Just got my 85 on the road today.dropped a 30 over 350 in to the originally v6 car.my first build ever .i am mechanically inclined but never done anything like this with no help other than yall.and a buddy helped rip the old engine out.ive spent hours researching this site and it paid off.got a little more to do under the hood but runs drives great.thanks for all the help thirdgen

 

Pulling the v6

 

After i got my 355 put back together

 

Engine in

 

 

Today after my first drive..little snow on the ground

 

Looking good!

 

good job, i'd replace those rubber fuels lines if it were mine thou.

 

Looking good man!

 

Nice job-hows your T5 holding up?

 

T5s holding up pretty well..gears till 3rd seem really short.clutch dost slip but I grinded rather than cut the input shaft unroll it fit nice an tight.got a lot of clean in up to do under the hood but I'm just stoked to have it on the road again

 

Ment to say clutch dosnt slip..but I ain't gonna dump it by no means you can till it's weak.havent had it dynoed but my set up is running around 360 75 .statistically. once I get outta second seems like I can get on it good ..advice would be great

 

Third gear is one of the T5 weak links. Be gentle with third.

 

Too much axle ratio. Try a smaller-number axle ratio. Like if you have a 3.42:1 axle, try a 3.08:1 axle.

 

What do you think about 3.73s? In the rear?

 

If both first AND second seem too much with a 3.42, then you would really hate a 3.73
I know it seems like everyone else chooses a 3.73, but that alone doesn't make it a good choice for you, and probably for a fair number of them, either.
For some of them, it's to get a certain cruise rpm without changing the transmission. For others, it is to get a desired rpm in their 1:1 transmission gear at the end of a 1/4 mile drag strip. And the rest are me-too, monkey see, monkey do. Don't be one of them.

 

So second isn't quite as bad as first.but not great.3k rpm at 20_25 mph.so what would the 3.08 be like?

 

Brave man.

Kudos!

I want to do this someday when I grow up.

I need a garage so bad.

...and one of these

 

...although in my heart of hearts, I more need one of these one time in my life while I'm still on this side of it.

 

Here's how to figure it out for yourself. First, you need to know the transmission ratios. For a V8-spec T5, they're 2.95/1.94/1.34/1.00/OD, either 0.73 or 0.63.
Then you need to know the effective diameter of your rear tires, which is 97% of their advertised diameter.
Now the math.
Trans ratio times axle ratio times 336 times mph, divided by effective diameter. That gives RPM.
First calculate what you already have to get a baseline. If it doesn't match what you observed, then either your speedometer is off, or your tach, or the axle ratio isn't what you thought.
But after playing with the math for 20 years, I gave up on most of it and started doing what most guys just do all along. Drive it as it is, if it seems too much then try a taller gear, if it seems too lazy try a shorter gear.
Finding a complete used 3.08 assembly is cheaper and easier than swapping 3.08 gears into an axle already fitted with 3.42s, then if you like how the 3.08s drive, add a limited slip to that. '90-up LO3/T5 came with 3.08:1 and 28-spline shafts. Older axles are only 26-spline. '85-up are 7.625" ring gears, pre-'85 were 7.50".
If you already have a limited slip and a 3.42:1, then you would need a different limited slip for the 3.08s.
If you adapted the v6-spec T5, then forget the axle and get the correct T5.

 

What did the car dyno out of curiosity?

 

Good to hear!

I can honestly say I have learned more from this site than from my previous 30 years of wrenching. And not just about 3rd gens, car tech in general.

 

I haven't had the car dynoed.im only able to look at it from a statistical standpoint for my set up of the engine right now.so I would feel very safe to say around 350- 60 hp harder to figure out torque just to many variables