Flightoficarus

Hey all,

I did some reading up in a 305-350 swap thread, but still have some questions about this.

It's my understanding that if you're doing a 305 TBI to 350 TBI conversion on a T5 car, you will get a check engine light no matter what ECM you use, because there was never a factory 350 TBI/T5 car of any kind offered by GM, so there was never an ECM made by GM that was designed for such a setup. Thus, if you run a stock 350 TBI w/a T5, you will get a check engine light on/lose the shift light function.

Is there a way around this? I was planning to invest in an EBL-Flash based ECM for tuning purposes when I am able to get the car to the point of being able to spend money on engine mods (It's being fixed up to be a reliable driver/chassis and drivetrain mods come first), but if I can create a tune on a stock engine that will keep the ECM happy w/it mated to a T5, I'd consider investing in it sooner.

Thanks in advance!

aliceempire

iTrader: (14)

My car was originally 305 TBI T5, switched to a 350 TBI. No check engine light and ran ok on a stock 305 tune. Shift light still functioned correctly at that time too. Could've ran better but wasn't too bad as the 350 was a bone stock van or truck engine. EBL is the best solution for a TBI tuning situation.

Flightoficarus

Alice, can you please share some more details on your swap? So you ran it on the stock 305 ECM? Did you use the 350 ESC (spark module), knock sensor, and injectors? Or were there more 305 parts than just the ECM/tune?

Btw, how is your T5 holding up? I'm planning to rebuild mine with a G-force case/support plate (but using stock gears), and a UMI torque arm relocation kit. I don't plan on beating/abusing the car at all, but figure those upgrades are relatively affordable insurance against T5 design flaws (i.e - the stock case is weak, and the factory torque arm setup creates a shock load on the case with hard launches...)

Tuned Performance

iTrader: (92)

What codes are known to throw ? 44 ?

aliceempire

iTrader: (14)

Used sensors/electronics and injectors for a 350 caprice I believe (hard to remember, it was 16 years ago) Computer was all stock as Pontiac shipped it out. Again that motor was tame. But better than the 305.

Trans holds up perfectly. I don't beat on the trans much. It's handling 400 ft lbs from the tpi that's in it now. A good clutch and shifter probably helps out longevity too but is otherwise stock.