Hello, I have an 83 base model sport coup, but with a 305, 4 barrel carb, 5 speed overdrive manual trans, something like a 3.73 rear diff, and with a/c. The odometer just flipped over 100k, it does not burn oil, leak, runs cool (after new rad, water pump and hoses), gets up to speed good enough, and overall runs really well, which makes me think it had some level of refresh at some point. What I love is the classic 3rd gen camaro look. What I hate is that it is a 3rd gen camaro - the old carb system, the cranking over and over pumping the gas cold starts, manual choke, the rumbly v8, the 12 mpg, the weak a/c that barely worked when new, and robs the motor of half of its 150 hp, and all the 40 yr old original cheap plastic stuff that is ready to bust into dust at any moment and leave me on the side of the road. I don't want work on it, Don't want to race around. i want quiet, smooth, dependable new car driving experience. Touch the key and it's instantly running, perfectl,y every time, in total silence. a daily driver reliable car, great gas mileage, a modern a/c system that actually works and you don't notice a massive drag on the motor, and i can take off on an all day joy ride whenever, and leave the tools at home with no worry.

what is the best way to accomplish this? i was thinking an as new as i can find 3.6l v6, but the 2.0 turbo puts out 275 hp, would be smaller, lighter, easier to make fit, only one exhaust to worry about, andi personally think wouldlook pretty cool. But then i thought if i'm going to have to make the motor mounting, why am i limited to chevy. What about a ford, toyota, or honda? any one done this? Any feedback would be great

 

Buy a new car.

 

I believe you'd be better off buying a new car. Even if you did a perfect swap with a more modern driveline, cleaned up the interior, etc etc, you're never going to be able to have a "new car" experience with a 40+ year old car. You can pump in the money and make them really nice, but you'll still have an old car at the end of the day. Stuff breaks, such is life. If you're coming out of the gate saying you don't want to work on it then an old car is not the car for you right now. You'll just be frustrated and anxious about it.

People typically stick to chevy because it's the simplest. You can do a 2JZ swap, rotary swap, heck even a diesel swap if you have the aptitude and the tools.

 

Either the 3.6L or 2.0L turbo would be nice upgrades over the old LG4. Easy starting, very responsive, lighter weight, sits further back in the chassis (V6) for better weight distribution, better MPG. Lots to like.

But...this is a huge undertaking. You'll spend quite a bit coming up with a good donor. And you'll need all of it. The transmission, wiring, computers, etc. Then you'll need a shop that can do the work...custom work for the crossmember, mounts, exhaust, trans mount, lines, etc. They'll have to do some custom programming to make it all work, as you won't be interfacing with a lot of other systems the computer is expecting to see...ABS, BCM, FSCM, etc.

As you can see in TV shows like Bitchin' Rides, just about anything can be done, if you have the budget for it.

 

hello and thanks to the guys who responded. The custom computer programming sounds like something that will cause endless head aches and never work right .. so i was thinking about the 305 - It runs as good as it ever did - no smoke, no leak, no cooling issues. What modern upgrades are available these days for an all original 305? 83 sport coup 5 speed overdrive, a/c is only option.. Looking for easy starting, smooth quiet running, reliable, gas mileage, would a new fuel injection sysem make a big difference? new modern a/c?. other electronics? What are folks doing these day with the pollution pump? And what litle plastic thing-a-ma-jigs should I expect to break at any moment and I should just go ahead replace? here it is in all its glory --