So I had been looking for a way to get more power out of my 92 rs... And today I was in the shed next door and it just so happened the owner has mid 80s 350 he pulled from his vette (which is an amazing creation, but that's really not important to the story). Any how, it makes good compression and "doesn't burn oil" (he's a trustworthy guy, I've known him for a while) a little miss on number 2 but he claims that is because of the cam being worn. I'd expect a bad rod or lifter but again, really not important to the story. The engine is complete minus the accessory drive and carb. HE only wants 400 bucks. I haven't gotten all the specs yet but I know it has the potential to make a lot more power than a 305. Plus with the carb I can get away from the ECU. Just an MSD box for ignition and I don't see why I'd need the thing at all. Has anyone done a like swap before? What kid of results did you see? and did you need to change your fuel pump?

 

a mid 80 vette should have had fuel injection. you may want to check head casting #s to see what engine it is. also check your emission laws to make sure you will be able to register the car after the swap.

 

I guess it was the base model that was still had a carb, didn't really give it much thought. I really just wanted to get the idea out in the community so people with more knowledge could comment before I buy. I'd really like to get some big power from this motor so and I think corvette heads should be capable of doing that with some new valve train and a trip to the machine shop, but this will be my first real build. I've torn an engine apart before but, i'd like to get in the 400 horsepower range and have the stability so run nitrous with this one. For the build itself I'll refer to books and the expertise of a trained technician (a friend of mine), but when it comes to the little tricks of converting a computer controlled car to the technology of its fore runners, I can't think of any other place to find information than here.

And as for the emissions issue, that's one of the wonderful things about Florida, no inspection of any kind. Which allows my mileage to go undocumented so when it comes time to register in another state I can apply for street rod/classic/collectible plates then it would be theoretical possible to remove my instrument cluster and put in the other instrument cluster I happen to have laying around each time the car goes in for a routine check up thus staying under the 3000-5000 mile per year limit. I'm pretty sure I wouldn't have much trouble keeping it plated in any state except California.


By the way Skirkland, the idea of a 2.8 turbo is pretty sweet. Must give ya a lot of power combine with better handling over the V8.

 

the datsun is the 2.8 turbo, my slowest car.

 

Oh, I was thinking you had strapped a turbo to one of the 2.8 third gens.

 

All vette's were TPI starting in '85, the '84 vette was Cross Fire as was the '81 models, none had carbs on them.

 

What did he "create"?

It's important to the price.
Many, many people have done the swap. It's discussed all the time. You need to decide whether you're going to keep the in-tank electric pump or not. The ECM locks up the torque converter clutch, which it won't do if you put a carb on it, so you'll need to come up with some other way to lock up the TCC. It also turns on the electric fuel pump, so if you keep the in-tank pump and remove the ECM, you'll have to come up with another way to turn on the pump.

 

I really find the car impressive because he put a 56 (I think) shell on a 80 something chassis (you can still tell it's a C3 in the windshield) but other than that it looks like a 50's model. and finished it of with an Ls6 under the hood. Maybe the engine was in the older 'vette, but that would have original been a 327. I know the older of the 'vettes he used would have predated the 350.

Now I'm really glad you pointed out the torque converter issue because I never would have never thought of that. It's kinda odd because I only remember seeing two wires coming out of the transmission (which I assumed were for reverse lights). It is done with an electrical signal correct? In that case I could just jut a push switch on or next to the shifter and cause it to light a signal on the dash cut out the "service engine soon" light and replace it with "torque lock" that would take little more than a switch, wire, a relay, and a few hours to make it all look right. Now this would be a fine answer to the problem IF hitting the gas with the converter not at liberty to unlock on its own wouldn't cause any any sort of transmission damage, which I somehow feel like it would. If it would work all I'd have to do is lock it up on the free way and hit a button to pass. Most of my cars are stick shift so it wouldn't bother me to do that. It's getting on the throttle and forgetting to hit the button worries me. Any idea if that will cause problems? Maybe someone here has a better idea...?

The fuel pump itself should be pretty easy Just run a wire that delivers power to the pump whenever the ignition is on. The issue will be reducing the pressure from 12 psi to somewhere between 5 and 7 to avoid flooding the carb.

Thanks for the input

 

There isn't any problem with respect to the transmission with having the TCC locked and hitting the throttle. The computer will unlock it to allow the transmission into its powerband.

There is a tech article linked from the thirdgen.org homepage about rigging up TCC lock-up.

BTW, the back-up light switch is in the shifter, not the transmission.

 

I should have known that. thanks for the advice