heres the thing i have a 84 2.8 firebird. and i can get a 350 but when i went and talked to this guy about rebuilding it and putting it in my car he's telling me that he has to change everything in the car and unless my car is in real good shape then i should not do it i should get a 305 then do it. my car look good and i am proud of what i have done to it, compared to how it did look when i got it. but it is to slow, i mean i got beat by a suv a 4 wheel drive truck, there is no why i can ever have that happen again! on my car the driver side was hit when i got it, i had to get the hindges for the door welded on and there is lots of rust under the car not to much but enough to say i should fix it. other then that the car is perfect! anyways, i can get my hands on a 88 trans am with a 305, but the body is bad (under the car is real good though i looked at it this time) i will have to the same thing i did to my car with this car and i just got my car on the road this summer. so this is my situation. i really need help what do u guys think i should do. i never want to be beat by a suv ever again! the price for this stuff is not that bad>good 350 small block=250$ othere trans am =700$, install around 700$. so what do u think i should do. i mean what would u do if you where me?????

 

You just have to figure out which is smarter...I mean that you shouldnt just do what is cheapest. I would probably get a different car. Your firebird with a 2.8 in it will have lots of trouble when you put a 350 in it with alot more power. Thats what I hear anyways. I know one thing is that your front suspension will not be able to support the extra weight. You will have to get different springs and maybe shocks. You probably have a crappy rear end since its a 2.8 car. Your rear end may not hold up long. I dont know what kinda transmission is in it. But you should consider that also. I was in the exact same position 2 years ago I didnt know whether to rebuild or buy something different. In the end I spent lots of money trying to rebuild then found out my body or frame was twisted and was no good. So I had to start looking for something else anyways. So thats just what I think...By the way rust is BAD I hate rust its like cancer. So I would try to find something with no rust its a bitch. What I ended up doing was buying a 1991 z-28 off of Ebay that had no engine or transmission but was all set up for drag racing. I put my 350 and 700r4 in it. Then I sold it to buy my 1LE off of Ebay.

Thats just my .02 cents

 

i have a 2.8 car and a small block, the springs are fine,and the car is the same as the v-8 cars. my rear is better than the 8cyl bird my engine came out of.(3.08 limitedslip to his 2somthing one wheelpeel) i dont know the smog regs up there but thats all you have to worry about. i'd get a non computer 350 and turbo 350 trans. summit has a kit for the trans to bolt it into a car that had a 700r4.the motor mounts are different but you just buy the 8cyl ones and the holes are already drilled for them at the factory.it was a very easy swap and i'm experiancing very little problems.

 

Put the extra time and money into your car. Body work is too darn expensive. If you are working from a good base, thats all you need really. Do your research and drop that 350 in. You will be happier in the long run.

 

I'd kill myself.











Actually I wouldn't worry so much about power and worry more about shine. Some cars are better for polishing up rather than powering up. In your case, I'd spend my money on turning that car into a beauty. If you're lookin for power go find another one with a 350 in it already.