I was thinking about switching from a 305 carb motor to 350 carb motor cause my camaro is putting out black and blue smoke out of the exhuast and i'm wondering if its worth rebuilding the 305or getting a 350 motor instead and will it still pass california smog because the 350 motor was not offered in 1985. also what years should i be looking for when looking for 350 motor.

 

A 350 was offered in '85 full size cars like Caprice. So, it would be legal.

But, you most likely still have a problem with the stuff you'd be putting right back on a rebuilt or replacement engine. Find out why it's running rich. Could be something as simple as the O2 sensor. Is the SES light coming on?

 

it doesn't matter if a 350 wasn't offered on an Fbody in 85, what you would need to do if you do get a 350, is transfer all emissions stuff, computer, exhaust setup, basically everything that is plugged to a connector on the ECM harness from a 350 F-Body... it needs to be setup exactly how it's setup from factory...

 

But, that isn't what he did, so what I said is still true.

 

he hasn't done anything though... has he? He said he's thinking about it... so the only he can put in a 350 is by switching over to TPI...

 

this is some what true...i have a 83 camaro with a 350 with 305 heads that came out of a truck that just passed smog in California...

 

All 3rd gen f-body 350's had TPI. That doesn't mean you have to put TPI on if you swap to a 350 if your chassis isn't newer than the last certified carb'd 350 passenger car.

 

He needs it to pass California Emissions... if he puts in a 350 without TPI, I think he'll end up opening up a can of worms...

 

Actually, putting a 350 TPI in it would kick off the "motor change" can-of-worms process. Whereas putting a carb'd 350 in might not even get noticed.

Technically, both would need to go through the "motor change" process.

 

Yep... it all depends where you take it to get smogged... some places don't have a clue, but other places they have competent people that know what to look for... and yeah you may be right that just doing a swap would probably get him by, he would just need to get it tuned elsewhere on the day of the checkup...