Decided to put the 385 in my 89 Iroc. I would like to know what to expect as far as performance and also any issues that I might run into along the way. Will I need a bigger radiator and upgraded fans? Any and all suggestions any appreciated.

 

Also will I have hood clearance issues?

 

Welcome aboard thirdgen.org.

You should expect to upgrade all your exhaust, if you haven't already.

What induction are you planning on using? Can we assume carb? If so, you'll have to do the EFI to carb swap stuff, which is mostly covered in a tech article linked from the thirdgen.org homepage.

What transmission will you be using?

What are you planning on using the car for after the swap is complete?

You'll need at least a drop base air cleaner to clear the hood. I believe the intake they include with the engine is a Performer RPM type.

The water pump is a standard rotation type, so you'll need one like your stock one in order to run your serpentine accessories. Typically, stuff like the water pump is changed to a new one when doing an engine swap. You can list the one they include with the engine on eBay.

 

Will be carbed and leaving the 700r4 in it for now. The car will just be a cruiser and have fun car. Sure won't be a daily driver.

 

Cooling system will be fine, I ran a stock radiator and fans with my 396 SBC combo. Make sure you have the plastic chin spoiler thing under the radiator.. it's the most important thing for cooling...haha I found out the hard way.

With a stock auto trans and torque converter it should run solid 12's @ 110+ mph. With a good torque converter and good sticky tires it might go low 12's.

 

if you don't have or care for the warranty on the engine, get the HOT cam and matching 1.6 roller rockers for it and make it into a ZZ430... that's 430 horsepowers and 430 torques worth of fun.. if you do have a warranty, buy the cam and rockers and wait for the warranty to expire, then install them...