mcssmostwanted

I recently purchased an 85 TA. The owner said the motor spun a bearing.
So i have a buddy that has a tbi 305. now my car is a carb and to make the swap easier could i just take my intake and heads off my carbed motor and swap them on the Tbi 305?

Is that a good choice or should i just look for a carbed 305.

Thanks

Dan

sofakingdom

iTrader: (1)

Yes you can swap that stuff from your current motor to the newer one. No problem. The only piece that's different, is the flex plate; your 85 has the 2-piece rear main seal version, but the newer one has the 1-piece RMS version. Make sure you get the one that came with the other motor. Other than that, it's all a direct bolt-up.

Have YOUR heads worked; valve job, cleanup, etc. DO NOT allow the machine shop to swap heads with you and give you whatever heads they happen to feel like giving you (you'll hear "305 heads are all the same": THEY'RE NOT). Make sure they agree to give you back YOUR heads.

Damon

Agreed- use the bottom end of the good 305 and swap on your heads, intake, etc.

Also of note..... the cam in the TBI 305 is a real weenie, despite the fact it's a roller cam. Folks around here call it the "peanut" cam for good reason. Your original 85 motor might have an equally weenie cam (LG4 low output 305) or it might have a good one (L69 Hight Output engine). Both were flat tappet cams.

In any case, you have a golden opportunity to make a cam upgrade if you're using the later TBI engine (which uses a factory roller cam). A cheap used ebay LT1 cam from a later 4th Gen F-body engine will slide right in place of the stock TBI cam (you can resue the stock TBI lifters and other valvetrain gear). It's specs are similar to the "good guy" L69 305 HO cam, but with even more peak lift and, of course, it's a roller cam. It's an upgrade, but the specs are still very mild and will work fine with a computer controlled carburetor setup.

Just something to consider.

Fionnla

A young person I know did the same as Damen suggested. He had a 305 LG4 that was wore out in a 85 Camaro. One of his buddies swapped out his 89 L03 for a 350 and gave the 305 L03 to him that was still in good shape. He installed a LT1 cam that was in good shape that he got for $30, spent $200 having the heads worked on by a friend he knew. Used the LG4 Carb setup and it's amazing how much better it performs. He was lucky and had some friends to help him with the change. He Probably spent $300 counting the Pizza and Pop. Car runs great for a 305. He's saving his money for a set of headers and good exhaust. He used what he had. I think he used his head and stayed within his means and has a good running Camaro now. Just thought you might like a little info. He's real happy with it.

mcssmostwanted

thanks for all the quick replys. I think doing an lt cam swap is a great idea. im sure glad everything jsut swaps over.

mcssmostwanted

does anybody knwo where i can get a write up for the lt1 cam swap. i tried searching but i didnt yield the results i hoped.

thanks

dan

89RsPower!

nothin special about it, install it the same as any other roller cam.