Hey TGO- here with my first post (well, first that has more than a picture of my car). I just got my '90 Camaro RS, it has 123k miles on it and runs great- was owned by a mechanic who always used Mobil-1- and I've spent the past couple week trying to figure out what to do with it in the spring (when I have some more money and time). I'm a high school senior and I'm paying for everything, so obviously this will be a budget-oriented build. It's going to be a daily driven car that doesn't have to be dumb fast, but I still want to be able to beat (or at least stand up to) my friend's mostly stock '79 Z-28 Also, I'm going to college out of state, so I probably won't be swapping out the 2.73 gears for 3.42's or something similar anytime soon

Hooker 2055 headers
"193" 350 Swirl-Port heads (ported)
Ultimate TBI mods
Upgraded fuel pump
LT1 Cam
New valve springs
New timing chain
Subframe connectors
Custom programmed PROM
Edelbrock Performer EGR intake w/ adapter plate
Ram air through the fog lights

I'd upgrade the torque converter to an S-10 2,000 rpm-stall but I'm not sure I'll have the money left to do it.

Let me know if there's anything here that I could do without (except the subframe connectors, I'd like to have those), or if there's anything that I should add to the list.

 

your pretty good so far. the 350 heads have bigger combustion chambers and will hurt your compression so I wouldnt do that. headers w/ full catback, ultimate tbi mods, and upgraded air intake will beat a 79 z 28. your car might beat it in stock form right now!

But anyway to the heads. you can port your 305 heads, have screw in studs installed and have a complete valve job done too. with new phosphorous bronze valve guides because these things are notirous for valve seal/valve stem leaks.

and to be 100% honest with you. I'd go with a 350 too. But it's your car so do what you want.

And lastly, welcome to the site. thier is a plethora of information here. use it wisely. And some of us come off as jerks, but we are just trying to not have you go through the same headaches we had when we thought we could go against the norm and make a tbi 305 super fast!

 

Thanks, and you are quite right- there is a huge wealth of information here. At first it intimidated me a bit, to be honest. After I sifted through all the information and the stickies, it became greatly simplified.

While I do know that going with a 350 would net more power, I really don't want to change out the engine- it's going to be my daily driver for at least 4 years and I don't intend to race it much. The cost of a 350, and the subsequent build, wouldn't justify the gains IMO.
Some of the info on here was confusing when it came to the heads, but I'll definitely just port it and do that valve job. By about how much will the valve job set me back?

PS: by "mostly stock" I meant, it's bored .40 over.. yet stock everywhere else. So I'd need those mods lol

 

Welcome to TGO. Saw a pic of your car, great starting point. I'm in a similar position as you, I just finished High School like this week (I was running a little behind), and am going into college in spring, so I'll be doing alot to my stupid 305 to get it to where it's not embaressing. Def, exhaust and Ultamate TBI mods with the Open Air cleaner is great starting point.

 

Thanks, and no shame in finishing late- at least you're getting there. I can say the same about your car for sure! You definitely have to get that engine to match that paint job

Back to what UnderCover said- I won't be able to afford a new catback. Are there any alternatives? My car isn't titled as historic so I still have to deal with emission checks

 

I only finished late for being early. I'm 17 so I pretty much finished a Year early.

 

And you can get a nice Dynomax cat back for $200

 

have the catback done at an exhaust shop. the few little bends are not going to kill you at all. leave the heads out. spend on the engine first. i went with springs, rear lower control arms and a solid panhard. love it.

 

I looked at having the cat-back done at a shop and it was WAY too expensive. The kit I got is bolt on, so the only price I pay is going out into the freaking sun. I'm waiting till it's not 100+ outside to install it.

 

guess it depends on what shop does it. 300 for mine. walker catback pipe that is not crimped. then a magnaflow muffler and tips. sounds and works great.3 crimps in the whole exhaust and 2 are on the tailpipes. and it is a 3" back and 2 1/2 tailpipes and 3 inch magnaflow tips.

 

Dude, Read my cardomain in my sig. Go to page 3 and learn.

Honestly here's how your mod list should read.....

Hooker 2055 headers (coat those bitches!!)
3 inch catback (your choice but no blowmaster crap)
Cheap EBAY ZZ4 heads (even mildly ported works)
Ultimate TBI mods
Upgraded fuel pump (AC Delco TPI Pump works great)
ZZ4 Cam (LT1 Cam is for sissies)
New valve springs (ZZ4 springs)
New timing chain ( a GM single roller works fine)
Subframe connectors (your choice)
Custom programmed PROM ( EBL Flash all day every day)
WB O2 sensor with controller
Edelbrock Performer RPM (7101) intake w/ (Transdapt) adapter plate
Open Element
3:42's with an Eaton posi
Transgo Shift kit, Hell even the B&M Shift improver works just fine. I've had mine for 8 years strong.
A good stall converter. I have the EDGE 3200 and it's one of the best mods I've done.

That's the jist of it.

 

To Rob, Very impressive.
To 92RS, that is a good price, I like the tips you have.

 

wow that would all blow up his budget. guess we need to figure out his budget. then help him beat a 350 in a 2nd gen camaro.

 

skelitor- I get what you mean. I'm on the young side for my class as well, but it sucks that you had to wait. The dynomax doesn't sound too bad, but that's $200 I could put towards a better converter... decisions, decisions. Are there any better flowing OEM catbacks that I could possibly install?

Rob-I actually read over your cardomain quite a few times (spent a good while reading around before posting) and thanks for the recommendations for the stuff I can afford, but one92 is right, that would completely blow up my budget. I can only afford to spend roughly $1000 (hopefully less) on this build. Plus, it's going to be driven daily and I don't need (or want) a cam like the ZZ4; the LT1 should work fine for me. My reasoning for the rest of the stuff lies in my OP.

As far as an intake goes, I thought I'd one-up the open element intake and try to fabricate my own "ram-air" intake, sort of like 1bad91Z ( https://www.thirdgen.org/forums/auto...-air-pics.html )

 

it wont take much to beat a 2nd gen stock 350 really

 

For your budget, the first thing I would redo is the exhaust, headers and back. That is one of the most restrictive parts on our cars, and it'll help any future performance modifications. Def, open air element and that ram air intake is awsome. Intake manifold and shift kit in the trans are good Ideas too. There are tons of threads on this 305 stuff, I can give you the links to some of the more helpfull stuff I have found.

 

thats saying it is stock, ive seen some nasty stock 3nd gens with 350's and one guy that said he had a 350 but it was really a 400! ohhhh what a mistake that poor ***** made

 

Ah I see, Then if your on that tight of a budget this is what I recommend.


Headers...what ever you can get. check ebay and craigslist for used ones. I picked up a set of used 2460's for $100 bucks.

Exhaust......Same thing as ebay craigslist or here on TGO. If you can weld get some tubing from an exhaust shop or go to the junkyard and hijack some exhaust from most chevy trucks. They are mostly 3 inch piping. Sometimes you'll get lucky and find a half way decent muffler on the cheap.

Engine.....Now this can get a little tricky but if you play your cards right you can get alot on the cheap. Port the stock heads that you already have. With a little work the swirlies aren't half bad, Bowl work and gasket matching REALLY help. A 3 angle valve job will help out a ton. If you want the LT1 cam I would get some 1.6 rockers to go with them to bump it up even more, just get some screw in studs so you don't start pulling the stock ones out. As for the Intake just get it off of ebay, you can find the RPM very easily. I got mine for $100 bucks years ago.

Drivetrain... Get the shift kit of your choice as they are fairly cheap. Transgo is the best but don't let anybody tell you that the B&M shift improver kit sucks because it's trully not hat bad. I've had mine for going on 8 years and it's works great. For a converter I don't recommend you cheap out on that. A cheap chineseium converter will get you nowhere. Some would recommend the 96+ S10 4.3 V6 converter due to the fact it stalls behind a v8 around 2100-2400 rpm depending on vehicle weight and torque output. For gears this can be a toss up. either get a 4th gen rear end with 3:42's or find a rear end out of a v6 fbody and get a good posi to throw in it. They normally come equipped with 3:42's.

Tuning.....Don't go cheap get the EBL Flash, it will trully make your life easier. I believe there is a way to "make " your own WB O2 set up. I used to have the web site saved but it's been taken down.

That's pretty much it in a nutshell, just shop around and you might get lucky.

 

Yup I pretty much agree with Rob. You can find performer RPM non air gap's on craigslist all day. Especially since everyone that was using those wants the air gap manifolds now! a 79 camaro motor was even more smogged down than our TBI's it shouldnt take much!

 

Great stuff, thanks Rob. I'm guessing that the performer RPM will have all the proper hookups for the emissions junk? I have two friends that can weld so I'll be able to make something decent out of whatever pipes I can dig up. If I can find all the exhaust components for a decent price I'll definitely replace the converter and gears.

One question about exhaust- is it that critical to get a manifold with a 3" collector (or whatever it's called, for some reason I feel like I'm missing it), or will a 2.5" work fine?

 

Went out to look under the car today since I remembered that the exhaust looked like it could have possibly been aftermarket- turns out it is.

Walker 2.5" tubing from the cat-back and 2.5" exhaust w/ Walker muffler. Is this cause for celebration, or is it best to replace it anyway (or at least replace the crimped joints with welds)? And correct me if I'm mistaken, but isn't this much like the aforementioned $200 Dynomax cat backs?

 

Better to have a 3" but its a start. Go get some headers next and then begin working your way back. Dig around for a used set of Hooker 2055's if your on a budget. Do your exhaust, open element, and gears first. Then begin tuning (EBL is best as stated above) before you even open the engine. This way you unlock the hidden power you already have and are ready for future upgrades.

 

explain ebl? please

 

EBL stands for Embedded lockers, It is used to tune. Instead of having a chip you have a reporgrammable flash board installed in the stock computer. this allows you to fine tune the engine over and over again with the hassle of erasing and rewriting chips. its vastly used here on the site and is highly recomended.

www.dynamicefi.com is the website for the EBL flash. read about it.

 

and does it include software to reprogram it? i may be interested in that for my truck i just dont know how weel ill be at doing it. and how much does it run usually?

 

Looks like it's about $350 for the setup

 

nobody asked this question but I will



why was it bored .040 and when was it done?

That is a major red flag to me for a vehicle with 123k miles to have an engine which had to be bored .040.

 

it comes with the tools to reprogram. it comes with base calibrations. you have to fine tweak the tune yourself.

 

Mine has 123k but is bone stock with the exception of the cat-back, I was referring to my friend's '79 Camaro there.

 

305's arent that bad, hell mine runs 14's all day long gets about 23 miles to the gallon, and will do a pretty impressive top end..After the exhaust, and fresh air package the biggest improvement for me was the stall...2500 B&M it really woke up the 0 to 60 ft....It will eat my 92 Z with a modded 350 TPI up off the line...Have fun, and just be glad you got a thirdgen to play with..

 

I do have to say headers would really help your engine. I dont know if you have seen the stock exhaust manifold, but it's supprising any air gets through there.

 

What else is on your 305 though besides what you listed?

 

Will you always try to get all the info. on people's car's!

 

Anyone have a part number for the Edelbrock Performer RPM intake that's being used?

 

I could not even name all the junk..No internal work done, just external bolt ons, same as most everyone else on the boards..CFI Tech Throttle Body, Eddy intake, good ignition, TES Exhaust, no pollution stuff..Vette Servo, shift kit...The car ran 15.3 @ 89 mph in 2007 at Pinks, all it had then was the exhaust, and some of the free TBI mods..With the converter, and a lot of suspension goodies (the usual stuff) it is in the 14.6 range...The best part is it is like driving a go kart..Have cut a bunch of weight glass hood, etc...Next project is moving the battery..Be glad to tell you the list of stuff, if you PM me..Im sure it will bore most folks, as it is nothing fancy...Will not be keeping the 305 as soon as my bud gets the 92 from me....Tom

 

I wish that is the one I would have used instead of the eddy TBI intake...

 

a list of mods and what they did will never be boring. especially when you can list them and show what they did. or what they didnt do. heck i would read it for sure. you have to remember there are newbies that do not know what you or any of us have been thru.
i think we need to start a modded thread or a couple.
1. what mods performed did not work well at all.
2. mods that did work very well.
3. what mods helped performance the most.
4. what mods helped driveability the most.
if done right it could be a really good sticky set. im sure some would like the coil mod i did. take the coil bracket and cut it down and reweld it to sit below the air cleaner so now my coil wire has a 1/4 inch clearance. custom tunes. custom exhaust. fuel line routing and all mods. this way there would be an index on it.

 

To the O.P. You are on a gear head form my friend. Post away.

To one92rs. That is a great Idea. Its hard to search through all these forms for results. The information is there, it just needs to be gathered and condensed. Possibly something like "Did you find ____________ Helpfull." And then include a pole.

 

eh that is not a bad idea. but the search engine does work well

 

Whats funny is I did this a few years ago to a bolt-on 305 and everyone bashed me and said that 14s couldn't be run by a stock internal L03 with bolt-ons. Glad someone finally proved me right again.

 

I did a TPI air intake with a lates 80s caddy 4.3 tbi bonnet. had to cut and flip it so it sat low it worked really well, its like an open air intake but better cuz its taking air from infront of the radiator. all junkyard stuff and some jb weld it cost me 15 bucks and some time

 

No it does not. Not for me at least. I dont think it likes me. I once searched for something and it re-adjusted my search to only search for the key words: the, it, and to. USELESS.

 

Gailleio doesnt have a cam? I thought he at least has the lt1 cam...

 

1. what mods performed did not work well at all.
2. mods that did work very well.
3. what mods helped performance the most.
4. what mods helped driveability the most.

For all the mods I have done my car is easily a mid 13 second car. The "mod list" is a good idea. Trust ne I've probably done almost EVERY bolt-on you can do to my car so I can give an honest opinion of what works and what doesn't. I'll go from most effective to "waste of time".....


Most Improvement In order

Tuning
H/C/I
Exhaust
TQ Converter
Gears
Weight Reduction
Open Element
Suspension upgrades
Nitto Drag Radials

Least Improvement

Spacers
1.6 rockers by themselves
3704 Intake unported
Aluminum Driveshaft (it helps but not as much as everybody thinks)
Underdrive pullies ( did it mainly for weight and appearance)
Electric water pump. (again every little bit helps,lol)
Aluminum Drums (again weight)


For me that's it in a nutshell. I'm sure there will be other opinions but this is mine.

 

h c i is heads cam intake?

 

That sounds better, but when you think about it, aluminium has the same breaking properties as... cheese.

As far as tires go, I agree with Rob, some nice wide sticky Nittos will help take advantage of that tourqe

I just bought and installed some Nitto NT555 285/40-17s for my rear today. Looks AMAZING. I know they are not the most extreme tires, but they deliver moderate performance without sacraficing street drivabilty and also have decent life times. More than I need for a 305 with nothing but a cat-back exhaust and a new performance chip (thank you Undercover, ship it already!)

 

I am with you on everything except the rotating weight reduction, the spacers and the rockers.

1.6:1 full roller rockers were an easy 15 RWHP when I had the stock cam and bolt-ons. The open center TBI spacer was another 8 RWHP.

When I installed my latest engine, I installed the later model mounts, centering the engine in the engine compartment and moving the transmission mount. I went from a heavy 2-piece driveshaft with 3 U-joints and a carrier bearing to a factory light weight carbon fiber single piece unit. The effect of rotating mass on accelerating is HUGE. Torque converters, Flywheels, Flexplates, Harmonic balancers, rotating assemblies, for racing lighter tends to be better.

 

The drum's are aluminum. the contact point is still steel. its a steel liner in an aluminum drum housing. I just did this mod and I cant say I feel anything. But every 1 lb of rotational mass is like 7 lbs of regular weight, so those drums are a good 3-5 lbs lighter.

drag radials and a good stall converter made me drop almost .5 in the 1/4

 

I think I'll go without a stall coveter. Better streetability. Dont want to have like a 2800 stall coverter in heavy traffic. My dad had one in his '69 330+hp 350 bored .30 over. It was to much.

 

I agree as well, I guess when I did these mods at the time I was expecting alot more. When I installed the TBI spacer I noticed the car had a bit more mid range torque and the throttle response was a little better. BUT...... It seemed to bog ALOT more when cold. More of a tuning issue i'm sure though. The rockers did help but I was going on what made the most improvement for me as a whole.