hey guys/gals, i just bought an 87 camero 305 5 speed for 300$ and im interested in speed only so what would be the best motor to go with and which ones to stay away from, ive really been thinking about the 572 from gm but im not sure, im more of an import car person myself and dont know alot about these cars so any help is appreciated

 

Welcome to the dark side! The 572 would be a crazy swap. Like any car you would have to beef up the drivetrain and do some sub frame bracing to handle the power.

Among the most popular swaps here are 400, 383, LT1, L98. All small block. There are a few big block swappers and LS1 also.

No matter how you go you will enjoy more reliability than the imports provide. So your money is better spent regardless on what you end up with.

 

ok thank you for that information, i found a 502 big block, is that something that would some what of an easy swap, sorry if these are so ignorant questions but im used to swaping out v-tecs and such so this is a bit different for me

 

I have a real easy swap for you. Just swap the Camaro for $500 to me. .

But if I was you (A newbie to the Camaro engine swaps) I would stick with a small block swap. Do something easy and straight forward that will be decently fast. Throw a carb'ed 350 in the car and put a nitrous plate with a 100hp shot and have some fun. Don't go overboard with a Fuel Injected Computerized L-98 or LT-1. Just start with the easy sh*t get addicted to the V-8 Torque, and become a Torquehead (but it's probably cheaper to be a Pothead )

Oh yea and have fun smoking your old Import friends with your Cheap low-cost V-8. Sorry I just had to slip that in there.

Where are you located?

Later, Garrett

 

If you have your heart set on a big block you will need to fabricate engine mounts and get stronger springs to support the extra weight. Thirdgenresource sells teh plates and u straps you will need to fab the lower mounting brackets. I am sure there are some big block swappers here. Try doing a search for "big block swap."

Your transmission should be upgraded as well. You can get a build 700R4 or use a TH400. The TH400 will probably require your tail mount to be modified.

Lastly, the rearend will have to be upgraded to a 12 bolt. (12 bolt is a bigger rear end that was used in older cars.)

 

ok thank all of you for the info, more than likely i will just stick to the 350 and camero freak, im from Indianapolis indiana, and trust me, even with my import i still could stomp them and im sure even worse with a camero

 

There are two questions you need to anwser - How much money and what do you want to do with the car? If money wasn't an option and you wanted a fast street car then go with a 400 sbc / t-56. For dragracing then big block / t400.

 

Cronic3rd, my limit on money is ruffly 10-12 grand, the thing is i want a drag car i can drive on the street everyonce in awhile

 

Then go big block. It won't turn too well (from what I have heard) but there is no replacement for displacement. And a turbo (tranny 350 or 400 either can be built strong enough). With a trans brake >; ).

 

dude are you for real??

You dont need engine mounts.The SBC engine mounts are used.Springs are not necessary either.The tranny doesnt have to be a Th400.The TH350 is an easier swap and can be made to last on a BBC.

Daz

 

well i ordered a RAMJET 502 and moser 12 bolt rear end so far, not sure what tranny is going in yet any suggestions welcome, and im not sure about the springs and mounts because i have two different stories so far so im holding off on those

 

Congradulations on your purchase!

If you want to preserve any kind of handeling and braking performance you will need to do springs. There may be an exception if the difference in weight between the big block and the 305 are not significant. For example, if your 502 comes with a aluminium top half the weight savings might offset the need for springs.

I have seen people put big blocks in place of LT1s in caprices and the front end droped almost an inch. Similarly, my LS1 swap weighs 150 pounds less that the 305 that came out. This has caused my front end to pitch up. Needless to say I will be doing springs as soon as it's road worthy.

If this were my swap I would be using the TH400 transmission or a built 700R4. The 700R4 will give you the advantages of a four speed. In general the TH400 will be able to take more abuse if compared in similar configuration to the 700R4.

 

I wouldn't go 700r4 unless you want OD. OD isn't worth it for Drag racing. Just go with a turbo 350 (built of course).

 

A few other things you might not have thought of or even know about. You are gonna need sub frame connectors. I don't really know how bad third gens are about twisting but you should get a roll bar at least. And some big slicks. And I have heard of BBC guys running 6 cyl front springs for weight transfer. That is in a deticated drag car though I am pretty sure it handels like a pregnant yak.

 

Sounds more like he wants to build a pro street type car to me.

 

i did some research and i am going to do something with the sub frame like connectors and im still trying to find some slicks for the back, ones i like, and it is deifinately going to have a full roll cage

 

u said your car was a 5 speed, then why not get a tremec tko or something?

 

cause an auto will shift faster and more consistantly than and human can.

 

and what is a tremec tko? and cronic i have been thinking about trying to to keep it a 5 or 6 speed so what kind of options do i have for that

 

Nothing that isn't custom. that 502 you ordered is rated at 565 ft/lbs of torque. the t-56 is rated for 450lbs and the tremec is 400lbs. Niether is strong enough. Not to mention a stick is really hard on drivetrain parts. A turbo with a full manual valve body is plenty strong enough and almost a manual . You might be able to get a 4spd to hold the power but that wouldbe kinda fun to get in the car. Just go with a manual turbo with a trans break. You don't want to build something that is just gonna break.

 

camaro

 

uh yeah i knew that, just seeing if anyone was paying attention

 

Yes, Daz is right the SBC and BBC both use the same motor mounts(odd you mount your engine with a motor mount ). As for the springs it depends the only thing that is going to happen is the extra weight is going to make the car sag a little in the front, the car isn't going to catch fire or mysteriously blow up if the springs sag a little. Now if your trying to make the car handle(which from what I can tell your not) yes you'd most likely need stiffer springs to keep body roll and ect in check. As for the tranny for drag racing definately go with an automatic. If you have the cash you can build a TH350 to take the same amount of power a TH400 can but if you don't go with the TH400 their strong and made to take torque for the get go(easier to rebuilt to). I don't know how much of an advantage it would be but a TH350 does have lighter internals and you could pick up a little speed there. Oh yeah if you use a TH350 or TH400 you'll need to pick up a bracket that bolts onto the tail housing that lets you mount the torque arm to the tranny. Hurst and B&M make the bracket.

 

and where can i pick a TH350 or a TH400, what are the two rated at?

 

I have no idea at the power they can handle but a automatic will take a hell of alot more punishment then a stick because a automatic isn't directly connected to the drivetrain. You can check Jegs and Summit at www.jegs.com and www.summitracing.com they sell B&M and TCI rebuilt trannies or you could check one of your local transmission shops but they must likely would sell you a stock half assed rebuilt tranny. But the B&M and TCI trannys have been rebuilt with some top notch stuff and I belive you can get them with a full manual valve body which is where you have to shift the transmission it does no shifting on it's own. Another option is to get one from a junkyard and rebuild it your self. It's not as hard as you might think, if you can take a engine apart and put it back together you can rebuild a tranny. Of course if you goto rebuild it on your own pick up a book by Haynes called GM automatic transmission overhaul and get a solid core door and set it on some saw horses for a good work area.

 

ok thanks everyone, i will probably go with a rebuilt TH350 then do the carbon fiber driveshafts help any? are they duable enough to withstand this sort of power

 

Oyu can get a turbo anywhere. Although That fastburn 502 with it's fuel infected goodness and fat torque curve would make a killer street car, Talk to pro-built.net about a 700r4 they might have something.

As far as fiber drive shafts go it is true that any bit of weight removed makes the car faster but i think you money is better spent elsewhere.

 

just thought I would point out that while the T-56 is only rated at 450 lbs, it will hold much more than that, especially with the steel shift forks and upgraded synchros you can get now. There are dual plate clutches for the T-56 that will hold over 800 lbs of torque. They are pretty beefy transmissions.

 

And the T56's that were intended for Vipers rated at 550 lbs. are sold with modifications to install into GM vehicles. http://www.ddperformance.com

 

Not to piggy-back the thread or anything, but I'm also interested in transmission choices. Figure I might as well ask because it could benefit 1fastfbody as well. I don't yet have an F-body, but I'm looking for one to throw either a 350 sbc or a 454 bbc (I'm leaning towards the 454 since both of them need to be re-built, might as well go for more power!) into. I'm also planning on throwing a Vortec (or ATI) s/c onto it with around 8PSI and a 100-shot (at least) of nitrous. None of this will happen for a while, as I'm planning on getting a car in the next few weeks, rebuilding the 454 over the winter, installing it next spring, nitrous next summer, and then a supercharger for the summer after that. So basically, its going to be one hell of a machine.

At first I wanted a manual, but am beginning to want an auto now. I was looking into the T-5 and possibly the T-56 or also a TH350. However, I was just checking on Jeg's' site and I saw the TH350 and TH400 under "B&M Street/Strip Transmissions". The TH400 is only $90 more than the TH350. Would I be better off with the TH400? Also, are the ones under this heading the ones that are built to take more torque, or are the street/strip ones just the stock TH350/400?

 

If you are gonna go big block with spray and a s/c then you are gonn need the strongest tranny possible - which is generally considered a t400.

 

Are the T400 and TH400 comparable in terms of specs and handled power (or are they the same thing?!). Don't know much about transmissions..

 

ok well now i think i might go with the T-56 from www.ddperformance.com and build it up to withstand more power becuase after running N/A for awhile i would like to do a custom supercharger right now it is gutted and in a friends shop and we are repairing the body but when everything comes in i hope to have some pictures of it(especially burning the old tires off ) one last question, does everyone think the carbon fiber drive shaft i found could withstand that much power becuase the 502 isnt going to remain stock

 

the shaft doesn't have much stress on it. It just spins. The universals have the stress and any fiber shaft is gonna come with good u-joints.

My *** thius car is gonna be fast... If you can get traction ; ).

 

well i've heard some people saying something about snapping a driveshaft or something like that and yes lets hope i get traction, i seen a corvette with dual superchargers on it and when i do some sort of forced induction im going to try for that

 

The shaft goes when the unis go. a sphoon torque arm with a front and rear loop would be a good idea. not to mention you are prolly gonna need a loop for the track. BTW when you throw a c=fiber shaft it discentegrates ie no extra damage.

 

Dual superchargers? That's a pretty rare one, I've heard of more twin turbo small blocks that twin superchargers, the only twin supercharged car's I've heard of is an older aston martin, some canadian concept car, and a modified ford t-bird (80's style), also if it's a 502 ramjet you're going to be pretty limited for forced induction, no blowers because of the fuel injection, maybe a custom setup with an ATI procharger or vortech centrifugal, I mean anything is doable with enough money, but you'd be going through ALOT of trouble trying to rig up the belts for twin superchargers. Hell it would probably be easier to do twin turbo, but that is NOT easy either. Also one more reccomendation for a big block swap, I was reading the summitracing catalog, and I stumbled across Hooker does make a set of headers specifically for swapping a big block into a 3rd gen F-body.

 

do a search on saturn5.

 

What side of Indy are you on? I live in New Pal.

 

i live in the greenwood area on the southside

 

When you get that beast runnin you wouldn't be thinking of taking it to a place like edgewater would you : ).

 

Yea, a TH350 or TH400 would be the best choice...

Look at it this way:

A monster truck makes over 2000ft-lbs of torque and over 1500hp. They use TH400 trannies (reworked by a shop of course)

I would use a TH350 or a TH400 for sure.