RaceyRenee79

I have an 83 2.8L V6 Camaro that was my first car. From the beginning I had problems because well let's all face it the 2.8 is the motor Chevy will never fess up to. No power whatsoever. So my natural thought was to put a 350 in, in which I have no idea what to do. Other than getting a 350 motor out of an 83 I don't know what else I would have to do. Motor mounts of course but what about the computer and wiring harness? I know that you have to change a lot of stuff over but jeez I don't know where to begin. Anyone have any suggestions. What about the gears? Is the rear end set up the same? Wow this is still just as fun as it was when I was fifteen when Dad bought it for me....Love ya Dad but you know NOTHING about any kind of Chevy motor newer than the sixties!!! I know he was only tryin to keep me from gettin killed but hey which would you want a V8 with the ability to get out and go or a 2.8 piece of junk with around 100 hp and a flawed carb that would choke out and die as soon as you pulled out in traffic?! For Pete's sake he taught me how to drive in his Malibu classic station wagon with a 305 in it. But he said somethin about puttin an 86 S10 4.3 motor in it and I was like NOOOO!!! Too much bs just put in a 350. Any suggestions? The reason I want to do this is because I have a really nice car that has no ground effects kit on it. It has been taken care of and I think it would be worth it to put a 350 in it. It has no rust and the frame is straight plus it is a hard top so I think a 350 would be the best bet. Smells like money..

highgear

Look around the site some. Search engine swaps. Decide on a budget. Once you get an idea of work involved and money to spend, set your goals.

five7kid

iTrader: (14)

First, welcome aboard thirdgen.org.

So, you've had the car almost 30 years, and now you want to tear it apart...

Cool!

The 2.8 wasn't GM's best effort. But, if you've ever driven a Vega, you'll appreciate that it actually was a step up.

Obviously, you aren't alone, so we tried to get you off on the right foot. Just above the top "normal" post in this section is a "sticky" about the basics of a V6 to V8 swap. I'll go one step more and give you a direct link: https://www.thirdgen.org/forums/engi...swap-read.html

There are so many "350" options that the sticky can't really go into detail, but the bolting in parts are pretty much the same. Read through the sticky, then you'll have a better idea of the basics. Then we can go from there.

RaceyRenee79

And that's exactly how I thought it would be lmao....I knew a little bit more about that than I gave myself credit for..

kmcn47

i hate the bashing on the 2.8, i mean damn keep oil in it and you'll never have a problem my dads 85 s10 has a 2.8 and its got over 400,000 miles on it and its been through two trans in that time sure its not a race engine...........or is it? the new chevy indycar has a 2.8 it very different from the economical perfectly balanced 2.8 that was in your car but its a 2.8 none the less

Z28ricer

iTrader: (2)

I just ate chicken wings.

kmcn47

hell yeah brother, thats what its all about

rabblerouser

Im in the same boat, the 2.8 in my 84 crapped the bed awhile ago, managed to pick up a goodwrench crate 350 with about 5k miles on it, now hunting down a new trans.

just think, it could be worse, your car could be sitting in the state mine is currently in.

But im also doing a full strip and a bunch of other modifications at the same time