After hitting the search button I did a lot of reading on the 305 to 350 swap. Maybe I missed it or I should have read all posts on this topic (which would have lasted till Christmas), I couldnŽt find/read an opinion on the used L98 which are sold through www.hawksthirdgenparts.com.

From a financial standpoint this used 350 would be my first option. It sells for 1200 bucks and therefore is a lot cheaper than a LO5 replacement engine which has lame heads and cam anyway.

I plan on doing the 305 to 350 swap but still donŽt know if I should keep the TBI or use TPI.

Since I live in Europe I have to consider more expensive shipping plus customs fees (which are about 45% plus to the purchase price). And to find used engines, blocks or components is really hard, since American cars are quite rare and therefor the sellers ask horrible prices.

So for me the used L98s seem quite a good foundation for a swap and then maybe upgrade to better heads plus cam.

What do you think about it?

 

yeah liking american cars must be hard to do living across that little lake i would say call hawks and talk to them maybe since its so hard for you to get parts they would help out and make sure you got a good motor and go www.tbichips.com and talk to him about getting the correct chip for that motor

 

What power would a l98 with the tbi manifold and injection system on top be capable of? I am really interested in good torque since driving in Austria needs a lot of 0 to 60 and30 to 60 driving.

 

A thing that bothers me most is that where I live there is almost no experience in modding American cars. If it wouldnŽt be for the net I might bolt on some aftermarket wheels and thatŽs it.

One thing I forgot to mention: I would need an engine that meets emission requirements. Just over the thumb - a l98 with TBI shouldnŽt be a problem since the same engine with TPI works, too?!

 

As long as you keep the emissions crap should be no problem. Oh yeah I have done that swap and I am very happy with the results. Don't have any numbers but when I get my rear end built I will take it down to the track and get some. I am trying to baby it now. If I was you I would buy a new crate motor. I purchased mine through a local auto parts store $1108 and that came with a 3 year unlimited mileage warranty.

Just my 2 cents. Good luck with your swap.

Bill

 

Weberflorida, which rear gears are you gonna have?

Do you have stock heads and cam? You wrote you donŽt have any number, but have you ever driven a stock L98 tpi? Is there much difference between the 350 tbi and tpi. I donŽt care about the quarter mile, only performance (torque) on the street. Should I keep the stock LO3 toque converter?

I once had a L98 iroc and it went like hell - I made the mistake and sold it.

 

i got the LO5 replacement motor cuz i was stupid back in the day when i did the swap too... you need bigger injectors for the TBI (at least 55lb/hr) the new Knock sensor and ESC module... brian's chips from tbichips.com are what i run right now and i passed California emissions with it (CA emissions is the strictest in the States, ask anyone.. lol) if you have any questions, shoot me a pm, i might be able to help ya. oh, and about performance, it will be torquey as all hell, a little less top end than TPI, but most the bottom end is still there... and there is no difference between the L03 and L98 torque converters as far as i know... i kept my L03 one and it worked fine...

 

Klaus,

Hey what's up? Well as for the l98 right now i have the stock heads and stock cam that come in the 1992 z28. The cam is different from the lo5 and the heads are also. Yes I have driven both and there is a pretty big difference in my opinoin. I got the chip from tbichips.com it was like 100 shipped. I went 350 injectors and the normal stuff that you would need for the swap. I am currently in the process in of picking and choosing parts for mods. I already have a open element, headers and full exhaust. my next mod will probably be cam, intake and 1.6 rockers and of course another chip.

Bill

 

SchwarzCamaroRS, thank you for offering your help, if I got the engine and I encounter problems, IŽll use te pm. Torque is what I need and if itŽs on the bottom end that would be GREAT!

Weberflorida, also thanks for your help. You write thereŽs a big difference between your car and the stock 350 IROC, yours worse or the IROC?

Any rear gear suggestionS? IŽm running the stock 2.73 and they are awful! In my opinion they do not get the stock LO3 to where it has the most power. Weak engine and then some bad matching gears, oh man!

 

I would say mine with the tbi and aftermarket chip it is about the same or more torque the the tpi. Or it feels like it. You will be happy.

Bill

 

with a 700R4, if you do a decent amount of driving, anything bigger than 3.42's will kill your mileage... well, all gear changes will, but 3.73's are insane with a 700R4... i have 3.23's in mine and its a good compromise... i get nice low end and decent mileage...

 

If you are going to switch to a t5 then I would recommend getting at least 3.42's. That is what I am going to go with. I have a friend with then and a t5 and he is very happy. Don't forget the posi too.

 

Mileage isnŽt important to me since the Camaro is my second car and I drive it only in on weekends in summer for fun. IŽd love to drive Camaros only and have no other car, but over here gas and insurance are really expensive. Have to stick to my Opel 1.4 liter fourbanger with whopping 55 hp.

For acceleration I would opt for the 3.73. But everything sounds better than 2.73, I guess 3.42 would make me very happy. As long as it fits into my setup with the engine and converter itŽs fine with me.

I heard about the Edelbrock intake manifold for TBI (they also have a matching cam). What do you think about it? And thereŽs the World Products 305 torquer heads - would this be good for this setup?

 

The Edelbrock TBI intake is great. It bolts in with little to no modifications needed. Stay away from that "matched" cam, though. It's a hydraulic flat tappet cam, and our cars use hydraulic roller cams. That cam is actually for the TBI trucks, since they didn't get roller cams. You could install a flat tappet cam in your car if you really wanted to, but it's a downgrade from the stock set-up.

Also, Edelbrock cams have a bad reputation anyway for being a little on the weak side.

 

Also man you are probably going to hear this a million times but if you are going to change your cam then you should more then likely invest in some chip tuning stuff. I have yet to purchase the chip tuning stuff, but I have been planning on it. As for cam upgrades go with something like a lt1 or larger camshaft. there are a lot of choices when it comes to cams.

 

I need a cam that lets me stay emission legal. I heard of Comp Cams replacement cam that passes the smog test and makes more power. I donŽt know that much about cam, wouldnŽt be the LT1 cam too radical?

 

You should be able to pass emissions no problem with an lt1 cam. I don't think they are radical at all, but I guess that is all relative to the person. You would have no problems passing emissions in my opinion.

 

im about to do it, ill let ya know.. lol.. ive got the 95 F-Body LT1 cam... its the "most radical" of the LT1's... soo, it should be fine..

 

How much is to expect from this cam? I know itŽs a matter of the combination of all parts, but....

Which heads have you got? I guess the stock l98 are bad. I am a bit afraid of aluminum heads, theyŽre kinda modern to me.

 

Klaus, what kind of driving would you be doing on your weekend outings? Drag racing or road racing? If your wanting to go fast in a straight line get yourself a good exhaust system( headers, cat, catback). Add a good intake and a NOS system and 3.42 or better gears. That would make for a fun car to drive and save a lot of money as well. Don't forget you also need to upgrade the rest of the car as well. Suspension, brakes and a nice set of 17in. wheels and tires will help on the twisties. If your set on a 350ci you might find one in a used cargo van or truck that would be worth rebuilding, this might also save you some money.
Hope you get it the way you want it soon.

Steve

 

i have the stock L98 heads, they arent bad either... just not professional grade... if you get a die grinder you can make stock L98 heads flow better than vortecs... its all just a matter of what you want to do... the cam will give maybe 15-20 hp if tuned correctly over the current one..

 

Well Steve, I donŽt go racing, I just wanna have fun and want good acceleration for stoplight to stoplight. That kinda driving. There are quite a few 70ies and some late 80ies to early 90ies F-Bodys to go against. No `Stangs here, they havent been officialyl imported - well, that tells something, huh! Steve, no used parts in Austria, since we havenŽt got many American Cars and if somebody owns one, heŽll restore it rather than part it out. Maybe in Germany, but prices are high since parts are rare.


Schwarz, I have some basic idea now what I want: If the stock l98heads ainŽt that bad I maybe go for Hawks used l98, the Edelbrock TBI manifold and the LT1 cam, kinda like that.

 

One thing I wanna get rid off: Thank you guys for your help!! f it wasnŽt for the web and especially this site, it would be really difficult to modify, maybe even own, my Camaro. THANKS A LOT!

 

that setup is EXACTLY what im gunna use... if i port my heads right, it should be a 300hp/380ish lb.ft. combo... not bad for stock parts and an aftermarket intake eh?

 

YouŽre absolutely right, Schwarz! Weird somehow, couldnŽt have Chevrolet come up with some decent 350ies in the Camaro all along the 80ies? .... if they really wanted to, the sure could have!

 

they did... lol, they had L98's in corvettes that made 275fwhp... but youre right, its not 300+ like im building... its all about one big thing... SMOG... chevrolet was the 1st motor builder to achieve 1:1 hp/CID... the 1960's 327cid made 330 hp or somethin like that... and in 1980's, they made a 305 cid with 30 more years technology that made 140hp... go figure....

 

ThatŽs exactly what IŽm talking about...

And problem with Camaros was always: Corvette supremacy - for a smaller price almost same performance - Chevy couldnŽt allow that.

So we gotta do something about performance ourselves...

 

yup!! and im trying to do something for the TBI crowd too... if i can make enough power to beat most TPI's on my TBI, imagine what ill do when i switch over... that is, IF i switch over

 

I guess then thereŽll be no reason to switch to TPI - I like the "old-style-carb-look" better than the TPI-look anyway. What do you think about the H.O. dual snorkel? Is it worth the expense? New GM from Classic Industries are EXPENSIVE, there ainŽt no one on ebay, either.

 

eh, i use the open element, the dual snorkel is cool to have, but it doesnt really matter which intake setup you use. they all dont vary all that much as far as HP gains... Snorkel pulls in colder air, but flows less, Open element pulls in hotter air, but flows an insane amount... so, it doesnt really matter... i like the open element cuz its louder and just looks more old school carb...

 

Then IŽll just keep the stock intake. Hey Schwarz, I thank you a lot for your help and suggestins. IŽll be the next two weeks on vacation, so bye for now!

 

have fun, auf wiedersehen!