i was wondering if swapping my 305 with 160,000 miles with a rebuilt 350 would lower the value of my car? i was told not to swap because it would lower the value of my car and i would go broke keeping gas in it. how much worse is the gas milage on a 350 than a 305, i have a 600 cfm edlebrock carb also.

 

your gas milage should not suffer that much between the two motors, maybe a couple of mpg's or so, as far as lowering the value of the car, I doubt it. if your car is extreemely low milage and there is interest in a "numbers matching" car then yes it will lower the value, but, in most cases our cars are not in that catagory. you will probably have an easier time selling it for more money with a well built bigger motor in it, just remember, 305's are a dime a dozen in these cars and the 350's always seem to bring a higher value.

that's just my two cents worth.

 

I wouldnt worry too much about lowering the value, unless you plan on keeping your car another 20 or 30 years.
Just build it like you want to.

 

^Pretty much! With a properly built, strong running 350 in it you may get more for it if you go to sell it any time soon. Besides, with 160k on the car itself, no way would it draw any serious cash unless it was fully restored and everything was documented. I personally am saving all of my stock parts for a numbers matching car. Why? Just b/c i guess. I see my father and he says he wishes that he had his first car so i guess its just like a "dream", lol. I would like to keep it for my own personal value. It may be worth a bit more but who knows. With everyone hacking up these cars now a days, you never know what it may bring 20 yrs down the road.

 

yeah, i was looking at a 1990 IROC-Z as a project car with 230,000 miles on the original 305

my first plan was to rip the 305 out and stuff a brand new 350 in there, i honestly prolly would have kept the 305 for collector purposes down the road

the guy was asking $1500 and i made him an offer of $1000 cash, but he said no damn i wanted that car

i dont really see 3rd gens being collector material within our lifetime, heck, unless you have an original 67 Z28 (etc.) i dont really see any camaros being worth that much anytime soon

i've seen several nice first gens around here for about $6-8000
those dollar amounts are no where near what a 63-67 vette in the same condition would fetch

i see basket case 63-67 vettes start at $12-15000

in my eyes, the collector car market belongs to the vintage vette

kinda something to think about, unless of course you have a TTA, a 1988 1LE (4 made), or a firehawk

 

when I went from a 305tbi to a carb.350, my MGP dropped horribly, I now average about 9mpg on a good day.
I was doing about 17 before.

although, on the highway, I get 23mpg...I guess its those 2.73s, I think they bog the motor on acceleration, but its excellent on the highway.
I dont drive that hard, rarely above 2500rpm. the motot is slightly built, cam/intake/headers

 

go for the swap!

 

Do it. I did, I have built a reliable, 300 hp 350 that gets the same gas mileage. Basically build an engine that makes lots of low end torque. That's what gives you gas mileage. And it helps on performance when you have high speed gearing. I have 3.08's with a .62 overdrive. I'm at 1500 at 60 mph. Torque is what pushes all cars. The more torque, the better the gas, the better responce, the easier to spin at low rpm, and the more snap of the neck when you hit the gas.

 

The only problem i would forsee is that someone might not be comfortable buying a car that has a different engine in it..........you never know the quality of work done......

BUT theorectically.....you would pay more for a 350 in it.......

Although don't look for the price to cover the costs of the engine.....it won't increase that much....

 

In a mid-Sixties Corvette, a motor swap can devalue the car in the tens of thousands.

A 350 looks like a 305 externally. If my 239,000 LG4 every dies I'll probably replace it with a standard 350 and try to make it look as much as possible OEM. I wished I'd never modded my car. A OEM third gen is had to come by.