I am new to Chevy and very interested in learning much more. I was given a small block Chevy that turned out to be (from my research of block codes) that it is from an 88 Camaro 305. I figured it would be a good starting point as I am a newbie.
I have read elsewhere and on thirdgen that 88 was the first year that all 305's went to either TBI or TPI.
So why does mine have a carb? There are no signs of any modifications that would have taken it from a TBI to a carb.
Here are all the numbers I have and they keep pointing back to an 88 Camaro 305 carb.

BLock C.I.D.: 5.0L G
There is a number near to the C.I.D. that reads 'B188'
Block casting: 14093627
Block suffix: CJA (full: V0223CJA)
Intake manifold number: 14101074 (underneath: B11888)
Carb: Rochester QJ 17088152 0428 KAB (discovered the '88' points to 1988)
Heads are 081's

Any help would be greatly appreciated as I am finding it very difficult to make sure I can order the right parts via the web. Most sites (Jegs, Summit, etc..) only list the 88 with TBI or TPI.
No idea if it is an LG4 or L03.

 

Someone converted it to carb, just with a little more care than the usual hack job.

What's the 8th digit of the VIN?

 

No idea. The engine was purchased in a 46 ford hot rod that was being swapped for a 460 big block.
If someone did do a carb swap they did a fantastic job because nothing seems out of place from a factory install.
I found one site (chevymania.com) that did list one model with a carb in 88 but that is the only place I found it so I can't really trust the info unless It can be duplicated elsewhere.

 

No surprise there at all, then. It's a 305 from a truck. With their less stringent emissions standards, trucks kept carburetors for years after cars.

Parts don't matter, though. It's just the same as any small block from any application.

 

If it's from a truck wouldn't all the numbers point to a truck and not the Camaro?

 

Which numbers don't point to a truck?

 

The 627 block casting and CJA block suffix all point to the 88 Camaro. I haven't hit a single site googling those that pointed to a truck. They all show me Camaro specs.
Any discussion on this site that mentions those all refer to the 88 Camaro.
Having some links that prove otherwise would go a seriously long way in identifying this motor.

 

627 blocks were used in everything with a 305. The Camaro reference is almost certainly a propagation of a misprint in some listing somewhere that won't die.

There's nothing to identify. It's just a 305 with a carb on top, just like any other, regardless of whatever platform any of the parts may have been in originally.