TGO member Dyno Don makes custom headers and y-pipe for our cars. He doesn't advertise, PM him if you're interested. They are more expensive than the Hookers, but from people who have them, high quality, well-fitting pieces.

thank you so much, you answered all my questions. i already have a rochester model holley on top. non cc. you mentioned that the hooker headers are for an 86-90 tpi app. will it still work for the app i have. i thouroughly enjoy having a carb. im not makeing the switch to tbi or tpi. FI is a big hassle.

also, how about the fuel pump. will i need a new fuel pump for that engine?