Well, the time has finally come to match my car's looks with some power under the hood. Ive ruled out the LS1 this time around due to the fact that I havent swapped an engine before, and alot of the tuning/installing of the ls1 would be done at a shop. So I decided to go with an sb engine.

What Im looking for is something that gives me a noticeable power advantage over my 305 (yea I know, not too hard)...but can handle its own out on the road. Im not looking for huge power gains at the start, because I probably wont change out my rear or t-5 until a little while later, but it would be nice to have an engine that could be improved upon later

What would be some good recommendations? ZZ4?, HO?....I try and read up on what I can around here, but I think by asking I could yield some pretty good advice from you engine gurus. Thanks in advance for your time and consideration

 

ZZ4 would be excellant, if properly supported with exhaust upgrades. As you can see from the sig, that's basically what I'm doing, with a few twists.

 

i agree. i think this or a 350 HO would be the best choices. good power, and great build quality. get the zz4 if you have the cash. if you're somewhat nice to your tranny, it should live plenty long enough for you to swap trannies.

 

If you dont want to spend much money just go to a junkard get a rebuildable 350.....bore it, buy an engine rebiuld kit and get the cam and everything you want to build it to your specs...thats what im going to do...you can get a rebuild kit for like $200

 

I'm in the same position as you. I'm 17, doin my first motor swap, and ditchin my junky 305. I have spent the extra time and money and will going with an LT1. I just got my painless wiring kit and hooker super comp headers today. I'll be starting the swap in a week or so. A ZZ4 cost just under $4,000 and a 350 HO will run you about the same. I paid $1600 for a wrecked 93 Z28. I am pulling the motor, trans, and rear end out an putting them all in my car. All in all, I should have about $2800-$3000 in the swap. I decided that I didn't want a built 305 or 350 with a carb, I wanted somethin different.

Oh yeah, I seen your car on cardomain and it really is the best looking third gen I have ever seen.

 

Hard to argue with a factory-built engine.

My personal favorite is the ZZ383/425. Comes with a nice forged Cola crank. That should definitely give you a "noticeable" improvement over that 305.

 

it'd be nice to drop a 383 in my engine bay....but I think I'd need to replace alot of drivetrain parts alot sooner. Im gonna look into a zz4, I put an ad out on the classifieds just to see what turns up (Ive always been told not to buy new, just because of the mark up in price). If I knew more about engine components and work, I'd definatly build up or go 383....for now I think it might suit me well to get something that is near 'plug and play' and tinker around with it to learn a thing or two......

I guess my only other question would be if my car's computer could be used with the zz4? How about the quadrajet (though I know I could vastly improve on it)....



LT1powered89: thanks for the compliment, it means alot

 

The only improvement to the CC q-jet would be a non-computerized double-pumper Holley or Demon. And, that's primarily because you have a manual tranny. For street use, you can't improve on the CC q-jet.

IMHO...

 

good to know....so that also means I could use my current setup, and in a sense, just be able to swap engines and hook most everything up?

 

Pretty much. 350 knock sensor & module seem to be the standard recommendation, although some say they used the 305 parts with no issues. I picked up the ones GM included in their HO 350 Camaro Conversion Kit from www.gmpartsdirect.com .

 

anyone know a good carrier/procedure for shipping engines?

 

i used conway southern express. they're an LTL (lighter than truckload) carrier. you would need conway central express, i think, because they're the central shipping division for Conway, inc.

 

enginefactory.com is good site if your looking for engines/components