Thanks for responses everyone!

Well today was not so good. We wanted some additional parts for our 350 build and saw a running 350 advertised on craigslist about 2 1/2 hours away. The whole car was advertised for $450 so I offered between 200-250 for the engine very clearly. I had my initial doubts about it actually being a 350 since the car was an 87 iroc with TPI but this "350" had a new intake and carb on it (which are parts we wanted) I double checked with the owner to make sure it was a "350 not a 305 correct?" and he said it was TPI but was converted to carb with the intake and such. Well we made the trip in my friends girlfriends 1982 GMC Vandura to pull the engine.

When we arrived we saw a frame and partial body of a camaro which had been spray painted black (rims and all) and half of the paint had been ground off with a grinder YES A GRINDER... the metal was all gouged... The engine looked good however and the owner started it up with the battery from the van. Now I am 19 and my friend is 18 and I personally didnt have much experience pulling motors (a few swaps I helped with) and my friend has never pulled a chevy v8. We were poorly equipped with a socket set and a few odd sized open end wrenches but managed SLOWLY to unbolt the torque converter from the flywheel, the exhaust, tranny, and engine mount points. After about 4 hours of handy work (yeah it was slow with makeshift tools with a lot of vice gripping finessing) we were ready to construct the lift.

Well we had the motor hanging and I thought I would double check the engine code and looked it up on my phone to find out it WAS a 305 and dated from 80-85 meaning it was a swap. I was pretty upset but kept entirely cool explaining to the owner the situation in a mature fashion offering to purchase the intake mani and carb and helping him place the engine somewhere.

Well were met instantly with hostel language and actions... "You come and waste my time and rip the engine out of my f$%#& car! You are going to give me all the money you have or I am going to hurt someone"

At this time I noticed there was a pistol hanging several feet away from him... I say Ill see what I can do and talk it over with my friend.

he replies something like "We had a contract through email you were going to buy it! I didnt know it wasnt a 350 blah blah blah because thats what some paper says blah blah blah and thats your fault blah blah blah NOW GIVE ME MY MONEY AND GET THE F*&# OUT OF HERE"

Now the funny thing is we never agreed on a price and I said between 2 and 250 but he goes as far as to say "I WAS GOING TO CHARGE YOU $300 for it!" which dosent make sense if there is a supposed agreement in email for 2-250? I kindly say I could help him sell the exhaust and tranny on the car and he just gets madder...

Well since you all on the forums dont know me personally, I am going to say that I am a nice guy. I dont like to cause trouble and I certainly am fair. After being scared by the pistol we agree to get the "F" out for $200... But somehow I had the guts to talk more to him. I carefully explained how I was tight on money and building the car on a budget between high school and the mechanical engineering program I intend to start in fall of 2010.

Somehow he cooled off and we all agreed on $140 for everything which was still a good deal considering the engine had the Edelbrock performer intake and carb on it.

All and all not a very fun situation and I am stuck with a 2nd 305!

I do have to say that my favorite part of the ordeal was when his wife came out after it was settled and said that I had "HORRIBLE BUSINESS PRACTICES" AND I BROKE AN AGREEMENT AND I AM A F%#&# AND THIS AND THAT

Horrible because I didn't want to buy something that was falsely advertised?

You could, and I have. But, you can get a new distributor for the same or not much more than the conversion kit.

????

Did you mean '87?

As for the rest of the fiasco, you agreed to buy a 350, not a 305. But, when there's a gun near by, keeping your cool was the right choice.

Scrap iron is about $60/ton. You might get more for an engine. Maybe $10 for it.

Check the casting #'s. If the heads are 416 or 081, you should be able to get a little out of them.

gonna check the head numbers today. I might just throw a crappy intake/carb setup on that engine and put it in a car down the line which I could flip. I have plenty of room for it. It cost me $70 in gas to get me there so I might as well use it a bit.

So my next challenge is the wiring harness... The 305 I picked up has electronic ignition (which I would like to use) but the harness that was in the previous car was ripped to shreds... I do however have an intact harness from the throttle body injected motor. Any advice?

someone refered me to this thread when was figuring out wiring for myself.
https://www.thirdgen.org/forums/ltx-...p-3rd-gen.html

maybe will help u figure out ur wiring! Personally i suck at wiring so sorry but all i got!

Perfect... Just what I needed!

uh oh... Is my car not going to be legal because 87 was the last year the 5.0 was available with a carbed option.

How do these look for headers?

http://boston.craigslist.org/nos/pts/1451783249.html

Theres people in here that sell them with the y pipe you should search

Didn't we say that already?

Maybe not this time. However, I believe the Monte Carlo SS had carb through '88, so you may be able to slide it through that way.

Yep it is actually not a problem here... Next question. Motor mounting hardware. Does anyone know of a kit that will consist of the bolts which attach the following:

Flywheel to torque converter with nuts, block to tranny housing, and motor mount bolts with nuts? then its on to the tranny mounting from there.

any Oreilly store or autozone or something will have all those for you. flywheel bolts, torque converter bolts, motor mount bolts, whatever you want they can get you. i work for oreilly auto parts and i get pretty much ALL my stuff there. for the discount i get, you cant beat it

Yeah thanks for the info... They are clueless at Autozone stores here... They told me they didnt have any of the bolts I needed and when I told them I saw some of them on their website I was told "we dont have access to our website here"

Good news is the guy I have been buying parts from is going to give me all the bolts tomorrow.

Well the entire engine bay is refreshed (pics soon) and tomorrow we are dropping a TBI 305 in it to drive it just to drive it to another location while we continue our 350 build. Wish me luck...

Can anyone help me out? I called a dealer and even they couldn't figure out what bolts and nuts I need! I need the torque converter bolts and nuts... bellhousing to block and the long engine mount bolts. I also need tranny mounting bolts. can someone specify the size of each of these or point me towards where I can get them? Autozone no go... Napa no go... Advance auto parts no go... CHEVY DEALER NO GO!

the bellhousing to block bolts don't have to be anything special....as long as they are right threads and long enough. If u have an engine mount, measure the diameter of holes and length you need and go to hardware store and just get two grade 8 bolts with some nuts and maybe washers. You shouldn't have to worry about threads as long as u pick up bolts and nuts. I am at college but am going home tomorrow and can tell u all the sizes within the next couple of days....Do u need the size of the bolts for the tranny crossmember or torque arm?

Thanks for the response! I think I have everything I need now. I went to home depot with some measurements I took and a few matching bolts. I got the tranny mounted to the engine.

Today I also received my Mallory fuel pressure regulator...

Tomorrow I have to buy tranny cooler lines and fittings as well as water pump gaskets, intake gasket, carb gasket and some exhaust manifold gaskets.

kool...i had a problem finding tranny lines for my 86 camaro, but checked out classictube.com and found some for like $45....exact fit which was very nice. i checked like every auto store and nobody had tranny lines for it and even went to dealer and no luck...so i would check out classic tube.

Also I personally like the alluminum exhaust gaskets that mold when you tighten them, they are pricier but a lot better on the exhaust leaks.

just checked classic tube and they make transmission lines for 82-87 camaros, and 89-92 camaros.....idk why they don't make one for the 88'??? I would maybe call them up and ask. Goodluck!!!

Hmmm thats strange... Wont brake lines and correct size fittings work? (the stock tranny fittings)I mean a metal tube is a metal tube and I have a pipe flange kit and everything. Thanks for looking that up for me.

yeah im pretty sure u can bend and flange ur own tube. just make sure no kinks or anything but should be fine going that route....idk wat the tube size is for it? But the fittings are 5/16 inverted flare for both radiator + transmission. Also could consider using braided steel lines...might be easier...(idk)??

On the exhaust gaskets - I agree with above - especially if you're doing headers. In fact, I picked up the dead soft copper aluminum gaskets at my local AutoZone - before I got those, I always had exhaust leaks.

I also had a helluva time with header bolts not holding - everyone has to retighten them once or twice a year - I was having to every 2-3 days. Solution: Breslin Header Bolts - these things are pricey, but the best thing ever in header bolts - they never fail! 3+ years and I've had NO need to retighten. I ordered mine through a local speed shop, but you can check them out at Ecklers:

http://www.ecklerscamaro.com/product...9&pf_id=718176

On the intake gasket - use the side gaskets, but toss the rubber pieces for the ends and use gasket maker - the rubber pieces never work. AND - the only way I was able to keep my intake from leaking was to lay a 1/4 inch bead of gasket maker all along the front and back, and let it dry for an hour. Then, I put gasket maker on the side pieces to hold them on the heads, and I put more gasket maker on the front and back, then laid the intake on and hand tightened the bolts, then waited 15 minutes, and torqued according to spec and in order. This was the ONLY way I've ever been successful with keeping an intake from leaking - 3 years later and no leaks yet

Thanks for the gasket advice! I used the standard sized brake line for our cars with the 5/16 fittings (and thread sealant) and they worked just fine. I got the motor into the car last night (tranny and all) with the front end still on the car. Next up I have to figure out the tranny mount and I should have the car drivable sometime in the next couple of days!

Right before we dropped the motor all the way down, I installed the stock exhaust manifolds (for temporary use as this is the 305 just to get it moving)

Now I am going to need advice on how to get the tranny bolted down... I have the mount but I need to know what bolts to use again!

isn't there a bolt built into the mount? Because there should just be a nut that u need. I got a mount at an auto store and worked perfect and only like $4-5. Is that what what ur asking? Or the crossmemeber?.....Tranny Jacks work awesome if u got one. other wise us a board for support, cusion, or something that wont dent pan and jack up tranny and make sure u find a nice solid part of the tranny pan. (corners) middle of pan weak. that way u can get everything lined up nicely.

Also just so u no, u probably could have got by with putting one header on one side of engine, and put other on once engine in. But i see u kinda want it done so i understand.

msd sells a kit for electronic points but still the hei is a better set up less wires and when added to a msd coil and pick up is one of the best set ups out there. simplicity looks good and clean

those wheels are the z28 wheels and seem to be the 7/8inc wide. my father had a set that were 10inc wide.

when i ran the th350 i just used a oil grade rubber line in to a b&m tranny cooler i never had a problem and its easy to work into place.

010 chevy block is widely used becuse of the high nickel contrate in the block making it stronger. if you pull off the fly wheel and there is a bowtie stamp or hp stamp you have a bowtie ho block,

hey don't know if u still needed bolt sizes but heres a link if u need them.

https://www.thirdgen.org/forums/tran...help-asap.html

hows the swap going??

Hi guys it has been awhile! I am close to getting the car started after a month without working on it. Now I have another noobish question. Engine/tranny are all mounted and the last thing we are working on is the wiring harness. What exactly do I need to plug in besides the obvious? I found pretty much where everything goes but can not find the fuel pump switch, but I did plug in the relay... The electronic ignition is also confusing me and the brown wire on the spark module is cut off (I know I will need to find that)

You've got several choices for getting down to bare metal. Sand blasting, media blasting, soda blasting, acid dipping, etc. you can also get out your grinder and wire-wheel to do the job.

IIRC, you went carb with a 4309 regulator right? No more ECM? If that's correct ...

On mine, for the fuel pump wiring, I took the two larger wires from the Oil Pressure Sending Unit, and ran them to the fuel pump relay, then I ran a hot-in-run wire to the relay, and a ground (basically I just used the stock relay and rewired it).

The OPSU (was) located just above the oil filter, and has 3 wires to it. The two larger wires from the OPSU connector - one comes directly from the battery, the other goes directly to the fuel pump - it supplied 12v+ to the pump in the event the ECM didn't. So, using these wires will run the pump just fine. And the pump should run as long as your OPSU is connected and is on the motor getting oil pressure.

BUT - if the OPSU ever fails, you'll have no fuel pump. This is why I just "stole" this circuit from the OPSU and rerouted through the stock relay - I'll never be abandoned by a bad OPSU.

So, with my rewiring, now when I turn the key to on, my pump runs, regardless of oil pressure. This circuit also has a fuse in it, located at the battery tucked in the fender in a weatherpack.

This is why I never meet anyone from Craigslist without packing heat. Conceal carry permits are your friend.

Anyone have any idea how much output I may see from a later model year TBI 305 (I believe it was originally mated to the 5 speed) converted to an Edelbrock 4 barrel setup? This is my temporary setup until we complete the 350 for installation early summer.

We are going to throw on headers in a month or so, but for now are running stock manifolds. Wiring is just about complete now and I hope to have our first start early this week!

I got the starter to engage and turn over the motor today! Fuel pump is working as it should as well... Very close.

Can anyone suggest a replacement for the speedometer cable attachment on
my 700r4? The place where the cable plugs in is cracked off! I want to make sure I get the right part.
Thanks!

She is getting closer, the half arsed vaccum caps everywhere were to test. Stock manifolds will be replaced by headers in a month or so. When we weld the exhaust it is basically going to be spliced together franken-stock exhaust until we get the headers.

You understand that's not an emissions-legal carb set-up.

Don't try to race that at an NHRA track - they'll take one look at all that rubber fuel line and send you home. Other sanctioning bodies will probably have a similar reaction.

Did you figure out something for the speedometer? Is yours cable driven, or electronic? I'm guessing cable, in which case you can get replacement parts at the dealer or junk yard. I doubt a chain parts store would have it; if they did, they'd probably get it from a dealer.

Thanks for the response. Wouldnt any carb setup be technically non emissions-legal? Earlier in this thread I talked about my prior experience working on flipping cars but that was pretty much plug and play. This whole project has been learn as I go so I know I will certainly seem ignorant on most topics here. I know my fuel line setup is not ideal as I am using the in tank electric pump but what should I do about the rubber lines? Use metal lines off the carb itself?

I havent found the part for my cable driven speedo but if I can get in touch with the guy I buy all my parts from that should be taken care of. I dont plan to race this car now and I do plan on swapping in the 350 this spring. I need to get the car out of the garage it is sitting in now and I think this setup will be good enough to get it out of there.

That's what I was trying to say earlier. The computer controlled carb set-up from an '88 Monte SS would technically be legal if you put all of its equipment in your car.

I will pick up a metal line for the carb today. Regardless if it passes inspection or not, it will be able to drive to a more permanent home before I continue work.

There's no issues with the rubber fuel lines for the sake of driving it, just for the track racing - for daily use the rubber lines are fine - mine's had rubber lines on it now for 3 years.

If I do keep the rubber line temporarily it will be cut shorter and run out of the way. Thanks for your help with the belt confusion in my other thread. I hope to have some 350 build pics up and get this thread back on topic very soon.

We had the timing set completely backwards on the exhaust stroke! Readjusted the distributor and she started right up for us today! very very satisfying.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sZZKVciwFkk

Here is a video of it moving! Very exciting few days!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rCaXYFDPXoU

wow good job guys....so u no what ur going to do with ur exhaust? anyway congrats

thanks! Tomorrow I am picking up a set of headers and hopefully a full exhaust we can throw on there. Today was a little less productive as we couldn't get the stock y pipe to fit, the starter died and the fuel pump relay got stock on (even when the key was out) and died as well.

Today was the best day yet! We installed Hedman headers and the mating y pipe, bypassed the pump relay and took her down the driveway and back into the garage (accidentally setting off the alarm on the neighbors car in the process) I really gotta get the exhaust welded up! I had great help from a fellow forum member, who also brought over the rectangular tip exhaust for us.

Ready for registration! First stop is the exhaust shop. I have to attach a temporary muffler as not to get pulled over on the way there!

I am getting ready to start building the 350 up as soon as I have cash. The car is registered and on the road!