i am sure this board has posts like this often.
i need help on a project i want to start. i want to take the 305 that smokes out of my rs camaro and put in a 350 i took from a trans-am. i am not a mechanic although i am efficient around cars. where would do i start this engine swap? what is involved in the project and is it even possible for me and my dad to do it? the 350 is on blocks and i just need to pull out the 305. any guidance would be greatly appreciated.

 

years? what intake/fuel system are you running now and plan to run on the 350? I guess that's the real question. otherwise just pull one out and bolt the other in it's place

 

yup. as long as your fuel system is the same it should just be a weekend bolt up project.

 

the 305 has a 650 holly right now but the 350 has a quadrajet. as for intake i don't know. the rs is an 84? and the 350 is out of a mid 80's trans am. my problem is i wouldn't know wear to start to unbolt the 305 and bolt in the 350. is it that simple? because a mechanic told me it would be 500$ to do the job and im low on cash.

 

the 350 will bolt right up to the motor mounts in their current position. disconnect everything from the engine, hook up the cherry picker, unbolt the engine from the mounts and yank it out.

 

I've yet to pull a motor, so as I wont be much help, i'll just say this, 500$ for a mechanic shop to pull a motor, and put a new one in, seems awfully cheap.

For a pull/put in/tune, the only shop around here that does that wants like 3k, give or take, depending on the complexity of the engine.

 

the mechanic is a "friend" of my dad's and isn't exactly legit. he is in the middle of no where and it all seems rather shifty. as for j dezzy: what about the transmission? do i just unbolt the engine from that? what tools do i need besides a cherry picker? i did some research and i think my 350 is a L98. i don't really know if that is good or bad. as for the carburetor, which should i keep the holly or the quadrajet. the quadrajet is on the 350 now but the 350 was originally fuel injection. the whole situation is confusing as to what is better.

 

I'd pull the tranny out along with the motor. it'll bolt up to your 350 no problem. It's really a learn as you go thing. all I can say is read a lot. and read as you go. when I took auto in school everything was fuzzy until I actually started working on my own car and figuring it all out on my own. a haynes manual will tell you all the tools you need along the way. it's just your basic hand tools to pull an engine actually.

 

so it is very possible for me and maybe a friend to pull an engine and transmission? another question i have is which tranny is better: the one that came with the 350 or the one on the 305. the 305 had some work done to it, i think a corvette shift kit was put in. what does that mean? what about my torque ratios?

 

I definatly think you and your friend can pull the engine and trans. not sure about your torque ratios though. if the 305's has a shift kit in it I'd go with that one. whenever putting an old tranny in a car I always have it rebuilt first. costs a little bit, but it's worth it to make sure you won't have problems down the road.

 

okay im going to do it. the tranny with the shift kit is already in the car so theoretically i could just swap the engines without a tranny swap? would lining up the tranny and the engine be hard? which carb should i use: the holly or the quadrajet?

 

makesure to have a jack or jackstand under the tranny then just unbolt it from the engine. then you can just life the engine straight up and out. I'd go with the Holley carb, but that's just my personal opinion. I'm a Holley fan. but the Q-jet is a good carb too.

 

the trans am engine has serpentine belts and the air conditioner on the passenger side. im putting it in a 91 rs. are things not going to match up? other than that i think im fine, just unbolt one and drop in another.

 

is the air condidtioner pump on the opposite side than what your current one is?

 

yea, thats one of the reasons why my dad advised me not to do it because the trans am engine has everything on the other side, including the a/c. is this a big problem or is it still a bolt in project?

 

Before you go through all the trouble of the swap make sure 100% that you have a 350 to swap in (if you havent already). No mid 80's TA's got a carbed 350.

Check the casting number on the "350" before you go any further, they sometimes become 305's when you do that.

 

yea, i know it's a 350. it wasn't originally carbed. it was fuel injection but i had it switched over when i put it in my camaro 2.6L body. that car was a monster, but it got in an accident so i pulled the motor and trans. as for the casting number, where would that be?