hey everyone. i own an 87 berlinetta which had the 2.8. i put 5k on it and blew a rod. i can get a slightly banged up 83 z28 with a 305 for 300 bucks from a friend's friend. normally i'd just fix up the z28 except that my berlinetta body is in excellent condition and has t-tops. isn't much of a chick magnet now that it's sitting in my yard...lol. i'm getting a mallory adjustable fuel pressure regulator to run it carburated. i'm just looking for pointers and advice from anyone who's done this swap before. things like what's the easiest way to change the motor mounts? does the 83 z28 have a hydraulic clutch? will the tach and what not hook up to my existing instument cluster? little things like that. any help is greatly appreciated, thank you.

 

You're basically looking at a V6 to V8 swap, which is oft covered on this forum.

Having a complete donor car is the right way to go about it. The year difference, though, may produce some "surprises". Also, I thought the newer Berlinettas has electronic gadgets in the dash that the older Camaros didn't have, but I'm not sure on that. '83 should also have a cable clutch, but again I'm not sure, and you have access to the car and I don't, so go look.

As far as I know, there is no "best" way to move those motor mounts. Only "not quite as bad" ways.

T-tops isn't exactly a plus. Put in subframe connectors while you're doing the V8 swap.

Good luck. Plan on a good amount of time to get this done (right, at least) - then double your estimate.