v8nate92RS

I have spent hours searching on here reading posts about the L05 motor from SDPC or Pace as a good replacement for the 305 TBI L03. I am looking at doing this and just want a solid answer from the guys that have made this swap to the question of: What do I need??? I know from searching that I need a 350 knock sensor, bigger injectors (65 I think), and then I've heard different things after that. SO, what is the true list of parts I need to replace in order to make this work??? Do I need a new computer, or just the chip???

ShiftyCapone

iTrader: (7)

You can re-use the computer but you will need chip work. This means doing t yourself. Off the shelf chips suck and are a far cry from what you need. Don't be fooled by the fancy advertising you see for custom TBI chips in the back of your speed mags.

You need a 350 knock sensor
You can get away with certian 305 ESC modules (not sure which ones but I am sure someone knows)
You need larger injectors (I see you have that covered)

That is basically it. Your fuel and air demeands for that motor have a much greater potential now. I would throw in a better fuel pump for safe measure. It is cheap insurance. Depending on your final heads and cam choice you may need a larger TBI unit. You may max out the stocker and pull vacuum if you have a decent top end.

Everything else you have bolts right up. Yor heads and cam selection have also expanded because of increased displacement. Make sure you read up on chip stuff as well as what people are running on their 350+ TBI motors.

v8nate92RS

Thanks Shifty, we can always count on you to respond. Does the EGR work the same as with the L03 or is there something I have to do to a new block to make it work? I have to have this thing fully emissions compliant here in MD.

WildmanDRL

The EGR should swap without a problem as long as all the components are in good working order.

Chip tuning will be the most important part of making it pass. Get the equipment and learn how to do it before you make the swap. You'll get back on the road alot faster. 6 months after my swap and I'm still trying to get everything together to make it right.

I found out the hard way.

Avenger007

I did a LO5 swap as well and slowly gathering the right parts is NOT the way to go. Go the junkyard route and youll be pretty pleased. I grabbed a BLH esc sensor (350), a 350 knock sensor, and 2 55# injectors off of a TBI van all for only $15. Send the injectors off to get cleaned and youll find yourself saving big $$. if you buy new then expect around $250-$300 for those parts.

You have a 8746 ecm which can swap chips to support a 350. I did a mail order chip and it worked for me since I dont have many upgrades, however, in the long run it will hurt. I payed $75 shipped for my LO5 chip, tuned to support upgraded exhaust, but it will perform horribly once I add a new intake, cam, heads. Only consider it if you dont want to spend $150 on chip tuning software and hardware. I know my car could be much more capable with a proper chip but I am swapping to TPI w/ C950 so spending money on chip stuff wasnt really attractive.

You wont be able to find 65# injectors in another junk car unless its some sort of cop vehicle. 55# will work fine for a LO5. Many on here even stay with 55# injectors after cam, heads, and other swaps and just turn up the flow. This works in some aspects and others it wont work as well as high flowing 80/90#ers. I believe its best to look for bigger injectors once your making over 300+ hp

SchwarzCamaroRS

ive got the 55# in mine and i run rich... thats tuning problems though, stupid chip... i paid cash for all my parts new of gmpartsdirect.com and i got them all for about $270... the injectors are $100 after tax if you buy them new... i passed smog with flying colors with a 1* retard and a new cat so i wouldnt really worry about that all too much. the hardest part of this swap is the chip... by far... if you want one that "works" you can go to tbichips.com and get the 1994 Caprice Cop chip, that one is the one im running and it works fine... i had to mess with the timing a little bit or it pings a little bit, but other than that, i have no problems with it

SchwarzCamaroRS

oh and i forgot, i did buy the Caprice/Fleetwood LO5 crate from SDPC2000.com mine was only $1,200 when i bought it though. Be careful with shipping, i had a dented valve cover when i got mine

92blue

iTrader: (1)

Honestly, I would pick up an L98 crate engine instead of an L05. You can still run TBI on it, L98 doesn't mean it has to be a TPi motor. If you get the former, you'll have significantly better heads. L05 heads are swirl port heads. For a stock rebuild they are fine. If you want to add a cam, or want some decent hp later on, they are useless.

BronYrAur

iTrader: (1)

I agree. I would go with an L98 crate engine over an LO5 any day. If you want any real power you'd want to change the heads and cam in that LO5 but if you were going to do that you might as well just buy a good shortblock.

v8nate92RS

Thanks for the replies guys, but if I do the 350 swap with this RS it is going to be the L05. I am not trying to make my RS into a quarter mile master or anything really fast. I just want to restore it to "like new" condition inside and out. The engine swap to the L05 would be to keep it cheap and easy while adding additional horsepower and torque. I also have a T-5, which cannot handle a lot of torque so the L05 would be perfect for this car. I just hope I have the patients and $ to fully restore this baby.

Avenger007

I agree with what others said above. And an L98 is by no means a quarter mile master. I would even consider a stock LT1 at 275hp to be rather mild. Youll more than likely be disappointed in the LO5. I have done this swap on my bird and it doesnt feel one bit like a strong muscle car. Its got a little bit of spirit, but a decent import would trash it.

I would consider buying a nice 350 shortblock and buildup or checking out GM goodwrench 350 long block part #NAL-10067353 on summit. Good for 260hp/350tq but once you slap on TBI it would make it a bit milder. Still a better choice than LO5. My pic would be the L98.

92blue

iTrader: (1)

I don't think you quite understand the L98 idea. Your more than welcome to do what you want, but the L98 short block will cost about the same and provide a much better foundation. It will be no more difficult or expensive to drop in an L98 engine versus an L05. All of your accessories, manifold, brackets, ..... anything you can think of that you have on the 305 will bolt up to the L98 without modifications or any extra work.

Whats the difference? The TBI heads that come on the L05 are a restriction even for a stock L05. They are absolutely pathetic as far as airflow goes. They have really nasty swirl ports which choke the engine past 3500 rpm. The cam on the L05 is just as pathetic.

The L98 is not a race motor by any means. However, it has a somewhat respectable cam (considering its a factory part), and the heads have normal intake ports without that stupid swirl cast in.

My dad has a 96 GMC G30 van for work. It has an L05, 4L60E tranny, and factory 3.73s. It is a dog off the line, a dog rolling, a dog on the highway. Its a dog in neutral even. It has no throttle response whatsoever. Now definitely, the stock tune on his van is garbage I am sure. If you work out the spark and VE tables a bit, I am sure it would improve quite a bit. I'm just saying that the L05 cam and L05 heads are a horrible combination.


By the way, I just looked at a SDPC catalog I have here at home, and the L98 is $100 cheaper than an L05.

v8nate92RS

I know all the bad qualities of the roller L05 (heads & cam) but like I said, I want the cheapest, easiest swap for the L03 and this is it. I don't want to have to rebuild or replace my T5 do to an overload of torque. The stock specs on the L05 for the caprice/fleetwood 92-93 gave it around 300 ft-lbs which is still concerning for the whimpy T-5. The L98 is only found new in a "short block" and thus I would have to spend good money on heads and a cam. That would put it way past the $1600 price of a fully assembled L05.

SDPC price for fully assembled L05 = $1,677.87

SDPC price for L98 Short Block = $1,135.95

I can swap heads and cams anytime in the future, so the L05 is my most cost worthy option.

BronYrAur

iTrader: (1)

Ok here's what you do then if you want new parts:

Buy that L98 shortblock for 1135.95
Then buy L98 heads from www.salleechevrolet.com P/N 10125377 For 620.00 for a set fully assembled.

So, for an extra $78.08 you get a lot better engine combo making probably at least 50 more horses.

There are a lot of routes to go and save money. Hell, go to a junkyard and pick up a set of L98 heads for like 100 bucks or off ebay or something. But, if you're going to buy new parts, you want to avoid swirl ports and anything that came stock on a TBI vehicle, like the plague.

BMmonteSS

what he said.....and don't worry about the tranny, the guys that are breaking them don't know how to LIFT between shifts.....come to think of it I don't either, but thats another story. Your tires will let loose before your tranny does, as long as your not trying to power shift (power on shift) you won't hurt it.

Avenger007

There are guys on here running a T5 with a 350. BMmonte is right you should be fine. If i had a choice between a LO5 and a L98 i would have picked the L98 hands down. Its just a better engine. LO5 leaves many things to be desired. Im sure you can find one for the same price if not cheaper.

BronYrAur i think $620 is a little pricey for a set of L98 heads. you could get a set of vortecs for less than that. You also probably wont see a 50hp difference because a L98 only made about 35-40 more hp than a LO5 and thats because its TBI vs TPI. hes putting TBI on a L98 motor, so itll be choked some.

L98 is just a better foundation thats my .02

BronYrAur

iTrader: (1)

I gave those numbers just to show him the slight difference in price of L98's brand new. I would never buy them myself, just an example. I'd pick them from a junkyard and rebuild them but whatever. And TBI won't choke a stock L98 at all. If you know how to tune it and match parts right you could easily make more power than a TPI L98 especially with headers and full exhaust.

But you're right I'd definitely go with Vortecs over them because they actually cost less new than L98 heads do and flow way better.

Fast355

iTrader: (2)

I'm running a L05 Roller cam shortblock, rebuilt of course from a 1992 Chevy G20 Van. The engine came out of a stock 1992 chevy van with a roller camshaft and 65 lb/hr injectors in the TBI. The factory cam was junk due to the low powerband and the swirl port 193s were a joke for anything but bottem end torque. I ported and rebuilt a pair of 081 tuned port 305 heads. I used Precision Engine Parts undercut swirl, polished 1.84" and 1.60"(had the exhaust seats enlarged) valves. For the cam I pulled the stock van roller out and stuck in a take-out cam from a 1996 Corvette LT1 that came from a local speed shop. All I had to do was cut down the opti spark dowl. I also used a set of 1.6:1 rockers meant for a LT4 corvette(had to modify the pushrod slots in the heads) The engine was toped with an edelbrock performer EGR meant for the later heads. I originally used an edelbrock 600 but stuck the rebuilt, retuned 305 quadrajet on it for mileage. I tried to run it with a factory 350 TBI setup but it needed help with the chip bad. The harness is still there just not connected so I will be playing with the TBI later. I was running the 65 lb/hr injectors in a 350 TBI that had been enlarged to 2"(eliminates the problems with the IAC and Throttle linkage). I just put the TBI on an adapter plate meant for a holley projection. The IAC actually cleared the EGR valve on the carb style intake. With the Q-Jet on it the engine is a beast. With the TBI it is still substantially better than a stock 350 TBI.

Oh yeah the engine is backed to a rebuilt 1992 700r4. (In case you haven't noticed the deal with 1992 parts I bought a Chevy van with 80,000 miles on it and a bad transmission for $400 dollars as I needed an engine and wanted a later model transmission). I am running a 2,200 rpm lockup sytle converter in the transmission. I still have the stock 3.42:1 rear in my van but have no problem toasting 255/70/R15s on dry pavement. I can run 80-90 all day long, uphill, in overdrive with the tach at 2,300 rpm. This 355 is a torque monster but still knocks on 18 mpg on the highway. I bet with tuning I could get the TBI to run better and get better mileage. I have taken it to 5,000 rpm in 3rd and it was still pulling good just ran out of road(about 126 mph).

This engine is good for 14.8s @ 94 in the 1/4 and 10.2s @ 74 in the 1/8 in a 5,800 lbs full size van so it is making great power.