My piece of $h!t car stopped working for me this morning. I think I have a spun rod bearing. No money for a mechanic, so self-diagnosis is my only option. It definitely sounds like the bearing, but who knows what other damage has been done. The car wont start as of this morning. She cranks, but not much more than that. I decided now would be a good time to do a swap.

Our local junkyard (about 45 mi away) has a 350 for $400. My uncle seems to think that I can take my TBI, Intake manifold, etc off of my L03 305, and put it onto that 350 and be good to go. I disagree. seems too easy.

Any advice is greatly appreciated. Keep in mind this is my daily drive, and I am only 21 yrs old and this is my first project car. I really have no knowledge about cars. I can spout of stats, figures, etc. but I don't REALLY work on them.

Basically;

Can a 305 tbi's rigging be put onto a 350 block?

 

Your uncle is mostly right. On the right track anyway. It'll work like that but you won't be too happy with it. OTOH, get the TB, EXC module, chip, and knock sensor for a 350 onto it, and it'll be much better.

 

If it's your daily driver and you need it to work right ,I would get a 305 pullout from someone doing a 350 swap. I couldn't give mine away when I did mine. Surely there's people out there with perfectly good (if high-mileage) 305's laying around from the 85-92 F-cars.

Upgrading is a great idea, and I would much rather you get a junkyard 350 than try to rebuild the 305 you have... but be aware that pullout 305s may be around that would provide you with a stock running, reliable vehicle again with a minimum of investment.