I'm ready to buy a short block for my 87 T/A. The question I have is which block would be easier to work with while maintaining the emissions standards (sniffer only). 355 or 383 is what I was looking at. Will either of these motors run with my cc Q-Jet ??? As of now I have ported and polished L98 iron heads, Comp 268H cam and edelbrock performer intake. Will this top half work on either of these above motors or are they too much for the ECM and emissions system to work with. Or do you have any suggestions on how to make either setup work ?? This is a daily driver and would like to know which one i'd be better off with. Or should I just stay with the old LM-1 ??? Thanks Guys !!

 

How bout it guys ???? A little help please !!!!!!!!

 

This stuff can get real pi$$ about emissions legal, checking with your DMV is probably a good start.

As I understand it, since a 350 was a possible option for your 87 T/A, it's legal to swap in a 350, provided all emissions gear is intact, functional and the car can pass your states emissions testing.

A 355 being a .030 over 350 is probably considered a rebuild and legal.

A 383 is was not offered by the factory as an option in your car in 1987, so technically will not be legal. However, who is to know it's a 383 and not a 350 when it's in the car unless you tell? Of course the 383 would have to pass all the visual and other emissions testing requirements etc.

 

Thanks for the reply A.W. 91 RS....... It's not a matter of if the motor had been included in that year of car.........It only matters if it can pass the sniffer. No visuals and numbers checking here yet !! I just wanted to know if either motor, properly equiped with the emissions system will pass the sniffer test. I figured that maybe because of a higher compression motor, it would be more difficult to stay within what the sniffer laws allow. I'm not sure and would like an understanding in exactly what would cause either motor not to pass and if a higher compression motor has anything to do with it. Thanks !!!

 

Unless the sniffer includes NOx, compression won't affect pass/fail.

 

Yea, you can't tell the difference between a 350 and a 383 visually... you gotta dig into the engine.

What they don't know won't hurt them