I want to start by saying I am not mechanically inclined. I have many people and resources so it isn’t much of a problem. But understand I don’t know wordage 100% so I may word things weird. I’m learning with this car.

I have an ‘83 Camaro with a 305 bored out to a 350.
Is it realistic to want to make it a daily driver?

It’s in good condition, starts runs etc.
I’m told I need to let it warm up before driving.
I am aware I need to do some general suspension work, but besides that what can/should I do to make it a daily driver? I am told new carb and new air intake manifold
I will post pictures of the engine tomorrow. I know it has an aftermarket radiator, Holley carb, and some other things but I don’t know much.

 

Everybody starts somewhere. I think you could benefit from a factory service manual (not haynes, the real deal from GM) as it will give you step by step examples with diagrams on how to do everything, and it'll help with the wordage.
Sure, wear items are cheap and available. There's a certain amount of risk you should be willing to accept about dailying a 30+ year old car in general, but you could make far, far worse choices than a third gen.Focus on reliability first. Change all the fluids, get an alignment, know the condition of your stuff and replace anything questionable that's going to leave you stranded. Assemble an emergency roadside kit.

 

Should I get high quality fluids, Fully synthetic right? I seen someone recommend royal purple? Will definitely get an alignment asap! It needs it bad! I assume going through the service manual along with forum, YouTube and people I know will be enough to diagnose a lot of the systems? Also what should I have in a roadside kit besides the obvious(jack, 4 way, etc) anything different from a normal Walmart kit?

 

Any kind of oil is good oil as long as you keep it changed. If your engine is a flat tappet engine use conventional motor oil like Rotella that still has zinc in it or if you use synthetic then put a zinc additive in there.

 

Fluids, tires, & brakes. Then chassis & suspension type parts.

Don't worry about the engine as long as it doesn't leak or smoke or any of that. Leave the carb and intake manifold alone unless they're broken somehow or are entirely inappropriate. As said above, photos will help identify what you've got, and see if it makes sense as-is. Make sure you show the distributor as well.

No you don't. Somebody fed you a serious drink of canal water on that one. The 305 bore is 3.736"; the 350 bore is 4.000". The farthest you can ever bore a block is usually about .060", and not all blocks can tolerate that much metal removal; but even assuming your 305 had been bored to the max, its bore would then be 3.796" (3.736" + .060"), far short of a 350. Doesn't too much matter though, besides how much of a "cushion" you have left in it, in case someday it needs further maintenance, which is really all that boring is. It's NOT a way to make an engine materially "larger".

You might have a 305 that's been bored out. A 305 bored out .030" (the most common increment) would be about 310, or if it went .060" (relatively rare) it would be about 315.

You might have a 350, in which case it has almost certainly been bored, as no one ever swaps an old junk engine untouched into another car. Or, rarely, anyway.

But you DON'T have what you said you have.

Easiest way to make an educated guess is to get the block casting number. It'll either be a 305 casting (started out life at 3.736"), or a 350 one (started out at 4.000"). This number is located in the most convenient and conspicuous place available [/sarcasm off], on top of the bell housing flange behind the driver's side head.



The last 3 digits are also often usually cast into the side of the block someplace, which you can sometimes see from below. For your 83, the original 305 block casting # ended in 201. If you see that number anywhere on the block as a casting (rough numbers that stand up from the surface as opposed to being stamped in), about an inch or inch and a half high, then you have a 305, possibly bored.

But that doesn't influence using the car as a daily driver.

 

Can't imagine a 305 with a Holley on the car so I'd assume a 350 transplant. For a daily driver I'd guess the gas mileage would really hurt that use. An 83 Camaro with a stock 305 and a quadrajet carb would be an excellent daily driver though. Those cars got 25 mpg plus, typically, on regular gas. Pictures would tell a lot.

 

M wife and I daily drove my 1985 and 1987 for years. Only stopped using them that much when we moved farther from work last year. A thirdgen can be a decent daily driver, but as stated above you will need to consider this is a 30+ year old car and be prepared for breakdowns. I've never really broken down in mine, but have had to pull over and take care of some quirks caused by previous owners. My carbureted 305 gets about 22-23 running 70+ on the Interstate, I think it gets about 16mpg back and forth to work.

 

People do it ALL THE TIME. Quite ordinary. People will bolt anything to anything. Not saying it's A Good Idea, or not; doesn't stop it from happening though. Edelbrock is probably more common, not necessarily "better".

Sounds reasonable. For someone that just bought a car, decent numbers to shoot for.