I just bought a GM goodwrench 350 that supposedly came out of an 85 Chevy Blazer. The rear end was rebuilt less that 10,000 miles ago. Its a carberated 4 bolt main engine. I have a 89 Iroc that had the HO 305 motor and I wanted to know is this swap possible or possible but too hard to pull off. The engine bolted right into the motor mounts and I have a 700r4 already in the car. The only reason why I posted this thread is because I read on the internet that the gm Goodwrench 350 will not work with 1986 or newer applications. Any thoughts.

 

Welcome aboard thirdgen.org.

It's an "almost" thing.

First, there was no "HO" from the factory in 1989. I assume you mean the TPI LB9.

Now, the main "problem" with the Goodwrench 350 is it is 2-piece rear main seal, meaning you'll need a different flexplate than what's on your '89 engine. Not a big deal, just a detail. The intake manifold mount bolt holes in the heads are all 90 degrees, vs. your '89 which has the center two bolts on each side at 72 degrees. You'll either need an '86-earlier intake manifold, or modify those bolt holes on your existing manifold.

Beyond that, the Goodwrench 350 is not much of a performance engine. It has low compression dished pistons and large chamber heads, the ports on the heads are about as bad as you can get, the cam is flat-tappet vs. the roller lifter version in your '89. It'll end up having about as much or less power than a TPI 305, and probably won't burn as clean.

The real market for the engine is fleet vans and light pickup trucks.

Other than that, no problem.

 

ok well with that in mind. So would an LT1 be easier to put than that engine.

 

Easier, no. More rewarding, very likely.

 

well Im selling that motor and I just bought a TPI 305 LB9 so it can go in there alot smoother. Only concern now is the motor that came out of my car was a TBI 305. Both are fuel injected but, would i need to make any changes to the injectors or fuel pump etc....

 

Okay, I guess I'm getting a little confused. TBI is the LO3, the base V8. It was put in IROC's (https://www.thirdgen.org/1989-chevy-camaro), but wouldn't under any circumstances be called an "HO" engine (except by an unscrupulous seller, and we all know nobody would act that way with a 3rd gen ).

But, if your "new" engine is the LB9, it will have better heads & cam, otherwise it's the same as the LO3 engine itself. The LO3 had horrible exhaust, so that will hold it back a little. You shouldn't have to change the injectors or fuel pump if you put the TBI on the LB9 longblock, but to get it running to its full potential may require some PROM tuning.

 

i bought the car as a shell with just the transmission in it so does that mean I have to go find another throttle body from that year? hope that doesnt sound like a dumb question.

 

Depends upon how much of the LB9 you got - engine, TPI, harness, sensors, ECM, fuel pump - if you got all that, you don't need to get another TBI.

 

The whole entire engine and everything thats on it when its connected to the car is what i have. The guy didnt remove anything off of the engine when he took it out.

 

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seeing that there was a 305 tbi and now i have the 305 tpi. both 89's. Do i need to get a computer chip for the tpi or can I use whats in my car already?

 

If the car is setup for a TBI and you want to put a TPI engine in there, you will need to convert the wiring harness and get a new TPI computer. You can find info on that is the TBI to TPI swap tech article, and by searching the "Engine Swap" forum. Its a common swap and very rewarding.