i have a 91 z28 108,000miles and its a 305 TPI. i was pulling out of a parking lot yesterday and heard a really loud pop coming from the motor. after that happend i could barely drive it so i pulled it over and looked underneath the car. there was quite a bit of oil that spilled out. so im wondering did a connecting rod break or did a blow a piston or something. im not to tech savy with motors but all i know is it sounds like its running on 7cyl. So do you think i will need a new motor and if so where can i find a decently priced 350 to replace it. ive been looking into crate motors cuz i would like to buy brand new and they all seem to be carb. would it be difficult to change from TPI to carb or is that just stupid..need some advice thanks in advance.

 

Going from TPI to carb is not stupid, but most guys here won't suggest it. It is a good rule of thumb to stick with what you got as far as carb/injection goes. Read around, there are a ton of posts about that.
As far as do you need a new motor, there really isn't enogh info for anyone to tell. I'm no engine guru like five7, but engine oil everywhere probably isn't a good sign. Can you isolate where the oil is coming from? Is the car at all driveable (stepping on the gas and lurching around is not driveable). If you threw a rod, you may have broken the block. I don't know man. I'm in the middle of a 305-350 swap right now and its not as much fun as I was hoping it would be. Pretty much figure spending whatever you want on the engine plus $1000 for broken parts, new hoses, new tools, oil dry, fluids...... It never ends. Also, DON'T waste your time trying to get the bell housing bolts out. I spent 8 hours trying to get the top two out before I gave up and pulled the tranny with the motor. Also, a cherry picker will work to get the motor out but won't have the reach to get the new one in. Either you can take the nose of the car off or get creative. Plan on having three extra sets of hands at some points (like when you are trying to line the drive shaft up with the engine, get the engine on the motor mounts and lower it at the same time.) Buy lots of beer and have a second car on hand so you can give up and walk away for a week. If your married like me, you will probably want to sell the car to avoid the nagging. Have fun, let me know how it goes.

 

Next time get a bunch of extensions on the end of the ratchet and a swivel on the socket and stick it up there from the tailshaft end of the tranny.. up over the top. Works every time.

 

Is using a friend's tow-truck creative enough?