Hello everyone i have a few questions i am looking into buying another camaro to use as a parts car for my and my friends cars i have a 86 z28 with a 305 with an eddelbrock carb and am thinking about doing a swap to a 350 from the new car i am going to buy. How much work are we talking here i have done an engine swap before on a ford f150 but that had efi never swaped anything with a carb before. How long (in working hours) do you think it will take from start to finish? and any pointers would be a great help i just need to get that 305 with 236xxx miles on it out....

 

Should be easier than the F150 swap - less connectors to reconnect and such since no EFI. Motor swap is all about the same.

 

thanks for the respone if anyone else has anything to add feel free i have read other threads and stickys but there is not much info about a carb to carb swap which is very strange as i know many people prefer carbs over TPI or TBI

 

There isn't much info about a carb'd engine to carb'd engine swap, because there really isn't anything unique about it. You're swapping the engine - the fact that the one coming out has a carb and the one going in has a carb doesn't have much effect on the process. And, it's well covered in a basic Haynes shop manual.

As to preferring carb over TPI or TBI - that comes down to being willing to put up with the old & inefficient because you're too lazy to learn about the new and improved. I did my first solo engine change-out 42 years ago, and today there isn't a carb'd vehicle left in my "fleet". So don't go assuming too much here.

 

WOW what is it with you an the rest of the mods on here
With the ATTITUDE just because someone uses a carburator
You dont need to insult people all the time just cause you prefer E.F.I.
GET OVER IT

 

It's not just a question of laziness. Many of us don't have the time or money to indulge ourselves in the learning curve and additional equipment necessary to produce an EFI system that will obtain the results we desire.

You've got to admit, the TBI system is very limited in stock form, and it's very difficult to find a TPI programmer worth his salt these days (that can and will do it for someone else), let alone anyone that even looks at TBI - it's just too limited. For many of us, investing the time and extra money involved in retaining an EFI system AND produce the desired result is just out of the question - screwdrivers are much cheaper 'tuning' tools than laptops, chip burners, and software. So for many of us, in states that still allow us to get away with it, it's a very logical solution.

The lucky few on TGO that have the time and means to accomplish awesome things with these cars I think forget the fact 1) they started as the rest of us did - with very little, and 2) the rest of us admire their abilities and knowledge, and thus we come here for assistance and understanding in an attempt to do what we can with what we have, not to get bashed due to our lack of resources.

I agree that using the term "lazy" is harsh. Save the harsh words for the folks that are TOO LAZY to read the forum name and insist on asking questions about Hondas, tractors, go carts and hand mixers. I agree that mods should keep their opinions to themselves, unless asked. But I'll have to also admit, I can truly see where in many cases that would be very difficult - it's just human nature to speak ones mind, and I'm always biting my tongue here as well. But I dont think this was an appropriate thread for opening a can of "carb vs. EFI" worms - especially with the term "lazy". The OP bought the car with an aftermarket carb, it's what he's got. He should be entitled to answers based on what he hopes to accomplish with what he has.

It would truly be a sad day when TGO gets split into a class system where where EFI becomes royalty and carb becomes the riff raff. We might as well start an ethnic war while we're at it. For the sake of TGO, let's not let that happen.

 

Not an insult, an observation. The premise that there isn't much information here about carb swaps is inaccurate. There are more tech articles and threads about switching from EFI to carb than there are the other way around. And, it's usually cheaper to improve what you have than it is to switch to a different system (i.e., not a resource issue). And, as I already stated, being carb'd or EFI doesn't change the basics of what is involved in an engine swap.

Anyway, back to the original question: How long a 305 to 350 swap will take you is dependent upon a lot of factors that we can't predict. If you have everything arranged, a good place to work, all the tools to do the job, it can be done in a weekend without much risk of not having it running by Sunday evening. If you aren't used to doing the work, or aren't paying attention to how things came apart, it may take you several weeks to get the job done. As I said, the Haynes shop manual will have sufficient details to do an engine swap. Beyond that, it's always a good idea to take photos before you start taking things apart and during the process, to mark connectors, and bag & tag bolts and small pieces as you go along.

 

Really it depends on how much goes wrong. When I did my last swap, broke a couple bolts, couldnt get them out, didnt have some parts I needed, crap like that. Ended up taking me three weeks. Once it was in and 95% done I realized the oil pan i used wasnt going to work with my exhaust, had to unhook everything and pull the whole thing out then swap oil pan and put it all back in and hook it all up again. Took just a weekend that time.

Carb is ridiculously easy. My quadrajet required almost nothing to get running on my new engine. Sure it took a few days of driving to fine tune, but it was driveable with no adjustments. Edit: well I guess idle speed counts as an adjustment

 

Thanks for mentioning that. I was thinking of saying something like that, but got caught up in the carb vs. EFI stuff and forgot to include it.

In my experience, and what is often told here, it's the little detail stuff that takes time and causes problems. The time the engines are on the hoists is comparatively short.

 

BINGO

and once the engine is out, you have great visibility into other things and you'll be wanting to replace those hard to reach hoses, you'll notice worn out bushings in the front, maybe it's time for new struts. Time to fix that leaky power steering fitting, And since the car has such miles, send the tranny out for a refresh.

And there is always that bolt that is stripped in one of the accessories because the car is, after all, 20+ years old.

But, the physical swap isn't that time consuming

 

3rd gens, are at the youngest, 19 years old. Do you really believe there isn't a generic subject such as this covered umteen times by now? Why not look at the gazillion threads on "which headers" or how to get big power from a 305TBI?

The search feature is there as a tool. Sometimes it's easy to quickly accuse a poster as having an attitude but again, most generic topics have all been covered and if you do a search on posts by 57, you will find that he has been very helpful and saved many people lots of time and money.

I only wish we had more people with "attitudes" like him around.

 

i didnt think this was going to start a war thats not why i posted this i just could not find much info on a carb to carb swap and was shocked think that there would be more people with this same situation and would be able to give me pointers so lets not let this fighting continue and please just post helpful info and as i may prefer carb there are plenty of people who prefer there EFI and thats fine my point was there is just not much info on the site about carb to carb swaps

 

My apologies for getting the discussion going that direction. Just wanted to counter the notion that carb is more popular than EFI.

Have you picked up a Haynes manual yet?