im getting a 1987 firebird on tuesday. im getting it for 500 it has a 350 tpi in it. im buying it cheap because the guy said it needs a timing chain or distributer. hes not to sure though which one it is. now he told me it had a 305 tpi in it and the kid he got it from swapped in a 350 tpi. he said when the kid got it in they took it down the road and it just died. then he traded it to the guy im getting it from. he said he got it run by messing with the distributor but said it wasnt running just right. i dont know how it was running. he said he thinks the timing chain jumped a tooth. is it hard to change the timing chain and do you need to take the motor out to do that?

 

It sounds like he had the timing out. It was never set. My car ran 180 degrees out but ran horrible until i found that out. I would try setting the timing correctly. Also making sure all the spark plug wires are connected right. Make sure when you set the timing the front cylinder is all the way at the top and the rotor is facing that cylinder. Also make sure you know the correct firing order which is 1-8-4-3-6-5-7-2 .
If the timing chain broke (or slipped a few times), you may have kissed a valve or two with the pistons since they're not in sync any more. Just have to hope that didn't happen..
A compression check afterwards will tell ya.
You'll need a damper puller AND installer.
Auto-zone can probably hook you up with those.
If it really did jump timing, the chain and gears will need replacing.
Might consider replacing the thermostat while you got the coolant drained.
Time estimate?
That's a tough one. 2-5 hrs depending on what goes wrong and how far away the auto parts store is.
If it is the timing chain,i also heard that you might have to remove the oil pan? Not 100% on that. But id check the timing first,way simpler.

 

It's a $500 vehicle. I would not have my hopes high. It's probably worth more than that as a parts car so just have your expectations set properly