1984 Pontiac Trans Am, Black and Gold, 70,000 miles, 305
Been contemplating an LS swap for a while.. it’s quite expensive, but I’ve heard great things such as, it’s a reliable and great engine, better on gas, and lots of power... What about adding a Turbo or Supercharger to the existing 305? I’ve heard mixed repsponses for this idea. I’ve also been suggested a Crate 350, but I’d like to possibly switch to fuel injection, which is expensive as well. I bought my first 3rd gen last year and I’m taking pretty slow, I want to exhaust all inquiries and try and come up with a reasonable idea. I wouldn’t be doing any of this myself, I’m not a mechanic, so I have to factor in paying for all the labor. Any suggestions would be much appreciated and will be researched, thank you all in advance!

 

Probably a bigger question right now would be if you already have a reliable, knowledgeable, honest shop lined up to do the work. Your next step should be to talk to them about your best path to take related to your budget.

Regardless of anything else, it's going to come down to the old adage, "Speed costs money; how fast do you want to go?" This is especially true if you can't do the work yourself, and have to farm it all out. Things would be much simpler if you were going to do the work yourself.

 

There are lots of people paying to have cars built by shops but those people have big bank accounts and writing a check for $20K once, twice, three times doesn't bother them one bit. The rest of us do most our own work and only farm out certain jobs.

I heard you speak about various ideas but what I didn't hear is what you want from the car. Sometimes there is a big gap between the dream and reality when it comes to old cars.

You can wake up the car some without depleting gobs of savings. And a lot of things are just nuts and bolts kind of jobs so no prior experience required.

 

What are your horsepower goals?

To me, unless you want more than 400 horse, a stock 350 or 383 can do this without putting it's reliability at risk, with stock block, crank, etc. Adding EFI is easier and cheaper than ever.

The beauty of staying with a small block is that everything fits. I think you know this, as you mentioned the cost of going LS. But when you read through the threads of those who have converted, it just seems like everything changes. From the trans, then the mount, then the driveshaft, etc. Want A/C? You going to be modding your stock cradle, or buying aftermarket. The list goes on and on.

Now if you want BIG horsepower, twin turbos, 700-1000 horse stuff, then the architectural advantages of the LS become a no-brainer IMO. But at those power levels, you are changing EVERYTHING anyway.

So what do you have in mind?

 

Black & Gold 84 T/A??? LS Swap!!

 

If it weren't for cali's SMOG laws, I'd be going L31R GM Performance long block, in my 89 IROC Z Vert.