Hi Thirdgen's

I recently purchased a 1989 Camaro RS from my brother in-law. It was a good price that I couldn't pass on. He put a rebuilt performance motor in it that was done from a local machine shop and then lost interest soon after and it has been sitting for five years now. He lost the information of what was done to the motor and wasn't much help with remembering what was done. I tried the machine shop but they don't keep cam specs. This car sounds like a race car at idle and goes pretty good to!

This what he told me about the motor:
350 bored .30 over
Flat top pistons
2.02 / 1.60 valves
Street Cam
Headman Headers

This is what I know about the motor:
305 TBI unit
emissions are hooked up except air diverter
catalytic converter was removed
exhaust leak at collector of header

This is what I will do to prepare for emissions test:
change oil and filter
new cap and rotor
plugs and maybe wires
fix exhaust leak and install a new catalytic converter
check tps sensor and idle air control motor
check timming
replace 305 knock sensor and esc module to a 350 knock sensor and esc module

As of right now I think the motor is running lean because the ecm still thinks that it's a 305 and doesn't see the extra cubic inches. I know the fuel injectors are for the old 305 that was in there and I will replace them at a later time to 350 injectors. Codes 33 and 43 are present in the ecm and the car bogs for a second when I romp on the gas, possibly from fuel starvation. My goal for right now is to pass the emissions test without changing the injectors and chip because I only have a 10-day permit to get it road worthy. My questions go to the emission guru's out there if the think it's possible to pass the smog test and if there is something else I can do to help me pass. When I hooked up a scan tool it showed lean at idle and there were some knock counts. Sorry for the long post but I've tried to include everything! If you guys need more info, let me know! Thanks.

 

TPI

Passing the sniff test is not easy now days with a heavily modified engine.

First - which state are you in and what kind off emissions test do they run (in park, or dyno style). Some states, like 'Kalifonrnia' require that all replacement parts have E.O CARB certification. This is a real PIA - see CHP article in June 07.

Second and I hate to say this, but you will have to learn how to burn your own chips. There is no other real way to dial in fuel and spark curves to a 'black box' that your engine is. Realistically, you may want to park it for while until you figure chip burning. Shotgunning will not get you pass the smog police. Since you still using 305 injectors and stock pressure and ECM still thinks that it is connected to 305 - ahhhhh you get the drift.

Third - what kind of ECM are you running. Take a look and post it here.

Fourth - SD systems like your TBI are very sensitive to a cam selection. If you have rumpy cam you will need some extensive tuning. There is simply no way around it.

Hey, I do not want to discourage you, but really it will take a lot of learning and trial and error to get where you need to be. Just read stickies, post comprehensive questions and will help you as much as we can.

In memory of our country's true heroes that gave up all on this Memorial Day 2007.

//RF

 

350 injectors are a must. You are running lean. The other part of the answer to running lean is a custom chip. Check out http://www.tbichips.com. I have purchased a LO3 5-speed chip from him and he does excellent work. He also burns custom chips for 350 TBI combos from third gens. He may need your engine specs to dial it in. Keep us posted.

 

Hello again!

Thanks for replying RFmaster and TimRS. You are right RFmaster about patience on getting this car tuned properly. I should do everything right that needs to be done to this car to get it road worthy. Shotgunning the emissions test is not the answer.
I would like to find some injectors out of a Caprice interceptor but it looks as though they are hard to find. I believe they are 65lb injectors. I'll start looking for some injectors on ebay and my local auto wreckers and I'll check out that website TimRS!
I'll keep you guys posted in the next few days on my progress. Thank again!

 

Hi everybody,
I'm trying to tune this car right. I installed an injector pod out of a 1993 5.7L Silverado. Changed the KS and ESC module from a 350 TPI. Did plugs, wires, cap, rotor and of course oil and filter. Replaced exhaust except the headers and installed a new CC.
Just FYI I live in Canada and I believe our emissions tests are pretty strict, probably not as bad as California though, but I'm not too sure about that. The ECM I'm using is a 1228746. I've installed the G2 memory adapter from Moates and now I'm ready to tune this baby!
I had to install a Mr. Gasket timing tab because the motor had an aftermarket chrome timing cover and no tab. Are these tabs accurate? Also I believe the harmonic dampener is the original 305 and not one for a 350, so would the timing marks be in the right spot? I have a dampener from a 350 TPI, should I put that one on?
I've been reading a whole bunch lately on TBI tuning and I'm a little lost still but I'll keep at it. Could someone help me out with the timing tab questions I have and since I don't know the specs on the cam, what should I set the initial timing to?
Thanks for the help!

 

355sbc

Back from a short over seas trip. Regarding timing tabs - as long as they are rigid (mechanically solid) should be adequate enough for street engines. The trick is to find TDC by determining #1 cylinder piston location by hand turning the crankshaft. There is a trick tool available that screws into spark plug port which allows for a very accurate TDC spotting. Otherwise, plastic rod and a helper will do the trick. I hope this helps. //RF

 

Hi Again,
Well I put on the 350 dampener. I read that they have a different timing mark location than a 305 dampener and its true. I was fortunate enough to have a spark plug piston stop and a degree wheel. I bought them a long time ago because I knew I was going to rebuild a motor. Now the motor is properly set a 0* TDC because I tested the accuracy of the timing tab with reference to the degree wheel. So, I took it for a data log today and I'm running rich at low RPM's (400-2000). Also noticed I'm getting a lot of spark counts, probably because I just realized a few days ago my header gaskets a leaking. I guess that is next on my list to fix. I'll try to get them done this weekbecause I'm on holiday's. I'll let you know how it turns out RFmaster.

 

Hi everybody

I just wanted to bring some life back into this thread, I hope that's O.K. I've done a lot of reading on chip burning and bought what I needed to do it and I also bought a Zeitronixs WB. I did this just before the winter last year and ended up logging a few data runs. Using the ANLU cal. I made changes like my BPW set at 126 (rather than 135, it seemed to help), watched my BLM's then made changes to my VE #1 table. I also changed the initial timing in the chip to 4 degrees. It actually idles very good now around 800-850 rpm when hot. Not knowing what cam I have I'm guessing it's a really mild cam. I'm pulling 15 inches of vacuum at idle, thats good right? Now I still haven't gone for my emissions test yet but everything has been fixed like I talked about earlier in the thread, tune up, exhaust, etc. I'm logging runs below 3200 rpm with WinALDL and plan using the ZT-2 for WOT runs after I pass the sniff test. Just wondering what I should set the timing in the chip for a smog test? Is 4 degrees too much that would cause me to fail, should I set it to 0 degrees for the test? Does anybody have any ideas they could throw at me about anything? If I should post a data run, let me know.
Thanks for the info and help guy's!

 

Advancing timing too much will increase NoX and HC emissions. IIRC 4degrees was stock for F bodies and 0 degrees for trucks. Can you run a pre-test before going through a full blown test???

//RF

 

If all you change is the BIN's initial timing value from 0 BTDC to 4 BTDC, you will remove 4 degrees of spark timing across the board. This is better for emissions. Reduces both HC & NOX, at the price of power & MPG. Compare a Cali BIN timing table to a fed BIN (same year, same trans, same vehicle). IIRC the latest incarnations of the f-body TBI calibrations had the cali version running 10 degrees less timing in areas.

RBob.

 

Hi Guy's, I'm not really sure if I can do a pre-emissions check before a full blown check. I set the initial timing in the chip to 4 degrees. Set the TPS vs. RPM Threshold to 75% so I don't hit AE. I went for an hour drive to do a log of my BLM's, I noticed that my IAC counts while driving were at 66 counts. I'm not sure if this is high when in gear but while I'm cruising it feels as if I hardly have my foot on the gas. Almost scary becuase I can't control engine braking. I had to keep my foot off the gas most of the time because the engine took a really long time to decelerate. I'm thinking this has somthing to do with the throttle follower. I'm wondering if I could lower the IAC counts while in drive would I be able to control engine braking? How do I go about doing this? Thanks for the reply guy's!