ive got a 84 z im thinking of doing everything to the car to car b4 i decide to do an engine swap ive got 305 with 30 bore and rv cam i wanna do drivetrain cooling then body then interior then swap is that a good order to do it or should i figure out the engine first because i still havent decided between a 327 or a 350 im leaning towards the 327 for acceleration and fuel economy since it still my daily driver

 

I read your posts and have some advice.

Go with a 350 not a 327. It will make more power, more torque, be a faster car, get almost the same mileage and cost less.

The difference between an electric and belt driven fan is:
the electric fan is powered by your alternator not directly by a belt this means that the electric fan can be turned off so it doesn't draw any power at all.

The belt driven fan can move a LOT more air.

If an electric fan can cool your car, you will get better mileage.

If you are making LOTS of power and/or have an engine that is bored more than .030 over you might need a mechanical fan.

I have a 4" thick radiator and electric fans don't have enough power to draw air through such a thick radiator, so I have to use a mechanical fan.

Next "drivetrain cooling then body then interior then swap is that a good order ":

You have not said what kind of transmission/rear end you have so it is hard to know...but generally I would look to safety and non-motor reliability issues first. Make sure your suspension and brakes are in good shape.

Major body work can be doen at any time, but I would not paint it or do a lot on the interior until all hte mejor mechanical work is finished.

You also asked what carb to run, but you have not given enough details about your current setup for anyone to make a educated guess. Information which might help...

Do you have the specs on your cam?
Is the motor otherwise stock? If so, what motor did the car come with?
What is your compression?
What kind of transmission are you using?
What do you have on it now and what is wrong with how it is running?

When it comes to carbs, my opinion is that any reasonably sized carb can be made to work...if you have a lot of patience and know what you are doing. But most people don't have the knowledge or patience to do it right. So if there is a brand of carb that you are already familure with, I would stick with that brand. If you are on a budget and already have a reasonably sized carb, I would try to make it work.

 

ive tried to rebuild the carb but i think it was neglected for to long
i dont know the cam specs but its enough to make the car shake a beer bottle off the middle of the hood
i had to replace the tranny with another used one i wish i would of asked what year but its a 700r4
the rest of the car is stock
i wish i knew the compression
all i really need to make it run right is the carb it floods when u push it and i personally like holly carbs

 

OK, you have a 700R4, a mild cam and a Holley carb.

The shaking could be caused by a 1,000 different things but your cam probably isn't one of them.

What kind of distributor are you running?

Do you still have a computer in the car?

I'm just making wild guesses at this point but I am concerned about your timing.

If a Holley is flooding at full throttle, my first guesses are either too much fuel pressure or too large jets. What tuning have you done so far and what kind of results did you get?

BTW, what kind of holley? CFM? Double pumper or vacuume secondaries? Model number?

 

i still have the rochester right now i was just saying i like hollys
distributer is stock
the computer is still in it i havent touched it yet
timing probably is of but i need to get the tool to set it my dad is the person who has been helping me so far since he used to be a mechanic i think its helpful but hes a ford man at heart so i decided to look for some outside help aswell

 

So you are running the stock computer controlled rochester with a different cam and no computer reprogramming?

If that is the case, it *might* be the cause of your problems. It all depends on how big the cam really is. Generally "RV" cams are relatively mild. My guess is that you could get away without reprogramming with a MILD cam (but it is only a guess).

Have you used a timing light to set your base timing since the motor was put back together? Are you familure with the procedure for doing that?

 

no i havent and i dunno about the shop that put it together it was a small shop in houston on n shepard my dad knows the procedure we just dont have the tool at the moment im gonna get a holly carb after memorial day and ill prolly get the timming light then

 

Replacing the factory carb with a holley might be shooting yourself in the foot. I'm not an expert on the Computer Controlled Carb (CCC) setups, but I expect that disconnecting it will cause many of your other computer controlled systems (like timing) to not behave properly. It will also make it very difficult to get the car inspected. Although starting next year it will be exempt from emissions testing, you are still supposed to have the emissions equipment in place so you might run into trouble.

Is your car one of the 190HP "H.O." cars? If so, I seem to recall that the rochester carb they came with was fairly large (700+ cfm). The point I am trying to make is that scrapping the existing carb, before you are sure that it is the problem might create addditional problems rather than fixing the current one.

I would hold off on the holley. Go get a timing light ($20) and do a search here for instructions on setting the timing on your car. Also check your computer for error codes (a search should turn up the directions for doing that as well).

 

im not even sure all the wiring is back in place from where the previous owner let some ppl he met at auto zone work on it and the just tore the engine compartment a new one took the heads and ran

no its not an ho

 

Really? I thought all the 84 Z-28's were H.O.'s.

I guess I was mistaken. Have you run your VIN through any of the VIN decoders around? Do you know what model you engine is?

 

yeah ive run the vin it a lg4