I have an 84 Trans Am with a 305ci motor and a T-5 tranny. Next fall I am taking a few auto repair classes for my minor. One of the classes is engine repair/overhaul. The instructer said I could use the lab time to build myself a motor. My question is what could I do between now and the fall to get my car ready? I have replaced the stock carb with an edelbrock 600cfm and the dist. with an accel billet dist. both are non computer controlled. Will the carb work with a 350ci? Should I redu my cooling system, what size/brand radiator and other pieces should I look for? Will my stock gagues work, will I need new sending units or what? thanks for any tips. advice you can give me.
Matt

 

Your guages will all work, your sending units will all work....

The best thing i can think of is for you to consider what you want the car to do, what u primarily use it for.....and how $ u want to spend.

 

I want a nice looking fast car. I am looking to get between 300 and 350 horsepower. The car will be driven pretty much daily and occasionally to the drag strip on weekends.
Matt

 

A 600CFM (wet) should feed a 350 without a problem. Find a good used 350 case and an engine stand, and have at it.

 

Since there is a huge lack of salvage yards with in a 200 miles radias of me I was thinking of getting a short block from one of the catalogs like SDPC. For about 1200 bucks the have the vortec L31 350 minus cam lifter and timing set. Is this a good motor? Or what about the 350LM1 motor? How do you go about matching parts up.
Thanks for the help
Matt