I been working on this 91 camaro for about 3 years now. I just decided to swap my 305 engine to a 350. The mechanic I brought the car to swapped the engine from a 88 Corvette, and threw a eldlebrock carb on top. The mechanic also said he kept the 305 heads instead of the 350s because it will help with horse power which I feel now is a lie because there’s no power what so ever. Since I got the car back there’s been a rich gassy/ light egg smell coming from the exhaust and the hood. There’s a few things I noticed under the hood that was different, for instance there were a few hoses that were unplugged and just hanging and some that they plugged up with a bolt. Ill have to pos some photos up so you guys can really see what I’m talking about. So I been driving the car for a couple days now and noticed that there’s not much difference in power and when you punch the gas to accelerate there’s a lag and then go. When you punch the gas the RPM gage would be stuck and 4000pm and drop down after the lag. I’m thinking either the timing may be off, carburetor is not adjusted properly, or my worst Nightmare that the engine was just bad to begin with. Few other thing they did to the car was they swapped my rear end with a 4th gen posi. The back wheels are kinda sticking out more now pass the lip of the rear fenders. They also did not replace my E brake cable to a 4th gen so my e brake doesn’t work at the moment. I’m trying to get rid of the gassy rich smell and also figure out why the car is lagging when trying to punch the gas. There’s no power.

 

Did he eliminate the fuel pump in the tank or do something to reduce the amount of fuel it would be dumping in the carb? Sounds like he sold the heads on the side or something. I'd get as much from this guy for the money you already paid him to fix what doesn't work right and never use him again

 

I am guessing the vette motor had aluminum heads so he sold them on the side and gave you the 305 head story. He probably did a total hack job of a carb swap as well. Pictures will definitely help.

 

Very good chance you are running very rich. What edelbrock carb did he use. The part number should be on the front lower left on the base and say something like 1405, 1406

Just because an engine is from a corvette does not mean it is powerful. The factory 88 corvette had aluminum heads and EFI making about 245 HP. You are probably well under 200 with 305 heads and an untuned carb.

What distributor did he swap in?

Most likely you will have to spend a fair amount of time tuning the car. This means buying a carb tuning kit, air fuel gauge with wideband and vacuum gauge. You will also want a good timing light so you can properly adjust the distributor.

 

I think there’s a few things wrong with the car. The tranny just went out on me. Whenever you go more than 25-30 mph the car will have a long hesitation than jerk before it goes. But as you know from the post I recently swapped the rear end to a posi from a 4th gen camaro manual it’s a 355 posi. I almost feel like the tranny went out because we didn’t know the gear ratio of the rearend or possibly because the engine we swapped had 305 heads instead of 350 heads? The car is just sitting in my alley now undriveable. I feel like I need to start from scratch. I need to find 350 heads and figure out what transmission goes best with that car considering it has a 350 engine from a 88 corvette and a 4th gen manual rearend. I’m thinking about bringing it to Santa Rita auto in Pleasanton Ca, they supposedly are experts at camaros and third gens in particular. Any fees back would be helpful.

 

A couple things your corvette 350 is just a 350 nothing magical about it. Start thinking about it as a regular small block when you buy parts all the good vette stuff has been removed from it anyway.

4th gen rear end is the same as a 3rd gen but slightly wider has nothing to do with your trans. The auto and manual are essentially the same and wont effect the trans. I would also pop the cover and look at the gears 3.55 ratio does not sound right.

Most likely the tranny died because when the edelbrock carb was installed the TV cable was not adjusted right and the proper bracket was not installed so you don't have the right geometry. Take some pictures and get the TV cable adjusted right before you start replacing parts.


Do you live in california? If so that mechanic did a wide variety or illegal things to your car

 

So you recommend I take some photos first and see if I can find a mechanic that can adjust the tv cable? And I should definitely find 350 aluminum heads? I’m wondering is the tranny ok for me to just rebuild again or should I just order a different tranny. And where should I get the carb tuning kit, and air fuel gauge with wide vacuum? And also what is the proper bracket that should be installed? I’m also aware of all the illegal stuff he did. I luckily got the car smogged and registered before he did all this stuff to the car.

 

I would take a lot of pictures and post them here especially anything involving the new carburetor and the cables going to it. Also anything he disconnected and distributor. after that I would get some tools and get ready to work on the car myself and never ever go to that guy shop again

 

Any chance you can get your old engine back? Not sure if this new set-up will ever pass smog in California in two years. Good luck with it

 

 

Looks like the stock computer controlled distributor?

 

Looks like your TV geometry is way off. I'm working on an edlebrock swap right now, had to order some special brackets to get it set right. TV cable should be a straight line from bracket to where it attaches at carb, also has to be adjusted properly once it's geometry is correct.

 

My gosh, what a hack job. I feel sorry for you. Never go to that shop again...

 

what pressure is that mr. gasket fuel regulator set at?

 

Please post a pic of YOUR bracket when you get it done and properly adjusted.

 

This is all I need to see to tell you that you got taken. If you are in an emissions testing state, you have already failed visual and you still have a ton of work to do to straighten out the mess this guy created even if no testing is required. You need a mechanical advance distributor to begin with. You transmission might already be toast. He ruined this car and you actually paid him to do it! Sorry bud.

 

I can do that, I'm probably a week out from being finished. I actually ordered 3 different brackets to try and see which fits best.

As for the OP, you have bigger, or should I say, more issues than the TV geometry. Best of luck getting this thing un-screwed