I only ask cause going from a 305TPI from an 86 IROC to a 350TPI from an 87 with serpintine setup seems like it's still gonna be a bitch. I still have to get hoses, belts and stuff for the A/C, altenator and PS pump, I don't think it has EGR/Emissions crap, which in Mo I don't need to worry bout, specially where I live. And the 350 I have, somebody who hasn't even looked at it wants to buy it and somebody wants my car too. So if I sold both for $5000 all together I could almost pay off my truck (i'd owe $2000 on it) and then when it was paid off I could just buy another f-bod and start with something better. I dunno, i'm kinda torn here. I really like my car, but this seems to be too much of a pita to do in steps of upgrading susp/chas, trans, rear, swapping engine, repainting, redoing interior, just to have a badass ride. May be easier and cheaper in the long run to sell and buy better one later, than to do a 305 to 350 swap. Any sugg? If this doesn't belong in here, please don't lock, just move.

 

why dont you sell it and buy another car later. That way your out of one debt and you can start another. No really though, I would consider selling the stuff to pay off some bills and then buy another car. Seeing as how you have another daily driver I dont see how this would be a big problem. Thats my .02 cents though. It looks like your on your own on this one.

 

Yeah I kinda figured I would be. I know this is kinda on the line of motor swap, but that's the only reason i'd be keepin this IROC is to drop in that 350, which from what the prev owner told me is pretty badass! If I decide to do that, then i'll keep it and sloooooooowly build the car. I just need opinions on if it is easy and not too complicating to do this swap. I mean, can I use the same wire harness from my 86 and just like plug stuff in and bolt stuff up and do some tuning and bug fixing and it should work? I'm payin for it to get done since I don't have the tools, time or knowlege to do it myself. But I don't want to invest into a money pit.

 

i wouldnt even consider getting it done professionally. Either learn to DIY or dump it. it will cost at least 1000 or more to get it done professionally. If the car is in good shape, then go for it, otherwise sell. 5k is a good deal if the car itself is kind of a pile. If you have the whole serpintine setup, then it wont be too hard to get it all to work, i donno about the ac, though. The hoses are different on the a/c since its on the pass. side instead of the drivers side. Its worthwile getting new hoses for it just the same, since the new fittings seal much better. I was like you, the most major thing i had done before this was change some brake pads on my honda. I went the other way, though. I used an older style block, which, aside from everything else, required me to do a tiny bit of rigging and drill one hole for my passenger side accessory bracket. Im no expert but its not too bad. THe only extra thing you have to worry about is the tpi , which is more complex but still doable. If your gonna do it, jsut file it away in the garage and work on it in your free time. Youve already got the motor and the tpi setup, so your half way there. Thats how i felt about it. Selecting and finding the appropriate motor was half the battle. Wanted power but needed economy so i went for the cheaper economy crate 350.

 

If you decide to go ahead with your swap then you should not be worried about it. It is a piece of cake. It may take some time and get frustrating but it really is easy, just time consuming. I also swapped the old style block and that made my deal take longer. All of it test fitting and triming or elongating. Nothing major.

I recently helped a friend change from a 305 TPi to a 400 in his 90 and the swap took about 4 days from start to finish. Please note that we DID NOT work from sunrise to sunset. We worked maybe 5 or 6 hours a day. I think 3rd gens are among the easiest cars out there in terms of hot rodding ease. Just about everything on them is accesible with little effort.

Actually I think motor swapping on these cars is fun. More fun than pulling an LT1 out of a 96!!

 

Hes right.... I did mine by myself and it took me a total fo three days to pull the old motor and put teh new one in. Having a friend helps but its by no means necessary.

 

If you need money, you need money. But if you have money, go for it. First try to pay off your debts.

 

Well, i'm gonna go ahead and try and do the swap. I'm just gonna get rid of my truck and get something a few thousand $ cheaper. Then i'll have it paid off faster.

 

I was about to suggest that option. Sounds better than getting rid of the car all together. I plan on swapping a 350 into my 305 tpi in the early spring. I'm gonna do it all myself, but i have a garage and an engine lift. Looks and sounds like a pretty easy swap, plus if you have any mods, bolt ons, etc. to put on the new engine, it's much easier to do when the engine is out. I think all the wiring should work just fine. You may have to have a chip burnt (if your cars an auto) 350s rev higher and you may need larger injectors, unless your 350 setup came with injectors. Let me know how the swap goes.

 

yes and no I did everything myself except for taking the hood off. I hadnt done a swap in 7yrs and Ive never done one on a camaro b4. yes u will break things ie. sensors and clips all orig stuff gets brittle. as far as the bolts go take a shtload of liquid wrench and drown every bolt u will need to remove the night b4 hand. makes life so much easier.

 

What about all the wiring from my 86, will it work? My 350 supposedly has all the stuff already, it basically needs an alt and power steering pump, belts and hoses and it'd be ready to roll.

 

your existing wiring and ecm will be fine. My friend is running a stock 305 ecm with an accel superam TPI setup on a 400ci and with the custom burned chip it runs great. What kind of injectors are you planning?

 

YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Sometimes.

 

If u have enopugh time and rnt in a rush u will b pok. if u r on a deadline like I was trhen have a friend die and have to get the car togeasther b4 your mom and dad r back and rush ... wel it blows cause u rnt thinkin clearly. good lucjk its nor tooooo bad

 

"If u have enopugh time and rnt in a rush u will b pok. if u r on a deadline like I was trhen have a friend die and have to get the car togeasther b4 your mom and dad r back and rush ... wel it blows cause u rnt thinkin clearly. good lucjk its nor tooooo bad"

Were you completely drunk when you typed that?

 

The swap i did a few weeks ago ('83 305 out, '79 350 in) was not really that hard (frustrating; different story). it was fairly easy to get it in the car and bolted up. The only problems i had were just stupid little things that they changed sometime between '79 and '83 (like the dipstick on the other side) and a few other things. other than them, it was a peice of cake with the help i had. The only specialty-type tools i needed were:

A) 1000lb hoist
B) engine stand
C) clutch alignment tool (manual only)
D) vibration damper puller (to get at timing chain)

If you take your time and do it right, it doesn't take all that long either.. for a first-timer (like me) it should probably take you about a weekend to complete.