junkyarddog

I have an '84 Trans Am that originally came with the 305 H.O. L69 engine (CCQ-jet,electronic HEI). the longblock is once again f----d,so I'm not going to bother with fixing anything on this engine,it's time to upgrade!! my questions here pertain to were my money would be better spent and what reasonable combo's I can work with. I know I have the choice of using the L69 computer & controls w/the Q-jet rebuil and re-tuned that would save me some $$$ since I have everything needed to make the engine run,then all efforts could be focused to building a mean longblock. ofcourse there is the option of transplanting an entirely different system in there like an L98 or even the LT1!! my only problem with that is,I know my L69 stuff like the back of my hand and I've seen some guys on these boards who claim to have had success with a Q-jet system and I really don't care to drop my gas tank....not hard,just more work to do!

I've seen some LT1's/T-56 combos w/30-65k for sale for around $2500-$5000 and I'd be happy to lose my 700r4 for something like that. but what if I just built up a classic old time SBC 350 internally balanced,big illeagal cam,no chrome or needless garbage...just performance built??? could $2500 go a long way for something like that? I'd like to build it myself,but I might be better off having the pro's do this for me.I already have a full exaust system,hedmen 1 5/8" shorties,high flow cat,Borla 3" adjustable cat back.the suspension is all done including hotchkis rearend kit,just need the LCA relocators. the rear cogs are 3.73 posi,what combo can get the most out of these gears??

I'm done with street racing,but I'd love to show some of these nerds with the 3ft wings and cold air intakes what's up if they can bear the embarassment of a real 1/4 mile.

five7kid

iTrader: (14)

I like the way you think. The CC setup isn't all that bad, will support more cubes than TPI. Have you read the "Stroke in the Desert" magazine articles by Steve Green on this board? '83 TA, 383 CC setup.

Careful on the "illegal cam" part, though. That may be what makes the computer unhappy.

A couple of possibilities:

To cover the "pro" part - L31 shortblock, then put some nice aftermarket heads on it with your choice of cam. You'll strain the $2500 part, but will be close. (Besides, it's the "might as well" stuff that gets ya anyway.)

If you're willing to step out on a limb - find a 350 block, put a $400 Summit rebuild kit in it, then the heads & cam as above, save some money and put it together yourself. Even with core & machining costs, you'll probably beat the L31 shortblock cost, have 5 more cubes, and probably forged pistons to boot.

The LT1 is attractive, I must admit. But, yesterday I drove my Camaro for the first time in 2 weeks, only 3rd time in 4 weeks - how sweet that "old time SBC" is! (Okay, it's just a 305, and it's CC, but still sweet - and it's mine!)

junkyarddog

that's the kind of info I'm looking for,something I can really do with my car and not some sort of pipe dream. I know a little about cams,but I'm not any kind of expert on matching heads & cams. I would like to build an engine with higher than normal compresion,because I don't plan on using any power adders. I would like to select a cam that takes full advantage of the displacement and airflow of the motor without freaking out the computer. the reason I mentioned the 3.73s is because I might not need as much torque to get the car moving but definitly room to breath at higher RPMs... of course I would like it to be fuel efficient enough to drive daily,so as much as I'd like it to be out of control,I'm willing to compromise a little and match my parts very carefully so I'm not wasting any fuel.
I'm going to keep searching the archives,and see what I can come up with.

does anyone have any suggestions on heads and valve train parts that will take some high RPM abuse but not cost too much $$$??

and...is the L31 a rollercam block? some people here have told me that the roller cam block won't support a mech. fuel pump,I think this has got to be ,couldn't I just take the fuel pump and it's push-rod from my old engine and make sure the block has the right cam to support a block mounted fuel pump?