Sometime soon im going to be trading my subaru outback for an 83 camaro with a 305 and 700r4. the camaro has 133k on it and runs good, tranny feels good. I was wanting to use the car as a daily driver, do some exhaust work to it (headers, flowmasters, etc..), but not spend money on fixing the 305 since i heard its not good for performance, just spend money on stuff that can be transferred to a 350. i was looking at 350s on craigslist, and was wondering what years motors will swap into my camaro. I still completely new in the chevy world, and have gained my knowledge from google. I know that 87+ camaros had the roller motors. But i found a 350 that says "96-99" and is roller motor also, has factory windage tray. Was wondering how hard it would be to convert this motor to carb. and mechanical fuel pump and if it would work in my car without a ridiculous amount of fabrication. Any information you can give me is greatly appreciated!! seriously anything you can tell me about the car please type!

also, how much can the stock 700r4 take? I read that 87+ were strengthened, but how much can the 700 from my 83 take?

 

Welcome aboard thirdgen.org.

The quick answer is "Any Gen I 350." The long answer involves a lot of details.

The '96-'99 350's were used in trucks and were the first "Vortec" engines. You can swap them in, but they don't have the mechanical fuel pump provision. So, you'll have to rig up an electric fuel pump somehow. They also require a special intake manifold, which is available to work with your 305 carb. And, they have a cam sensor, which you won't need, so most people replace the front cover.

The "roller years" were '87-'95. The most plentiful engines from those years were put in trucks, which didn't get roller lifters, although most of the blocks will take roller lifters. It isn't absolutely necessary to have roller lifters, but they are nice. The heads from those truck engines, though, aren't good for much more than stock performance - your current 305 heads are better.

Some other year-specific details:
- The dipstick was on the driver side up to '79, and moved to the passenger side in '80.
- One-piece rear main seal came out in '86. It uses a different flexplate than your '83 engine (not a biggie - about a $35-50 piece).
- '87-up cast iron heads have the center two intake manifold mount bolts on each side at 72 degrees instead of 90 degrees like all the rest. Your '83 intake manifold has all of the bolts at 90 degrees.

I had a rebuilt '83 TH700 behind a ZZ4 clone (rated at 355 HP) with a higher stalling torque converter and a shift improver kit. It handled the power fine, including regular drag racing. But, I had it upgraded for a 30-spline converter, from the 27-spline the '83 had. This involves changing the input shaft. The reason I did that is because I was reusing the 30-spline converter I had in my '86 transmission, which needed a rebuild, and this '83 had already been rebuilt. 27-spline converter are fine, and can be had for your transmission. Rebuilt with a shift improver kit, it'll handle a DD 350 just fine.

For the record, you can make a 305 run just fine for DD duty with cam, air cleaner, and exhaust upgrades. It won't have as much power as a 350, but it will get better gas mileage.

Whatever you do, don't replace the carb with something aftermarket. The computer q-jet is the best choice out there for a DD.

 

Some do have full provisions on the block. Mine came from a 96 Tahoe and has it. But the cam did not have the lobe, not really an issue if one plans to upgrade the cam anyway.

 

Interesting! My vortec block was not drilled for a mech fuel pump, but it did have the extra lobe on the cam. Kinda seems like these gen 1 vortecs are like a box of chocolates....

 

woa! thanks for all the information! i have a few questions.


How can i tell if the block can take roller lifters, or if it cant?

are you saying i could use the heads from my 305 on it if i needed to? convert them to roller rockers?

so 80-99 all have them on passenger side?

yea i kinda like the cc quadrajet, but for some reason the secondaries aren't opening. any ideas why this could be? and will the carb thats on it be good enough for a 350?

also will any year cam for a 350 fit in another 350? for instance, will a cam for an older 350 that has the lobe for the pump fit in a newer 96-99 vortec block that had the electric fuel pump, yet still has the provisions for a mechanical?


thanks a bunch!!

 

If the nubs in the middle of the lifter valley are milled, drilled, & tapped, it'll accept factory-style roller lifters.

You can put roller rockers on most any head. It's the lifters that we were talking about above.

Yes.

If you're sitting in the driveway blipping the throttle, you won't see the secondaries open up.

A q-jet is more than enough for a 350.

Any year flat tappet cam will fit in any Gen I SBC.

Most later blocks were not drilled & machined for the mechanical pump push rod. If the block has been drilled & machined, then a cam with a pump lobe on it will work in the block.