I want to buy a used 3rd gen (305) and fix it up and eventually put a 350 in it. Which year and or model would work better as far as swapping the engine? I'm looking to build a fun/track car, nothing close to show quality.
Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks.

 

1982 to 1992 , all depends on overall condition . unibody condition ( structure ) would be my concern . decide what year look you like best , go from there . good luck .

 

Any year will just as readily accept any SBC.

However, with the exception of the quality of the armrests, they only got better as the years went on. I would look for 91-92, lots of improvements these years over the rest.

 

It really depends what you're into... some of the early ones like 82 and 83 aren't too far from official 'antique' status now (30 years old) if that makes any difference.

I have an '83 Z28, and its really not much different (aside from my own changes) from the Camaros and Firebirds some of my friends have... 85, 86, 91, a couple 92s, etc... they are all the same car. Some styling changes happened over the years, and different engine options (87-92 had an optional 350 FYI) , but thats more or less it. They are otherwise the same.

 

Grab a 1990 Camaro, they are the most rare considering they were the lowest production Camaro. Otherwise the 80's Trans-Am looks too awsome not to buy.

 

My vote would be for '82-'87 V8 (don't settle for a V6 car) with carb. The carb system will handle a 350 just fine; put headers and good exhaust on it and you've got an inexpensive, easy to tune, fun, track-worthy car.

Stay away from TBI cars unless you're willing to convert to carb. But, that's going to cost you more than a carb'd car would.

TPI is expensive to get more power out of. Easiest way is to convert to carb. But, that's going to cost you more than a carb'd car would.

It doesn't make sense to spend more money on a "rare" car when you're not interested in show.

 

also, in some/all states, not sure which ones exactly, the age of the car determines emission, like in texas if its 25yrs old or older, no sniffer test, they just do the safety, so that can allow you to run a carbed 350 in a 91-92 car, with out the emissions hassle, if you live in an area where they actually test for emissions that is

 

ok, i went through this, i bought a 86 camaro berlinetta and wow, p.o.s., floors rotted, and body almost gone, but anyways, i was gonna put a 350 in it from the stock v6. well the v6 has a 60 degree trans, and even if you cut the tunnel to fit it, you need to cut up in the firewall to fit a trans with a 90 degree. i eventually bought a 87 camaro iroc parts car wich became my project build. so what i would say is buy a camaro, probably between an 85 - 90 would be easiest, with a 305 or 350, iroc, z28, rs, just not a v6 car

 

Thanks for the advice. I was wondering abnout the carb setup. This answers some of my questions.

 

All 82-92 Bodies are the same. You will not need to cut anything to swap a V-8 into a V-6 body. The 60 degree V-6 uses basically the same 700R4 or T-5 then the V-8s. The angle at which the cylinders sit compared to each other has nothing to do with the firewall or the trans tunnel.

 

This must be the other place you said it.

As AmorgetRS said, no, you don't need to do that. If you try to mount the V8 on the V6 mounts where they come from the factory on the crossmember, you might be misled into thinking that. However, if you read the V6 to V8 swap sticky, you would know better.