Hey Guys,

I have an 88 Camaro I've had since high school, 305 tbi/automatic. I have recently been looking at installing a LS1/t56 which seems to be a very popular option.

The drivetrain in the poor car is beat, and needs replacing. Any other combos worth looking at?

Any input on who to use for this job? I am pretty good at technical and mechanical things and have considered doing it myself, however I've never attempted anything car wise of this magnitude. I have contacted Hawks, and in some conversation with them. I am in the Birmingham, AL area.

Any advice, input or otherwise is much appreciated!

Bryan

 

Welcome aboard thirdgen.org.

There are a bunch of combos you could consider. Something as simple as a 350 upgrade under your current TBI (which will require some upgrades - like computer tuning, exhaust, injectors, etc.). The TBI forum has a sticky in the top section about a budget 350 swap that will produce impressive power.

Or, you could go with a later generation swap, like LT1 or LS1. These are move involved, but hundreds of TGO members have done them. The swap stickies in the top section of this forum cover them pretty well.

The 3rd generation f-bodies are in that "tweener" group, where they are over 20 years old so the typical shop is losing expertise/motivation to work on them, but not yet "classics" that make it worth it to pay someone to do them. The swaps mentioned could be done by the right shop, but they'd probably charge by the hour, and dinking around with little stuff can get expensive if they don't already have several of these swaps under their belt.

So, the best bet is do-it-yourself and educate yourself as required for the job.

 

Thank you for the info, I did read about doing the 350 tbi upgrade. Is there a specific block or setup to look for doing that? It seemed most of the conversation was about other components and conjecture, nothing specific and clearcut about the best 350 to select for it.

Yes I have determined it to be a really expensive proposition hiring it out, and if I do that I'm going to go really outrageous, otherwise I am seriously considering doing it myself.