just picked up an 87 5.0 tpi motor on cl for 50, it was tore down to the short block. this will be my first teardown and possible rebuild so any suggestions or help is greatly appreciated. i wanted it to go in my 81 regal, it was advertised as a 350 tpi but found out it wasnt. from what ive seen only makes 170-190 hp. i dont want a race car but the buick 3.8 is 110 hp and gutless. already equipped with a 200r and gears will come later. is it worth rebuilding?? cylinder walls have some surface rust, seen some shavings in pan. love the idea of building a motor but worried its not the best foundation. also dont want to spend cash on somthin that im not gonna be happy with. from what ive read new cam, exhaust, headers should do the trick. other than that do these motors have alot of problems or pretty good or what. any suggestions.

 

You paid someone $50 to haul their trash away ???? Why would you do that ? It has rusty cylinders and shavings in the pan , Dude , take it to a scrap metal yard and see if you can get maybe $25 of your $50 back and don't go payin CL scammers to be haulin away their trash again !!!

 

Even without the problems mentioned, you are likely to get flamed for wanting to rebuild a 305.

The reason is simple: 350s are plentiful and cheap, and can actually be rebuilt for less than the cost of rebuilding a 305. Plus, parts are easier to find. And then you have a 350.

What parts came with this engine? Are you planning to run TPI? If you got all of the TPI system with it, and/or brackets and accessories, you did OK. If all you got was the bare engine, you didn't. You will spend a lot of additional money buying everything you'll need to run this motor in a car that was not originally equipped with TPI.

The other issue that you will have is with your transmission, which will not bolt up to the 305 or the 350. You'll need to replace that, too.

You would do better to find a donor car with all the parts that you need (a wreck would be ideal), even if it is a 305. If you plan to rebuild the engine, you can pick up a rebuildable 350 core cheaply, and use that instead. All the other parts from the 305 will bolt up to the 350. You'll still need to change the injectors and the MEMCAL in the ECM.

You should take a look at this site to see what is involved in doing the kind of swap that you want to do:

http://chevythunder.com/