hi i'll make this short and sweet... i have a 1991 camaro rs w/ the 305 tbi it has a 5 speed standard trns mission.. the valve seals are going bad and i can get a rebuilt 350 for about the same amout as new heads also i want the extra power. question: is this concept possible or will it be a waste of time? if it is possible will i be able to do the swap easily or will it be hard. what do i need and things to watch out for... any info will be greatly appriciated thanks D.J.

it can be done but thier is alot more than just the engine you have to get if your going to carb. i found this out the hard way i already spent $700 on parts. you need a new dizzy, carb fuel pump or a return style regulator, intake and carb, new air cleaner, its always good to get new mounts i suggest poly mounts. various nuts and bolts and some time. here is a good guide gave me all the info i needed. https://www.thirdgen.org/carbswap

thanks but i won't need to buy the carb or manifold. i was more wondering about how would the engine fit in the car (the 350) and how the wirering would work. thats what i'm mainly confused about.

I had a 88 RS 305 TBI and siezed it, got a 350 for about $600 but kept the 305tbi on it for a short while, then went over to carb. running a 600cfm edelbrock. I can give you the DL on what you need to know
It will fit, with out any modification to the mounts, wireing and all that will be the same, I recommend taking it to a garage to have them remove the ECM wireing and ECM i did it myself and caused more harm than good.
Your going to need

Electronic or Manual fuel pump the stock one with not work.
Trottle cable mount, with a kick down cable location
New Distributor
a converter lock-up ($80 at summit) or youll kill your MPG

Once you do this you can lose so many things. (Unless you still have smog testing) Smog pump, and air hoses, the charcole canister, I also took out my AC unit but i have pictures of everything i took out ill Down Load them for you

What other questions do you have

WHY WONT THE OEM DISTRIBUTOR WORK?? TOO MUCH DEALT WITH THE COMPUTER??? AND LETS SEE SOME PICS OF THE BELT AND ACCESSORY LOCATIONS, I JUST SWAPPED A 72 350 INTO MY 87 AND DONT WANT THE SMOG, BUT HERE IN TUCSON NEED THE AC YA KNOW.!! GIT BACK TO ME THANKS

I swaped the mounts to the OEM location. I used the aluminum mounting brackets from my old 305ci. As for the distributor its gets all the signal from the ECM so you need to swap it. Ill get you the pics for the belts tomorrow its been raining here all day. Anything else i can do for you. Check for the bolt holes it should be a direct swap

thank you guys soooo much you are really helping keep posting please.


i don't have to worry about smog i live in ky and i would like to keep my ac. the engine i'm getting is in a blazer right now and it runs. so the wirering isn't a problem? what about the wires to the dist.... give me more general info if you would on how har it was and where to find the parts i'll need

Can anyone tell me if the ECM is removed will all of the accessories still work (power steering, ac, heat, all the dash stuff) still work?

Yes.

IS THE ECM STILL CONTROLLING SPARK ON THE 4BBL MODELS?? CUZ MINE WAS A BERLINETTA SPORTCOUPE.. SO JUST DOUBLE CHECKIN. HAVENT BEEN OVER TO LOOK AT IT IN A WHILE... THANKS IF YA CAN GIT THE PICS UP !!LATEZ. PS, DID YOU USE FULL LENGTH HEADERS?? IF SO HOW'D YOU GIT AROUND THE SUBFRAME?? (WITH THE REST OF THE EXHAUST?) CUZ IT HEADERS DUMP RIGHT BEFORE THEM LIKE.....3-4...MAYBE 5 INCHES, GIT BACK TO ME THANKS!!

what year is the blazer? the distributer you need (if going cheap) only has 2 wires coming from it not counting the 2 that go from the base to the coil. i think if the blazer is from the 80's it will not have this one but a comp controlled one(70's probably will). no prob though i got one for 5 bucks at a JY. just tell them you want a non comp controlled HEI. put a new cap+rotor and your running. the hookups are pink +12v from switch and white to the tach. if you want additional performance, summit has a complete hei rebuild with perf parts.

It depends have you ever done and engine swap before if you have it'll make things easy if you have never then get some help from someone who has. Dont forget to remove the tranmission from the engine. or take the stabilizer bar off from the transmission. I recomend pulling engine and trany in one it ill bolt up easier outside, i kept mine in that took two days in its self to bolt everything back up and if i remember right i didnt put one bolt in the top cause i couldnt reach it.
As for the distributor, the ones above are right. You cant use the old one, you are going to need a replacement. I believe i said before that you should get one with a vaccume advance. Mine is mechanical and its more of a pain to adjust.
Power steering and all that other junk are not controled by the ECM, the only things controled by ECM Spark, Fuel delivery, Air/Fuel ratio, and timing. When you do this you are going to have a cut one wire on yoru wire setup for your stock fuel pump (there are three) you have to cut the grey wire (grey, purple, black) the purple is for your fuel level sender, and the black is ground, you can unplug it but then youll never know how much fuel you have. (Bad experience)
I can get jsut about any picture you may need ill put some on here let me know what else you need and i can email them to you

Your in a better place to start than most people. Since your car is already a V8 than there are many things you will NOT have to do to make the conversion work. ( front springs are OK, radiator can be re-used, transmission will bolt up, motor mounts are the same, Exhaust will bolt up, Ect.... )


Since the engine you are buying already includes all the accessories your another step ahead of the game. No worries about the right pulley on the alternator, or the finding the right bolts to assemble the running motor.

Again - things are getting easier for you !!! (IMO) You will have to deal with the AC independently of the engine installation so you can focus on the engine project. You will probably need to buy replacement parts -- like the compressor lines or the right pulley.......

Since your car is a 5 speed and you are not dealing with the SMOG system you need to completely remove the computer system from the car..... take out the complete harness and ECM and try to sell them to recover some $$. After doing this you *MIGHT* need to splice the rear "Back-up" lights to get them working again......... it depends on the model year I think !

It's Your Engine firewall harness that is important,.... the starter, distributor, and various gauge wires all come thru this harness. You might need to add a little length to one of the gauge sending unit wires depending on where it was originally mounted on your current engine and where it's mounted in the replacement motor - big deal !!!!! ( the headlight harness plugs in at the same spot at the firewall)

What you need to worry about - Fuel tank sending unit, Fuel lines, (after market) carb and an (aftermarket) vacuum advance distributor.


NOT a bad swap for a beginner !!!

Hey man just trying to find out how you made out, havent heard anythign new did it work are you up and running yet?

+1.What's the update?

I have a 87 trans am gta with a 305 4bbl and i would like to swap to a crate 350 carb, will i have to move the motor mounts or will it bolt right in. PLease HELP.

the engine mounts are the same for 305 and 350