Ok i already poted this a few days ago but oone responded, so im gonna ask everyone again. A kid i work with has a 350 engine out of a 79 camaro that he bought off some guy, cause he was gonna put it in his jeep but now he doesnt want to, so hewants to sell it to me for 500 bucks. He told me it is basically all origional exceptforsome dress up stuff he guy put on it and ithas 60,000 origional miles wold this be a good idea to put it in my 87 camaro that now has a 305??? will it even fit also h think the trany on the 350 is a manual and i have an auto so would my tranny bolt p to the engine from the 79????? I dont know too much about engine and i would really like all of your opinions, thanx.

My friend has a 1979 camaro with about 65,000 original miles on the entire car. With the stock 350 the best he could run was 15.9. The 350's of the late mid/late 70's in stock form arent very powerful motors. I think you could spend $500 towards a better motor or even spend that money on beefing up your 305.

Yea i was gonna just buy stuff to make my 305 better but i figured with only 60,000 miles and th fact tha it is a 350 it would be better than the 305 i have now and 500 bucks seemed pretty cheap too me but like i said i dont really know much about engines

500 bux for a running 350 is a damn good deal , they're right though ..it's only about 200 hp :\ ... I'd do it though .. most people are spending 700-800 to take a 350 to a 383 so 500 to
go from 305 to 350 is a pretty good deal , then don't pull your motor till you sell it ..so buyers can hear a good 305 run ..you can probably score $300 back ..then your at $200 for the upgrade !!!
you'll have to swap flywheels ($35) and the intake will be different for your 87 and up heads .... I have the early style factory aluminum intake (your should be the same only the center bolts are different) for $35 ... if your really after the power , spend the 300 you get on your 305 on a good cam kit !!

TVP

Most any 350 is a step up from a 305. But, '74-81 were not exactly the "performance glory years" of GM, and that engine falls smack dab in that slump.

Rather than spend money on the 305, go ahead and buy the 350 and put the additional money into the 350: cam, heads, intake, exhaust. If you can only do one thing, do the exhaust first. Then cam. Heads are optional, but again, '79 factory heads weren't anything to write home about. The only real bolt-up issue will the be the flex plate, and for that just get an '82-85 3rd gen version - it will bolt up to the '79 crank. Your '87 intake is slightly different than earlier heads, but a little time elongating 4 bolt holes will solve that issue (or get '87-later style heads).

I guess what im really tryng to ask here is if i get the 350 will my car be faster than it is now?? also if i keep the 305 i was gonna get headers and exhaust first but if i have a 79 engine when i buy the headers and exhaust for it i will have to get the for a 7 camaro right???? aso cansomeone give me like a quick list f what i will need to bolt up the 350 besides the engine itself?? also will the the tranny rom my 87 bolt up???

Even if the 350 only cost $100 I still think you should stay with your 305. Motor swaps aren't easy and you are new. Do some simple bolt-ons to your 305 to get experience with working on motors. Then step up to a 350 when you are ready. All the stuff you bolt onto your 305 you will be able to bolt on to a 350 when you are finally ready for one.

for 500 bucks I would get the 350. you know the guy so you know if he took care of it or not. those are week engines and I don't think your car will be any fatser but, hey you have a 350. put in a cam some headers and exhaust and man it will waken that engine right up. Go for it. There is no substitution for displacement.

You gotta keep in mind how new he is though. $500 for a motor but then hes going to be spending so much more just getting it installed and running right. No offense but its obvious he is extremely new to this stuff. There are hundreds of people out there just waiting to take advantage of him by selling him junk parts and overcharging him for services. By the time he gets all the parts and things installed he'll probably have spent well over $1000. In the end he'll have a motor thats maybe a little bit faster than his 305. Why not spend that $1000 towards the 305? As I said before almost anything he can bolt onto a 305 will go onto a 350 when hes ready to take that step.

Gotta learn sometime.

Notice I worked over my 305, but recommended going with the 350. Why? Because I don't have a 350 sitting around or one available relatively inexpensive like the one he has.

It's the old "worked 305 vs. 350" debate. If you don't do everything to the 350 that you do to the 305 (exhaust & cam being the main things), the 305 will be faster. In the long run, the 350 will pay better dividends.

But, you can learn a lot working over a 305...