Hello everyone, I'm a new poster but have been lurking for a long time. Never really felt the need to post for the simple fact that I have never owned a Camaro. Well this past weekend I came across a barn find.
1988 Camaro SC
305 TBI
Power everything, T-Tops, New Radiator, Hornet nest in the tail lights, and a small pond in the rear pass. floor pan.

The engine was siezed up and stuck in the shack about 5 years ago where it has sat since. Here is pics of when I bought the car.



I gave her a bath and started pulling the engine out, which is not an easy task when you forget to buy penetrating oil.

Well heres where I need the help. I plan on making this my daily driver. But the 305 has to go.
Im wondering about things like smog delete, A/C delete.
Wires and brackets that can be removed for the sake of dropping in a Carbed 350.
Will the 700r4 handle a decent engine?
What hoses can be removed from the EGR/AC systems?





Thanks for reading and taking time to post your insights.

Blazed,
Baltimore MD

 

Nice find looks like it will clean up nicely. what are you planning on putting back in it? as for the a/c delete and egr just use the

 

welcome to 3rd gen. nice project car. have a good time. and dont forget to search and read read read before you do anything. i have changed my mind hundreds of times on the same thing - until i had enough information to make it the way it will fit the rest of the car.

 

This will help show a few things.




The area in red what is it and do I need it?
Area in White, whats safest way to remove without having to take it to shop for Refrigerant purging?
Area in Yellow shows the bent push rod and the main reason I'm swapping the Engine.
The area in Blue what is it? And do I need it for the 350 Swap.


Here are some more pics of the car as it sits right now.







The POND!


The only Rust on the entire car.

 

Red is egr pump rip that sucker off lol
white are you going to reuse it? if not then drain it an remove
yellow damn
blue windshield wiper motor i believe

edit Maybe not a pump but a valve thingy
And vac or soak up that pond asap before the rust takes over

 

I stuffed some towels in the pond and got the T-tops open seat leaned forward hoping to dry it out. (Its 97* outside >_<)

My main goal with this car its to have a reliable daily driver with about 400hp give or take 20 or so. Although we have hot summers and cold winters here in MD, I dont really want to keep the A/C for performance reasons and clutter in the engine bay. However I think some persuasion in either direction will help me decide, as I'm not sure what its best for the car.

Is removing the A/C compressor during engine removal/installation easier then leaving it in? And how should I go about draining it safely?

I plan on purchasing this kit from Summit. Will I have to keep the EGR Valve?
http://www.summitracing.com/parts/HOK-2055HKR/

 

EGR Valve, A.I.R. Pump.

Headers and EGR don't have anything to do with each other.

 

I thought EGR meant Exhaust Gas Recirculation. To me it looked like the tube things from the manifold/headers went back around into the intake manifold....

 

well what do you call that black thing connected to the manifolds or headers or whatever you have. I figured it must be a good place to get exhaust gas to recirculate to the intake. so i called it egr what does air stand for?

 

Thats not the EGR valve. The EGR valve is located to the back left of where the throttle body WOULD be, it has a vac line coming off of it, and is bolted to the intake manifold.

That black box, is just another part of the smog equipment, not too sure of the technical name, but if your removing the A.I.R. pump, than that can follow it to the trash.

 

Well...im definately not an expert, but heres what i figured out on mine when i took the 305 out and put a 350 in lol

1) hardly any wiring will work mebbe its my error, but thats what happened

2) i mistakenly ran the heater lines thru that thing u have circled in red, so don't do that, it sprays everywhere hehe therefore i just took it off cause it took up space

3) all those silver lines coming out of ur headers make it a pain to pull plugs, and all they do is recirculate the gasses, least thats what my logical thoughts say...they converge down right at the muffler...i think napa or other stores sell little screw-in plugs for those, donno if they are needed or not lol

4) when u go to pull out the blower assembly to remove AC cannisters and stuff...make sure u get ALL the screws out...mine came out in peices cause i missed one and the plastic was old, so i went to pull it out and it started snapping off in chunks, so i just took a prybar and yanked it all out hehe...so dont do that! lol tho i did leave the AC compressor on there, just blowing air out of its little tube b/c i didnt feel like finding a fixed pully/another belt

5) my battery spot is rusted too...i think its cause ppl spill stuff when they go to fill radiator or something, might b splash getting past front wheel wells too

6) IF you were going to use this engine in somethin else, since its got a bent push rod, ---- Check heads for cracks (never know), check timing belt (prolly y it got bent...mighta jumped a tooth or something and opened the valve when the piston was coming up..ew...) and of course replace the bent up stuff lol, but u did say u were going to put somethin else in it so thats just useless info case u wanna make an enduro car or something down the road lol

 

ah yes the egr valve im silly anyway my battery spot is rusted well was rusted till i painted it.

 

In reference of swapping engines, does anyone have opinions on the route I should take?
"JAM" is like 20 minutes away from me. http://www.jacksonautomachine.com/

Rebuilding the 305 with parts from Summit and having it cleaned, bored, and prepped is gonna run about $3,000. However I can get a strong running Carbed 350 from a K5 Blazer(very torquey) for $450. Ive heard the engine run and its definitely a truck motor, but that can be settled with a cam swap and taking the manifolds off for headers. But putting fun aside for now and thinking legality, would a LT1 swap be better? Ive read and read and I'm still reading but no thread I have come across gives a definite answer. I don't know where to start.


Also is there any way a Mod or Admin can update this to a Work Log/Updated Daily type thing?
I'm going to use this thread as my build log and hope to get some help along the way.

 

A small update on my progression.
This pic shows my current problem, the lower line circled in red will not loosen, the nut on it feels very springy and just bounces back when turned.


Is the Radiator supposed to have this crack in it?


What is this and why the hack job? ; ;


Engine bay current state.

 

The line circled in red is one of the tranny cooler lines, should be one up top as well, they can be a pain to remove/install. The crack in the radiator doesnt seem to affect anything, so its fine, Not sure what that relay is, but theyre all needed, not sure why it was cut / spliced?

 

I havent gotten my lt1 swap running yet. Im waiting on the wiring which is the hardest part and the only part you should worry about if you are fairly mechanical. I would recommend it. I bought a wrecked trans am with a Lt1 and a 6 speed still running for 1600 you just have to look around for a good deal.

the crack on the top of the radiator is i think a slit for a jig when they build them. and the wiring picture is a relay. and the tranny cooler line must be rusted and busted up or something. im not much help sorry lol

 

Got the radiator out. I found WD-40 helps....
Also gave the core support a hose bath to wash out the leaves and spiders.




My next task.... Figuring out what size Torx I have to go buy....



So everyone knows, this is a backyard build. All I have is basic hand tools, jack/jack stands and very limited work space. All the big stuff I'm going to need like the engine hoist, torque wrench, engine stand will all be borrowed from friends/family when the time comes. Also if anyone lives in the area drop me a pm.

 

I've come across yet another problem trying to dismantle this sum bugger.
Broke 2 9/16th's sockets and snapped a 1/2inch wrench. But my problem is these stupid manifolds....


Is it safe to cut the areas in red with a hacksaw and just use a gator bit? The areas in yellow are officially rounded off from a wrench..

 

Bump.

 

If you're looking to make 400hp, then Cut them off - cut everything off, and get that junk out of your way - cause there's not much you'll be able to reuse and make 400 hp! They are the tubes for the AIR - if you need to remain emissions legal, you can replace them, or use AIR headers. Leave the manifolds on too for that matter - just get the Y pipe loose from them, and yank that junker 305 out of there. I'd imagine 400 hp needs headers, in which case the y pipe will be no good to you either (you'll need a y-pipe made for te headers), so cut it too if you have to.

There's no way I'd spend $3k on rebuilding a 305, not when a crate almost anything can be had for that. I paid $600 for an already freshly built 350 from carb to pan (but it isn't making 400hp).

 

700R4/4L60E's OE ratings are 350hp Per this months "Car Craft mag.

 

In my state they just dropped the Dynamometer test and now only use the gas cap and "Idle exhaust" test. So remaining emissions legal shouldn't be a problem if I use a decent cat. I'm sorta on a budget, I can drop about $300 a week into the car if need be. However I'm still torn between what to do for an engine. Pick one up off Craigslist or head to a junk yard. It would be awesome if i could find some one on here around my area to talk to about this kinda stuff.

 

Found my transmission. Heard about it on "Two Guys Garage" and "Extreme 4x4"
http://racetransmissions.com/store/p...products_id/32

 

Looks like a good deal. The weak point on the stock trans is the tail shaft. Also when people dont add a cooler, or just shift it right. Under 55 is in drive. Over 55 is in od. If not it will overheat.

 

Ok, I got the engine torn down to the point where all I need now is an engine hoist and i can pull the engine/tranny out. Still have not been to the junk yard yet to look for a LT1/LS1. But Craigslist is popping up with so-so engines all the time. Still wondering which route I should take. I would love to find a 97 Camaro with LT1/T-56 combo and just take the entire drivetrain/harness from it. But unless I find one in a junk yard or a wrecked one on Craigslist prolly not gonna happen.

 

I would reccomend finding a wrecked or cheap lt1/t56 car to swap the drivetrain in. Just be patient and look for a good deal. I Bought a 96 firebird lt1/t56 That had been rearended for 1600 took the drivetrain out parted it out and made my money out of it. It ended up being a free swap for me.

 

I found a 305 Carbed engine from an 87 Camaro. I'm thinking that if i just swap my intake/tbi unit over the the other engine, and pull off the fuel pump and swap the block off plate, it should work just fine right?

 

i wouldnt used a 305, yuck, you can do a decent build on a 350 from a junk yard for a fair price or find one that is already built up but maybe still a shortblock on craigslist, i would recommend that over a lt1/ls1 swap also, going with a older carbed setup is much cheaper and easier to do and will make similar ponies. i have done both and if i do it again i would probably just build up a carbed 350-the key to horsepower is good heads...(of course other things need to accomodate them but crap heads will ruin ur day)

 

Given the types of questions, I'm assuming a limited experience level.
(Welcome!! We all started somewhere.)
An LT1/LS1 swap is certainly do-able, but has a significant learning
curve. The simpler you can keep, the sooner you can be driving it.

Even as a lurker, you should have seen the 305/350 debates.
And equally as obvious, is that for the same expense/effort, a 350
will ALWAYs be 45 cid better performance. For the price of a 350
block, there is no sense rebuilding 305, unless you just want to
tilt at windmills.

If you can justify the expense, definitely consider a crate engine:
-- there economically competetive w/ building your own
-- refer back to the "simple/sooner" idea above.
-- there will still be plenty for you to do, to get to your stated goals

Good luck, and bless you for starting a restoration that will
help keep the species alive.