I just bought a 1983 Chevy Z28 T-top Camaro
i paid $300 for the car with no motor and no trans, it was the Z28 Cross fire injection motor with a 700r4 trans
I found an LT1 out of a 94 Pontiac Firebird, im curious if it would even work or what is a good motor to put in the Z28?
And what is easier to set up fuel injected or carb'd since the car is already set up for fuel injection?

 

IMO go with a GM small block (LS based motor). There is a lot of aftermarket support, and a clean install makes for an aesthetically appealing engine bay and not to mention very good power

 

Get a 5.3/4L60E pullout from a truck. (which is in line w the above suggestion) Cheeeeeeeepest motor in that family except for the 4.8 which you don't really want. Should be able to come up with the whole deal, relatively low mileage, for less than a grand.

I would NOT use a LT1 regardless. Not because it's "bad" or anything like that; rather, it's kinda fragile in terms of the external parts of it (Opti-Spark for example), and since there's not a wholehelluvalotuvem in the world, parts are harder to come by and more expensive. I would bet MONEY you can get at least the equivalent power out of a 5.3 for FAR less money and trouble.

 

That's actually what I did. Great minds think alike I guess

 

The LS series swap is great. Lots of potential in that setup, especially because you will need a new transmission anyway. You can buy everything you could ever imagine for those motors.

 

I was wanting a 350 just because they are everywhere, stock the motor was the 5.0.
Is there really much difference between the 5.3 and the 5.7?
im not trying to go way overboard just because its a t top.

 

Which "5.7" do you mean? The Gen I or Gen II small block, or the Gen III "LS" engine?

If the former, then there is very little in common (lifters, rod bearings, and most of the bell housing bolt pattern).

If the latter, then everything but the bore. (Well, and all 5.7 LS engines were aluminum block, while most of the 5.3s are cast iron).

Personally, I don't have a problem with the LT1 swap, as long as you get the engine, PCM, and harness. If all you get is the LT1 engine itself, pass - too much to piece together to get it running. One advantage of the LT1 swap in a 3rd gen is the 3rd gen engine mounts and 3rd gen exhaust fit just fine.

 

I'm talking about a later model 5.7/350 maybe the Vortec motor
And everything is there on the Pontiac but its been sitting up looks like there is a rats nect in the engine bay, so if i go that route i may need a new wire harness for that engine.

So either way a go the question is still do i set it up for a throttle body on the car or change it to carbureted
and how hard is it to to make everything work?

 

If you go with a later Gen I type 350 (up to 1999 in light duty trucks), then I would not use its fuel injection in a 3rd gen. Big hassle, and it isn't that good of a system.

If you use that engine, you can keep it 3rd gen-style TBI, but the Crossfire wouldn't be a good choice. The TBI forum has a sticky about using a Vortec engine in a TBI setup (it contains both the basic info and a bunch of upgrade tips as well).

There really isn't much advantage to the car being EFI originally, other than having the in-tank electric fuel pump circuits (which is an advantage). The pump in the car would have to be changed out to handle later EFI systems that operate at a higher pressure.

If you go carburetor, the in-tank electric pump is still an advantage in my mind. If you have significant engine harness damage in the car, then it may be simplest to go carb, although an LT1 or LS wouldn't use much of the original engine harness.

 

Carb swap is the easiest route to go. Vortec 350, summit stage 1 or 2 vortec carb intake, skip white, summit, junyard HEI vac advance dist., 214/224@.050" cam, a set of headers, good exhaust, elec. fuel pump with an adjustable pressure reg, 600-660 cfm carb... Easy 300+ HP.

If you need a wiring harness I have 2 factory carb'ed LG4 305 wiring harness, (engine, body, computer, taillight harness) or really for a simple carb swap 350 you could make your own. The engine wiring is very simple. You only need like 8 wires for the engine, 3 for the gauges