Ok so I recently blew the engine up in my 2.8 firebird and to be honest I dont want the ol 2.8 back. So Im thinking of putting a carbed 350 in the car. I read a couple of threads and understand I need to swap the transmission, replace the motor mounts and radiator and front springs. now for my question, do I need to worry about the ECM or can I just remove it? As far as I understand I can run the engine aslong as I have a 12V source, but Ive also never done a FI to carb swap before or have had a carbed car. Also does anyone know what milege I should be expecting out of a properly tuned carbed 350? The engine is out of an 84 firebird. Also just to let anyone know Im definitely not selling this car and getting a V8, my grandfather who already passed away bought this car for me.

 

the factory carb setup on the 84 will be computer controlled as well (if still stock), so you will need to grab all the harness and computer stuff. if you're looking to get away from using a computer and your state will allow it (emissions and inspections vary by state), you'll need to switch to a non-CC distributor and change the carb.

if its a daily driver, i'd stick with fuel injected for reliability and fuel economy. if its more of the weekend toy car, carb can have its advantages

 

I did a 2.8 to 355 install years ago and never looked back. The car is a different animal once you drop an 8 cylinder in there, you can believe it! The only difference I guess with you is that your car is fuel injected where mine was carbureted. Another thing I had to do was change up the front suspension, more to suit the larger heavier engine. When I did my engine swap the front end was sagging a bit, changed up the coils and it had a nice stance again.
onthedownlow

 

I get around 14mpg out of my 84 carb setup but it is a long way off from "tuned". You can use your stock fuel pump but will need to get a regulator to drop the pressure.

 

I live in NC and we dont emissions for cars before 1992 just safety so it should be fine. So if I changed the carb and went to a different distributor I should be fine. And yea this is my weekend toy now I got a jeep cherokee to drive daily. Appreciate the comments. V8 here I come!

 

save up and go LSx I wish I would of

 

I cant afford an LSX swap right now and I jsut want a weekend cruise toy car, nothing too fast, but not the same V6 with all the stupid sensors. Ok so I instead of buying the engine from my friend I found a rebuilt 305 on Clist on an enginestand and its got a non CC controlled carb that I want to get. So basically if I buy this all Id have to do is stick a transmission on it, get a new Trans crossmember, swap enginemounts and drop her in and also swap out the radiator. Now for the wiring part. I know how to get the ignition, but do I jsut need a 12v powersource for the distributor or what? I actually dont even know how to wire it up, unfamiliar territory for me. Kinda used to the plug and play type deal lol.

EDIT: NVM about the distributor question I googled and found my answer. Now for my other one

Also does anyone know if I can still use my factory dash/gauges? Or will I have to redo them aswell? Also all the lights and radio are independent of the ECM right?

 

Go find a decent 2.8 in the JYs. If you're fine with cruising around in a V6 then keep it that way. Dont band-aid it with a dinosaur 350 carb for minimal gains

All dash functions are independent of ECM control. Read the how-to-prep-a-harness thread in the stickys

 

Well heres the thing, its not that Im trying to bandaid anything. I just want a nice weekend toy car, Im not in it for the speed or anything really, I was pretty contempt with the speed with my 2.8. Ive just wanted to maybe try my hand at putting a carb V8 in it since it seemed easier than an FI swap and something fun for me to do as Ive never done it before. I also can seem to find a 305 cheaper than the 2.8 around here. The only jy around here has 2.8s but they are all complete junk and stripped down. Only thing I go there for are interior and exterior pieces and maybe jeep parts.

 

Roll by pull-a-part. They've got a ton of them in running condition

If you've never ran a carb car year round Id advise against it