Hello, I am inheriting a Camaro Iroc I believe from my dad, I now (from research on this site) that the 305 is relatively weak for what I want it to do. Is it possible to trade the 305 for a stock chevy 350 straight from the crate?? Then add mods such as a supercharger, cams, headers, etc... And achieve times in 1/4 as low as 12 or 13?? Or is there anything that I can do besides nitrous that will give the 305 that kind of horsepower. I am looking for between 300 and 500 horsepower any more would be too much and too expensive. What would be necessary to complete the swap?? Thanks a lot

 

300hp will put you in the 14 second range I believe, maybe high 13's

a GM Crate 350 is like 250hp no mods and will run you around $1500 with you doing the work

you can rebuild a 350 if you get it for cheap and do some mods to it with good pistons and rods and rebuild it for $700 and get around 310hp

i believe i read that in a book by david vizard

 

Go to the GM Performance Parts website and order the new catalog.

There is a complete kit to swap an LG4 305 out for a ZZ3 crate engine.

It's the whole kit, soup to nuts, 49-state legal. If you shop around, you can get the whole thing in the $4500 range, or so.

This kit is a great deal, because it has every single piece you need from the Air Cleaner to the PROM chip to the twin-cat conversion, not to mention an entire brand new engine.

All finished, it's a 13.9 second car (about the same as a new Z28). Now, if you add E.O. approved parts (headers, etc.) there's at least a few more tenths in there.

Go for the nitrous (stick to 125 hp or so; it has cast pistons) and you're nudging the 12's.

And you can still pass any tailpipe sniff around.


Good luck!

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Bob
'87 Formula TPI 5-speed

 

Wouldn't u think 125hp would be kinda to much for cast iron pistons? Maybe a 75-100 tops be safer.

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Eric Natzke
91 Firebird 305 TBI

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For info on certain parts or mods go to the site below
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Okay, okay, let's straighten a few things out here.

#1, Ryan said he had a 305, not an LG4. The conversion kit is for '82-'87 LG4 or L69 vehicles with auto only. It is not for any TBI or TPI vehicle, or manual transmission for that matter. You could make a ZZ4 work in the other applications, but in those cases the kit would be a waste of money.

Second, the kit uses a ZZ4 engine now, not a ZZ3. That engine has hypereutectic pistons, not cast.

Finally, Mr. Bird, "cast" is a process, not a material. Most production engines use cast aluminum pistons. Hypereutectic refers to the material, and in fact, those pistons are cast as well. Different materials are used for the different processes, but forged pistons are typically preferred for power-adding applications. In summary, the most common piston types are referred to as "cast" (cheapest), "hypereutectic" (the silicon content of the aluminum is above the eutectic point, therefore the "hyper": better than standard cast, but cheaper than forged), and "forged". They're all some type of aluminum.

Ryan, back to your question. Do some more research. Zero had a good suggestion, and that crate engine is probably a good place to start. Building your own engine is probably the best way to force yourself to do some research, and to respect what you have when you're done.

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82 Berlinetta, orig V-6 car, now w/86 LG4/TH700R. 2.93 limited slip. Cat-back from '91 GTA, Accel HEI SuperCoil. AMSOIL syn lubes bumper-to-bumper. Daily driver, work-in-progress (LB9 w/ZZ3 cam, TBD heads, exhaust, paint, etc.).
57 Bel Air, my 1st car. 0.030 over 396, Weiand Action+, Edelbrock 1901 Q-Jet, Jacobs Omnipack, 1-3/4" headers, TH400 w/TCI Sat Night Special conv & shift kit, 3.08 10-bolt, AMSOIL syn lubes bumper-to-bumper. Best 15.1 @ 5800' Bandimere. Daily driver while Camaro was being put together.