I recently bought a 91 camaro rs and did a few things to get it running okay and some general repairs. It has an lo3 305 tbi engine, a 700r-4 trans, and 2.73 rear gears. Now after a few months i'm really noticing the problems it has, the trans doesnt shift right, the motor has all kinds of problems, no pickup, 12mpg at best, wont hardly run at all when starting hot, oil pressure drops suddenly, misses even after new ignition system, as well as a host of other quirks, that even the shops around here cant find. I have decided on some sort of 350 swap but its still kind of up in the air as to what, and the tranny needs to be replaced with another or a manual. Im not entirly decided so thats why ive come for your advice, I have searched lots but i just cant seem to get all the info i need. It looks like im going to have around $1700 for everything and I can use junkyards and have connections for some cheap parts. The ultimate goal is about 350hp and i understand i may have to throw some more money in for that. I just want some advice on what would be the easiest/cheapest to swap in to reach the goal.

First the fuel system, should i keep the tbi and just port it, new injectors/ecm, for the 350, or should I pull a tpi/harness/ecm off a car in the junkyard and install it instead?

Trans, I'm thinking of a rebuild and shiftkit for the 700r4 but I would prefer a manual if it could be found cheaply. I know t5 and t56 are out of my price range, but what are some other manual trans's that will fit the bill and under the price of a 700r4 rebuild, and no motor/driveshaft clearence problems?

Motor, will a pre 86 350 bolt up to a 700r4, will an lt1? If i find an lt1 with no fuel system can i use old tbi or tpi on it easily?

What kind of mileage would i be looking at with a 350 that has 300-350hp/700r4/3.42 rear/high stall torque converter?

Thanks for any and all help in advance

 

Any of the small blocks will bolt up to the tranny. Earlier engines will need the flex plate for the flanged crank. LT1 head bolting is the newer style that won't match up to the old TBI intakes I think. Can get a carb intake for it that will allow the distributor to install, forget the optispark, and the TBI can be made to fit the carb base. I'd sure suggest a later small block with roller cam, make power and work with the fuel injection much better. Ideal would be an L98 350 I'd think. Overall your best bet is to buy a junk IROC with a complete powertrain, or a later wrecked Z28 and do a complete transplant. Really gets complicated (and expensive) when you mismatch parts on these cars.

 

Thats a pretty good idea but i dont think im gonna find a wrecked iroc with fuel injection and a 350 for cheap around here, so i would need to port my tbi and change the injectors, or change to tpi. If i go this route would I be better off keeping the tbi or getting tpi from the junkyard?

 

okay I need help narrowing down what motor to go with. I dont plan on an lt1 swap because of cost and complexity. I would like an l98 but i cant find one anywhere even online for cheap, (anyone know where to locate one online?) So what can i do, maybe an older style 350 and change the heads to cheap vortecs or something. I just dont know which motor to chose, can anyone help me here. Thanks in advance.

 

you dont need fuel injection for good gas mileage, certainly not for HP. i would get an older (carbed)350 that runs good, rebuild your trans, and you can modify it to 350 or more hp as you have money to. the carb just needs to be tuned properly to get good mileage. i bought a book on tuneing and rebuilding holley(my choice) carbs. im sure they have the same for Qjet or edelbrock.

i wouldnt go with vortecs either, save your money and get good afr's or something. until then do a DIY port on the 883's you should get with your 350. not the best but you dont want waste your money if you're going to get more than 350HP the vortecs are going to run out of steam.

 

well i do have the tbi already so it might be easier for me to just keep that, what do u think? Plus i have friends who have carbed cars and for me this will be a daily driver, they have all sorts of troubles in the winter with hard starts due to the carb. Any more suggestions

 

The TBI is just a glorified TWO barrel not very good for a performance application , I also believe a carbed set up is the cheepest and most efficiant way to increase performance on a budget the conversion to TPI would be costly and wont give you very much HP per $$ and the stock TPI is limited to around 4500 RPM before it runs out of power , with a simple carb and intake swap you can have a buildable combo that is expandable to any level you want to build it to..without spending major $$$.

 

Well we do have emissions around here, they dont look under the hood, but I still have to pass the dyno. Won't I have problems with the emissions, and dont carbs have problems starting in winter and such? This needs to be relativly matinance free since this is a daily driver, w/ ocasional autocross, and dragging

 

Hmmm.. a properly tuned carb set up will start, my BBC in my second gen will start and run in 30 degree weather (it dosent even have a choke) Holley HP series carb ... sure it has to warm up to around 120-140 deg before I can drive it but it'd be dumb to drive it in that cold weather anyway ... but the point im making is carbs can be made to run well and pass emissions and if you plan on getting any kind of HP thats the easiest way to do it , I don't know what your emissions requirements are in Ind (im in WI) so you should check on that ..you may be stuck but I have seen guys swap in a TBI 350 in place of the TBI 305 and get away with it and you would see a good increase in power .. it's a direct swap also you just need the complete engine and the chip out of the 350s computer or an aftermarket one the wireing is the same in most cases as long as the replacement engine is close to the year of your car ...

 

Well by the sound of it you want what a typical swapper is looking for: Everything.

Your looking for 300 hp (min), daily driveability, and good gas mileage for cheap.

Now if you only have 1700 $ to play with its going to be very tough with out serious wrenching abilities. ( I dont know your background or the tools/shopspace/time available to you) It is very possible to get decent gas mileage and daily driveability out of a carbed vehicle. A high stall is going to decrease gas mileage and if your looking for a 3spd auto this is also going to have the same effect. (highway mileage)

If you have a relativly decent carb tuning ability you can eliminate difficult cold starts etc. however this is going to require retuning occasionally depending on weather.

A manual (hint t-5) would be a good bet to boost hp to the ground and also mpg (depending on the driver) however a auto-man trans swap is going to be an additional cost.

Excluding price and the amount of time your going to have to spend with the vehicle out of service, i would say that your best bet would be an LT1 swap, that would net you good power and drivability, however it would most likely be out of your price range. (maybe 2k for the full drivetrain depending on your area plus odds and ends will stack up quickly)

Ok sorry about the long rant but maybe this will help show you some of your options.

 

I have plenty of tools and an area to do it indoors, all kinds of specialized car tools from friends(pullers, testers, etc), as well as engine hoists, and maybe I can use a car lift from a friend for a few days. I often work on cars but my knowledge of parts interchangeability/what will work between motors is limited. I dont plan on changing my trans anymore becsause i can get a rebuild for very cheap. I like the LT1 idea because they aren't insanely expensive and they are very buildable but the amount of effort involved to swap one seems huge compared to a drop and go old style 350. Whats things in particular will push it near 2k, I can get a used LT1 for around $600 I can understand a few hundred in odds and ends but 2k, what is included in that?

 

I was thinking trans + engine + wiring etc for around 2k. Thats my area though. Ive seen them go for 1500ish used (trans+engine)

600 is a good deal you should check out the LTx series swap info we have.

 

if you can get an lt1 for 600 you should go that way, i cant get one for less than 1500 around me. driveability with a carb is under rated. the onlything available for dailydrivers for how many years was a carb. you just have to tune it. i live in western ny and the first few cars i had for drivers had carbs. you will have to let them warm up for longer is all.

 

The LT1 I found for sale a while ago was sold when I called today. But I know a guy who can get me an old pre 86 350 for about $200, I actually missed the one he had for sale by about an hour, but he gets them often and can have another in a few days. (He owns his own shop and he gets them often) I know a $200 motor will have problems but with the money I save I'll be able to do a cheap rebuild and change the heads and cam. I have 2 questions then ill probably be on my way. First, since this is pre 86 it will be v-belt, will I be able to reuse accessories like my AC with a new pully? Powersteering? Also due to costs and other factors I think im going to either go with a holly tbi unit and reprogrammed prom or get a quality carburetor, which would be better when weighing all the pros and cons here?

 

I know someone here has a suggestion.

 

my preforance is a holley 4150 750cfm with mech. secondaries but you are probably gooing to want something with small primaries for mileage. my car rarely does any street duty. you'll probably want an edelbrock or qjet, vacuum secondary. a dual plane manifold will boost low end for the street. an rpm air gap is good.

as far as the acc. go i used everything from the donar car (an 86 bird with 305)