I just had my tranny rebuilt. Should my engine need it, as well, can the 700R4 built to handle the 2.8 also handle a SBC? It may turn out that swapping out for a 305 or 327 could be cheaper than rebuilding the 2.8. Thanks yall.
how many miles on the engine. i had my tranny rebuilt at 103,xxx. at 116,xxx did some top end work and still had close to original compression and little sludge buildup, but it depends on how the car has been driven also. it couldnt hurt to rebuild it though
I THINK the engine has 54k. Might have as many as 154K. I just talked to my friend/brother in Savannah, he said it's time and cost prohibitive to switch from 2.8 to carb'd 5.0 at this time. If I were to unhook the PCM from the engine, I would then have virtually no tranny. At this point, I'm gonna just have the engine rebuilt and worry about the LSx and T56 swap when I get rich. Thanks for the feedback, guys.
The V8 swaps are well documented in the Engine Swap section of this website. It's easy but it would not be cheap. V8 front springs, motor mounts, but mainly the cost of the motor and trans. The 2.8 tranny would absolutely not hook up to a V8. The bellhousing to engine mounting is totally different. Some people have done the 2.8 T5 to V8 swap using a V8 bellhousing but you don't have that option with the 700R4 as the bellhousing is cast in.
Matter of fact, that's exactly what I was told earlier. That and the exhaust would hafta be redone, radiator mounts, radiator hoses, and a whole laundry list of other issues that he already knows about. Not to mention the other gremlins he's gonna find along the way. Thanks for the feedback, I sure appreciate it.
No problem..... I was actually gathering parts for a V8 swap myself but now I'm leaning towards a 4.3 V6 swap as gas prices climb towards the expected $4.00 a gallon we will see this summer. It's sweet to drive a car that has been getting me 30+ mpg's on the highway.....regardless of the fact that blue hairs in their Prius's pass me by. I have good experiences with 4.3's and can easily get 300 HP from one without much trouble. So the plan is to go 4.3. I already have a 4:10 rear with an Auburn posi/Moser axles. I'll back that with a T56. I should be able to maintain the 30 mpgs on the highway. Curiously my 2.8 only gets 21..22 in the city. I have never seen such a gap between city and highway driving.
what a minute...the 2.8 only gets low 20s on the open road?
oh, nm, 20 in the city. That's roughly what my 00 Grand Prix gets in the city. She has the 3.8 N/A engine.
so, turns out the rebuild wasnt worth the paper I wiped my butt with. I tried lookin in the engine swap section, but didnt find a recommended shopping/check list of parts.
Ive already looked for turn key mills at YearOne, Autozone, Napa, Jegs, Summit, JCWhitney, ClassicIndustries, PaceParts, SDParts, CSKauto.com, and EBay. Are there any other vendors/stores that I may have left out?
What Ive found so far is that nearly no one sells EFI/TPI 350 SBCs, and that Im stuck buyin carb'd mills. Is this the case, or am I lookin in the wrong places?
Where can I buy only the TH350 bellhousing so I can have someone take the 700R4 internals and swap cases?
All builds and swaps are different, and gremlins that yall have had I may not have, but may find others yall have never dreamed of. Got it. What would be a good estimate to swap a 2.8L/700R4 with a 5.7L/4L60/4L65? 5 Grand? 40 Grand? 20 bucks?
Sure appreciate any and all info yall might be able to provide. Dammit, I shoulda done this to begin with...
Call junk yards. Ask for a TPI 350. They go quick, but they have them from time to time.
Also keep an eye out for any totalled cars that have the TPI 350. People selling them for parts and whatnot. If the car is in decent enough condition where you can hear them start it and hear the engine run, that might just be worth your while to buy, then transfer parts.
Try eBay for the TPI engine. I just bought one from a seller in Glendale who takes the cores and rebuilds them with better than stock internals. Sells them complete from intake to oil pan with a distributor but no harness or computer. Makes for a fairly easy swap into a car that already had a TPI engine like the 88 GTA I've got in the driveway with no compression on cylinder 5.
I just did a carb to tpi swap in my bird. That was a pain, but worth it. I have a 350 short block if you need one. I'm taking offers on it. It needs to be cleaned up, but should still be good. Make me an offer and I'll work with you. Also have various other parts that will work with that block.
The block you got sittin around: is it ready for TPI/EFI?
What other parts you got layin around?
Not sure if I said this already or not: Im movin to East TX in about 2-3 weeks. Any engine buyin I do will hafta be after we get settled. Please dont hesitate to sell to someone else, but I will most certainly keep you in mind. I appreciate the offer and look forward to doin business with ya.
Try eBay for the TPI engine. I just bought one from a seller in Glendale who takes the cores and rebuilds them with better than stock internals. Sells them complete from intake to oil pan with a distributor but no harness or computer. Makes for a fairly easy swap into a car that already had a TPI engine like the 88 GTA I've got in the driveway with no compression on cylinder 5.
how much did you pay? i was thinking aobut lookin into it but only if the price is right
You can set any block up for TPI or EFI. As long as the bolt patter for the intake matches up on the heads. There is really nothing special about TPI engines other than type of heads (L98 and so on). I used a 1982 Caprice 350 block with the heads from my carbed 305 LG4 engine. TPI works great with them. There hasn't been any interest in the 350 block I have. I would like to get rid of it asap. Comes with crank, pistons, rods, oil pan, oil pump, and flex plate. Needs a little work, but if you are planning to rebuild your engine, this would be better for you so you can still drive your car while working on this one. I have a set of heads here too I'll throw in the deal. They need rebuilt as well, but have a machine shop check them for cracks. Same with the block, as I do not know the condition (if you get it checked out right away and there is a crack in the block, I'll give you your money back). How's $50 sound for the whole thing? Actually, if you don't want it, the offer is open to who ever does.
well if you have a link that'd be cool. Fortunately for me, ive got another car for my DD because my GM classes are going to be held in glendale and i live in queen creek, so the camaro is a fix when i got the extra cash type deal, im thinkin of buying a full tpi engine off hawks third gen parts and building it in my room as odd as it sounds, done it a few times lol. Everything else though i jsut go through EVIT for. sounds lame but my instructors know alot and next fall while im out at the ASEP program im thinking of leaving my camaro in the body shop for a year long project where i get a free paint job lol
how much did you pay? i was thinking aobut lookin into it but only if the price is right
His normal price is $3500 for the engine when he lists them on eBay. That's fully assembled with a fully polished TPI unit, 4 bolt mains, stock crank, forged rods, forged pistons, upgraded TPI friendly cam, water pump, fuel injectors, and distributor. You have to provide your own harness and computer. He will also paint the block any engine color you want and has several options for valve covers for that price. His normal turnaround from the time he gets your money to the time the engine is ready is around 2 weeks.
I had him change out the crank for a forged one and provided my own heads so the price changed for my specific engine.
$50 for a long block 350? hot damn. I SO wanna snap that up RIGHT NOW. all thats missing is the TPI/EFI system, intake mani, sensors, PCM and harness, right? Thats a killer deal. grr, if I werent moving...I think you and I will be doing some business in about a month or two, if the mill is still sittin around.
What year is the block? If it's an 87+ with roller cam, one piece rear main, and passenger side dipstick, *I* might have to take it off of your hands at that price.
I believe the block is a right hand dipstick. The heads are for 87-up. I don't know the year of the block. It's probably about early 70s. I would need to be taken apart and cleaned up. It's been sitting out in the weather and has surface rust. THE 350 TPI ENGINE I DID IS NOT FOR SALE!!! That one is in my car now and my wife drives it to work and back daily. If interested, I would have to arrange for pick up so I can get it. It's not at my house at the moment and would have to get the time to retrieve it.
I think he was asking me, I'd get the $50 to build so I can just swap engines some day. I really want a 87+ block though. One piece rear mains, mmm mmm good.
