Ok, this is my first post here. I am new to camaros, new to restoring cars, and very new to this site. Ive only recently stumbled on it and feel like I hit a gold mine! Heres my short situation:

I recently acquired through trade work an 83' Z28 Camaro AT with the 4bbl 305 with a staggering 150 ponies @ 4000 rpm. The engine is scrap, the car hasnt run since 1991 and only has 49k miles on it. No dents, minimal rust (only under dash from leaking in T-top, and no rips in interior although it does smell heavily of mold/mildew. After a couple discussions with local mechanics/friends ive decided to ditch the 305 and go with a 350. I really want an icrease in power with the cheapes way possible. So I was talking with my friend, and he has a 350 T.P.I. out of an 89 Chevy stepside that was wrecked. The engine ran when they pulled it and has been sitting in a garage for a few years. I might be able to acquire it through trade work as well, if not than at most a couple hundred bucks.

So without further adu, my questions are: What is involved in getting this engine to work with my Camaro? Ive heard several that it bolts right up, but the problem is getting the gauges to work. Please, any piece of advice is greatly appreciated. As the title says, I live in California so any advice on what I need to do legally is also really needed and appreciated.

Oh, I used to be a mustang guy, but I really LOVE my Camaro and am going to stick with this awesome "****** Mashing Machine" as ive have come to call it!

 

Welcome aboard thirdgen.org.

Trucks didn't get TPI, they got TBI. Since your car originally was carb, your choices are: Replace the engine and keep the carb; or go through the "motor change" process whereby an '83 or later engine passenger car and all emissions equipment it had, including the induction system are installed in the car. Bad news is a truck engine is not a legal "change", it has to be from a passenger car.

What I would recommend (not technically legal, but you can get by with it): Go ahead and use the truck shortblock (it's worth $150-$200 - the rest is eBay or scrap). Take the heads off of the 305 now in the car and have them gone through. Install them on the 350 shortblock and put all of the '83 equipment back on the engine. Run the carb - it's a good system. It may need a rebuild, not at all hard if you can follow directions.

Exhaust is the main sticking point, as the factory 305 stuff is restrictive (unless you happen to have the L69, VIN G - not likely but possible). The only legal replacement system is the Edelbrock TES. Main problem with it is it retains the restrictive EFE valve. But, it would be better than stock exhaust manifolds.

 

On a minimal budget doing a TPI swap right now would be a costly nightmare. You would need a new wire harness, gauges, ECU, PROM, etc etc... It'll be easier and cheaper to start with what you already have now. Stick with the carb, upgrade at some point, and just replace the long block underneath.


Now since that engine has been sitting so long, it might have seized over time. To check this you have to manually rotate the assembly. If the flywheel is still connected to the rear of the engine you can try turning it there; with a firm grip and some muscle of course. If it rotates Great, if it doesnt you're SOL and the engine is going to need a full rebuild.

If all is good then dis-assemble the engine so you can get to and re-lube all your internals. While its all apart, check your cylinder walls for any gouges or deep scrapes, (rust). Check the heads (never lay valve down) for any warping, metal fragments, rust or bent valves. Check the valley and the oil pain for M\F too. When putting it back together replace all gaskets to assure all leaks are taken care of. Make sure everything is tightened to torque specs.

The only thing you may need to find is a new intake manifold. I'm not positive if an earlier carb 305 manifold will bolt up to the newer TPI heads. If you do need one you can find a used one for dirt cheap. Before you drop the engine in I would replace any bad vacumm lines while you're at it. It'll be 10x easier to do it now then sometime down the road.

I know I left alot out, but these things are your bare basics to get the project off the ground.

Good Luck with everything!

 

five7kid said it 10x better... haha

 

Ok, forgive my ridiculous lack of experience. I dont think I can reuse the carb either cause it has significant corrosion and rust. I like the idea of using the shortblock. If I did do that all Id have to do is put my stuff on it, get a new carb and replace the headers? Also Im not sure about the cats, they look very rusted and im not sure if they're good anymore.

 

Ok, forgive my lack of experience. I like the idea of using the shortblock. I dont think my carb is reusable since it has significant rust.corrosion. And what passenger cars would work for me? So all id have to do is put my stuff on the 350, get a carb, and swap the headers? Im also unsure about my cats since they are pretty rusty too. In the op when I said minimal rust I meant on the body.

 

The engine is siezed. I had a friend help me out to check, we put a fat torque wrench on what I think is the crank shaft? It didnt budge. I turned both ways and I even loosened the bolt.

 

A rebuilt computer controlled carb is about $300-$350. Sounds like a lot, but by the time you got done getting all of the EFI stuff you'd need, it would cost a lot more. When set properly (not all that hard to do), they really work well.

There should only be one cat. You might try getting the L69 headers and a direct-fit L69 cat, not sure what CA would say about that, though (if they even noticed).

My assumption about factory exhaust is it all has to go. Not a very budget-friendly proposition, but certainly is a much better performance-friendly approach in the long term.

 

The heads are probably rebuildable, though.

 

Then don't bother with it... In the right places, you can find a used 350 that runs for a few hundred bucks... If you knew it was seized, why would you be concerned about putting it in your car??

 

I assumed it was the original 305 that was seized.

Did I get that wrong?

 

Hmm... I just had to re-read that myself... I think he's talking about both... 305 in post #1 and the 350 in post #7...

 

the guy im quoting in post #7 was talking about using the engine already in the car I thought. The 350 im talking about is not siezed, and has all the stuff. My car has duel exhaust and duel cats. If its possible, id like to use the fuel injection thats on the 350. My friend has the comp that goes with it (pretty sure since they were going to put the engine in a 4runner AND have the original truck sitting in their yard. I also heard about this company called "Painless Wiring Harness" or is it "Payless Wiring Harness"? Not sure, but I heard that you call them and they'll make you a wiring er engine harness for 300-400 bucks. Then again, I have no idea what im doing. I can do simple things like starters, radiators, alternators, ect.

 

Or would it be better to keep the wiring harness thats with the 350 TBI and buy new gauges?

 

Sorry, I shouldve been more specific in post #3... I was stating what to do with the 350 engine, I already figured the 305 was shot...

 

Dont worry about it dude. Right now im so pumped cause I want to get this car running. Right now I have to keep it at my dads place (ive only had the car for 2 months) and he's already complaining about it. SO: If i drop this engine and all the stuff with it, I need to change my wiring harness, or all my gauges?

 

The EFI harness doesn't affect the gauges. If you decide to use the truck EFI, you can use the harness and computer.

One issue will be getting the vehicle speed sensor signal to the computer. The '83 had the VSS on the back of the speedometer, while the truck has it on the transmission. I'm not sure about the pin-outs for the harnesses and computer, but it may work without modification. That's something you would have to check.

If I was in your situation, I'd use the 350 shortblock and the heads and everything else off of your 305 (assuming whatever seized the 305 didn't affect the heads - pretty good odds, there). The carb has a lot more performance capability than the truck TBI, same for the heads. You won't gain that much fuel efficiency with the TBI system (some, but I wouldn't go through the hassle to get it).

83's never got dual cats from the factory. Someone had to install that later.

BTW, it's "Painless Wiring".

 

Ahhh thank you! Ill see if I can pull the carb and bring it to my friend to see if its salvagable. And the carb has better performance than the TBI? If you dont mind can you elaborate more so I have a better understanding? Oh, and my wiring harness will go ok with this engine?

 

The stock TBI flows something around 450 CFM. The stock q-jet is capable of flowing 750 CFM. The stock carb can handle upgrades like cam and headers without problems (just need to keep the cam reasonable), while the TBI will have to be reprogrammed if you change cam and improve the exhaust.

The engine doesn't really affect the harness. It's the induction and emissions equipment that require different harnessing.

I'm running a stock carb and stock carb computer on my 350. 300+ HP, I didn't change the tuning from the 305 (although I did change the secondary rods while still on the 305).

 

Ok, thanks for making that simple for me lol. Ok, so why cant I use the heads that are on the 350?

 

You can. They are what are known as "swirl ports". They have a "wall" built into the intake port to induce swirl to the fuel/air mix as it enters the combustion chamber. While it helps reduce emissions and improve fuel economy, the effects are limited. And, the "wall" reduces flow capacity such that high lift cams and high RPMs just aren't effective. So, while they would be okay for a mild economy minded build, they aren't very good for the typical performance build. The one piece of good news on them is that the exhaust ports do flow well.

The other minor detail is the angle of the center two intake mount bolts on each side changed to 72 degrees in 1987. Your '83 manifold won't fit without modification.

However, if you swap the 305 heads over to the 350 block, you won't have any problem mounting the intake manifold, you'll raise the compression slightly (about the same as the '85 & '86, as well as the L69 HO, 305's were), and you'll have heads that flow better than the truck heads.

 

Ok, so say I do everything like you suggest. Put the new stuff together, drop it in, hook everything up, and after 18 years it finally takes its first gasps of air. Will this setup pass smog? Will the emissions from the 350 make this car unsmoggable?
I should probably check out my exhaust since its not stock, do duel cats reduce smog emissions?