Im in the process of restoring a 1980 Trans Am, it came with a carbuerated 301, which I am pulling in place of a 400 Pontiac, want to know if anyone can tell me what problems Im going to get in, will I have any problems with the Hood Scoop? Will 400 motor mounts take car of any issues that are going to arise regarding the Hood Scoop? I want to be able to keep the stock scoop look. Please help! Thanks!

 

Another Pic:

 

Nice car man

Umm... i don't think you should have any problems with the 301-400 swap, since they are both Pontiac motors and both engines were available for that car, it should be a direct drop in. I'm not sure about the mounts, but i'm pretty sure they are the same.

 

Not sure about the mounts either, I think they are the same. Posted that question on my Poncho board so I'll find out shortly. The 400 is a direct bolt in so no problem with the shaker scoop. The 400 I have I pulled from a 81 TA, that originally had a 301. The engine is a "71 model. Just curious if you are leaving the 400 stock. what heads do you have? A lot of power to be made with that engine. The only thing "stock" on mine right now is the timing chain cover...
Bob
By the way... Thats a SWEET looking Bird. Change the shaker to 6.6

 

Ok this is just an expensive investment and there is no room for mistakes so I appreciate the advise. The 6.6 decals will definitely be added! Our concern was that the 301 block is 1 inch smaller than the 400 block. So we didnt know if that would affect the position of the scoop. Im not 100% sure what we are using, I want this motor to be fast without all the noise. If I cant hear the stereo then its to loud. We are not going to go stock, we are going to add a Comp Cam and we are going to do alot to make this way better than it ever was from the factory. My engine guy has control over this and he knows I dont want to cut any corners, if I can make something better and a part cost 100 but to get a little better it would cost 150 then we will go with the better. Im getting excited about this whole project, cant wait til its on the road! We are redoing the suspension, the tranny, and completely going thru the rear end. The Tranny sucks as it is the r200, we were going to swap it out with something different but decided to go thru this one and make it really strong.

 

Mounts are the same AFAIK.

The hood scoop will be an issue, since the deck height is different between the 2 motors, the 400 will locate the carb most of ½" higher up. But it might be possible to just get the right air cleaner and all that for a 400, and then maybe it will all work and fit right. I don't know for sure but you should do a little research.

Another issue will be exhaust. Obviously the ports in the heads are loacted differently, and they're not quite the same pattern; 400 manifolds for a Firebird should cure that, or of course headers. I don't know if the diameter of the pipes is different, but if it is, then the manifolds won't bolt right up without a little custom work to connect the larger 400 stuff to what will end up being the highly restrictive 301 stuff.

I would strongly recommend ditching the 200 trans and getting a 350, rather than spending a bunch of money on the 200, having it shred, and then going and getting a 350 anyway.

 

Do you have any suggestions on who I could contact to find out from an expert? The problem is that these cars are older and most shops seem to work on newer cars so they arent even sure. Would pontiac be able to help me? Thanks for your imput I need alot of this answered exactly before I head down this road. All information I get from you all goes right back to my mechanic.

 

Want to hear a sweet 455? http://www.angelfire.com/mi/jamos1/index.html look towards the bottom of the page and look for

Click Here To Listen To My Super Duty

 

Go hang out at car shows or something, watch for such things at your local race track, just find people in your area that have those cars and are familiar with them. They might be able to answer alot of questions you have, maybe even have parts, maybe even have done the same thing you are doing.... everybody that had one of those hated that stupid weenie little motor that let the car get pounded by everything else on the road, so it was a pretty popular swap back when they were newer.

 

Thats what I thought... as long as the 400 is a 1970 or later the 301 mounts will work. Scrap the tranny, I'm using a 350 but if weight isnt a concern go with the th400, best BOP tranny made. I know I shouldnt promote other boards but for older Pontiacs you really should check out www.performanceyears.com. Got professional builder/racers there that know everything about Ponchos. Still curious about what heads and intake you have, and your general engine specs.My 400 is looking at 530 hp.

 

Well that Im not 100% sure on. We are using the 6X heads and we are going with the Edelbrock Intake. Mostly we just want to get it running and passing emmissions and then we can fine tune it to get more out of it. Arizona emmissions are a mother! This project is taking alot longer than I anticipated. however its not my daily driver. We are getting ready to put all the mechanical stuff together, we figure another week or so and we will have it road worthy. Going into the shop for paint on the 10th, or at least thats the plan for the moment

Sorry I took so long in replying, been really busy.

 

That car is sweet! I sold my 79 with a shaker hood. I miss it everyday. Those chassis are hard to comeby these days. most of them are rusted out or twisted up. I have a GTA now and I am just finishing up my new motor. It is a ZZ4 short block with TRW forged pistons, Pro Topline vortec heads, XR69 roller cam, and SLP runners with SDPC intake. I have done all the suspension and dropped in a level 3 bowtie 700r4 overdrive, but it just doesn't have the feel of the old "Bird". Thats what my friends and family used to call it. If you are ever up for a trade give me a holler that is a beautiful car.

 

Thanks, got a ways to go, if your interested Im tracking this project

http://www.quicklysell.com/this_is_the_engine_kit.htm

Going to be adding more as the car starts coming together.

 

Beautiful pics. I like the way you are documenting the project. Curious if those are 6x4's or 6x8 heads. I dont know of a 180 Comp Cam... is that the grind number? will be a nice change over the 301.