i recently found an 85 camaro claiming to have a 403 in it (going to check it out tomorrow)


i've read through the threads about swapping them in not being worth the money/effort.

so question 1 is if its already been done are the results worth it? (car is reasonably priced)

two.. should the thing break or i feel the need to swap it out.. what ever. what options would i have? or would i now be stuck on the other side, with any swapping options costing more then they are worth?

again i haven't looked at it yet, so i dunno how it's in there. but lets assume they did it the "right way".

thanks guys.

 

Find out what it REALLY is; and THEN, and ONLY THEN, worry about it.

No Camaros ever came with a "403". Sounds like somebody is trying to pump your rectum full of sunshine.

The block casting # should end in 201, that being the only V8 that I know of that was used in 85 Camaros (305).

If it's a REALLY "403", that's an Olds motor. Doesn't even dimly vaguely remotely resemble a Chevrolet motor. The water pump will be a big flat piece sort of blending into the overall front of the motor, not the small unit standing off on 2 legs; there will be an oil add spout thing RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE of the front of the intake, in front of the carb; and ... being a foreign motor, expect some serious exhaust contortions.

Pay attention to what induction system is on it. AFAIK there were NEVER any Olds V8 motors from the factory with FI (which is not the same as saying that it can't be or hasn't been done, only that it isn't bloody likely); so if you see a plenum and runner and injectors, odds are several hundred thousand to one that it's not an Olds. Probably a 305 Chevy.

The Olds 403, like about any late 70s motor, SUCKS in stock form. But there are things that can be done to liven it up quite a bit. It has some "theoretical" strong points, notably rod/strok ratio, in its favor. But it was totally strangled by the heads, intake, and exhaust that it came with, and interchange is troublesome because it's a "short deck" motor.

But I seriously doubt that you'll actually have to worry about any of that. I'm expecting that when you get there, you'll SEE actually a 305 sitting there; but maybe you'll HEAR a story about "rare", "Corvette", "special-order", "worked for a dealer/GM/zone office", and such as that. All of it raw unadulterated organic fertilizer. (BS)

As far as "worth it", it's your money. I can't answer that.

 

i'm thinking it might be. since the car it self (from the pictures) is in amazing shape. that combined with the fact it's missing the CAT, gives me hope it is. i dunno to many stock parts guys willing to remove the CAT and risk the impounding and fines. it's on a lot, so i'm thinkin it was an impound picked up at auction. they clearly label it as not street legal and claim it's for parts only, while emphasizing that it runs great. but i'll see about that tomorrow.

but whether it is or isn't, i'm not to worried about. i'm just wandering if it is, what are the options/cost for swapping something else in down the line. with my schedule i'm not gonna be able to get up there again for sometime. so it will most likely be a "deal or no deal" situation. don't want to too toss money at something cause i was awwwed by some mods. then want/HAVE to change things up myself. only to find out it would be cheaper to get a stock car for the same price, and just mod that.

all the post i have seen, have stated "it could be a beast, but the cost of putting it in there make it not worth it." so what if it's already in there? is it worth paying what i would pay for a stock camaro? or will the costs down the line eventually negate that?(not talkin gas)

i guess best way to put it is something like... "how tempted will i be to swap it out for a 350? and how much would that costs to revert it back?"

 

You must run in VERY DIFFERENT circles from me, then.... seems like that's one of the VERY FIRST hacks that people seem to like to do with these cars.

All the same, it's a LONG LONG WAY from hacking off the cat, to trtansplanting a motor that requires THAT MUCH work and expense.

If it's REALLY a 403, and the swap was done well, you probably won't be tempted to swap to a smaller motor, unless the gas bill eats you up or something. Once you've had MORE cubes, it's real tough to downgrade to a smaller motor.

If it's a hack job, which if it IS an Olds motor is sadly the more likely situation, pass.Do you, or they, have ANY IDEA what it will take to make it "street legal"? Are you looking for a new driveway ornament, or something you can actually drive? That woud be an important set of considerations as well.

 

we must... most people i know don't see the point in ripping that out to squeeze out extra hp you can count on your fingers. because of the risk for impounding. than again i don't have friends hell bent on racing their muscle cars. just keeping them looking and running nice. plus they all seem to lean to purist aspect. keeping everything original. as opposed to myself who wants to rip every thing out of everything and put in bigger better stuff.
i understand. i'm just saying the circumstances, help to believe it just might be a 403.
ok this is what i more or less was asking. thank you. i don't want to get over there and be awwed only to get it home and a month or two later regret it. thinking i could have more fun with a smaller engine.
i've been looking around for info on that. can't find much.
for now it's gonna an ornament. this is gonna be my first car which i spend time with. all the rest have been to get me from point a to point b. nothing i ever cared about. i'm in love with 2nd and 3rd gen camaros. always have been. 3rd gens are just cheaper. so i figure would make a much better car to tinker with. if i break it i wont feel as bad. so really all that work would be a good thing. i want to spend alot of time with this car. i've joked with my g/f she might be in serious trouble if i take this thing home. i'll probably end up sleeping with the car more than her. lol.
but really getting it on the road is going to be a priority. i'm gonna try and figure out exactly how extensive the work would be. if it's just overwhelming forget about it. but if i think i can pull it off by next summer. i probably will. not like i'm goin to be driving the thing around in the snow anyway. might as well spend time with it, doing something productive.


but while we are on the subject.. in a worst case scenario, what would be required to get that thing on the road? (worst case being everything that doesn't need to be switched out works. but doesn't have any of the proper parts installed. )

 

Like I said, I don't know, and can't imagine, what kind of circles you hang out in; but ONE QUICK GLANCE through the Exhaust board on this site will quickly convince you that every lop-eared kid that gets one of these cars, is CONVINCED that the VERY FIRST "MOD" has absolutely got to be, to hack off the cat. Why I don't know; I merely report what I observe.

Anyway, that's not important to the issue at hand. I only wish to make the point that "willing to remove the cat" is the norm, not the exception; and that virtually ANYBODY that tried to do a swap like that, unless they lived in California, hacking off the cat WOULD BE one of the things I'd almost 100% expect to see done. But:

Worst case? .....

Probably go get a wrecked car with the right motor in it; take out whatever hack job it has and throw it away; and put it back like it belongs.

Probably the WORST way to handle a hack job, if that's what it is, is to try to figure out what's half-a$$ed and fix it. You could spend the rest of your life doing that, and STILL not have something that is actually useful for anything.

Hopefully, either the whole "403" business is just diarrhea of the mouth; or, it was done skillfully and neatly (THE EXHAUST!!!! look closely at that, that's one of the hardest parts, and it sure doesn't sound like it) and just needs a few loose ends tied up. Frankly, having seen as much as what I've seen of such things, I doubt the latter is the case. More likely, it's the "diarrhea of the mouth" situation and not a swap at all, or it's a half-done hack job. Those are BY FAR the most likely possibilities. Not necessarily, mind you; I'm not "predicting" that; only the most likely, based on many decades of observation. Be prepared, mentally, for the worst; and don't be expecting a gleaming, pristine sample of alternative automotive engineering. Those are pretty freaking rare.

 

The Olds 350 was available with multiport injection in the Cadillac Seville from 76 to 80. I used this manifold when I put an Olds V8 in my 87 Formula.

THIS IS PROBABLY NOT WHAT YOU HAVE.

I'm sure sofa is right, someone hacked it in there. You'll be lucky if it is a 403 at all. Usually it's an anemic 307 and they call it a 403 so that they can sell it.

The wiring will be hacked, the A/C will be gone, the cruise control stuff will be aborted, the torque arm will be welded to something, etc....

Take a good look under the car before you buy it. You can get a decent 3rd gen that's pure like you like it for 1000 bucks all day long at those auctions...

Don't get me wrong; I like, even LOVE, engine swaps. I have done Buick and Olds and got great results both times. The problem is that when most people do it, it ends up crap. It takes a lot of time and energy to do it right. That is most likely why it is listed as parts only. One look at it will be all it will take.

 

An 180HP olds 403 is a POS to begin with. No one is going to go through the time and money to swap one in a 3rd gen. People don't even do that with a 455.
I will bet whatever money you want to lose that it does not have a 403.
And with that bet goes the fact you don't have a BOP transmission in there that you would have.

Of course with your 3 posts and newbie status your about as believable as a nigerian wanting me to send him money western union.

 

Hey now... that's not very nice.

All he's doing is asking about what some used car seller has told HIM. And of course we all know about used car sellers. I think THAT'S the Nigerian absentee heir bait, right there; not this guy. All he wants to know is, if it's true, what should he do with it. Instinct tells me though, he won't be having to worry about it.