I have an 85 trans am tpi. Im only 16 and its my first car. Im just starting to learn how to work on it. i was thinking about getting a 350 to replace my 305 but im not sure how to go about it because money is a serious issue. Should i find one with a lot of miles on it and rebuild it or is it better to save up and get a new or rebuilt one? Or should i just stick with the 305? Can someone give me some suggestions on what i should work on or any cheap little things i can do to get a couple more horses... thx

 

xdom,

Welcome Aboard!

Just my opinion, but if you haven't owned the car for long, I'd suggest driving it as it is, getting everything in good working order, take care of the routine maintnenace for the given age and mileage, and get accustomed to what it can/will do as it stands. You can tweak it to get a little more out of it, but installing a new engien right out of the box may not be a good idea if you have no clue about the durability of the transmission, axle, body, brakes, etc. Once you have a good handle on it, you can start planning the modification list.

Just getting the car into proper condition may be plenty for now. The '85 TPIs had a slight advantage over some of the subsequent years, since the cam was a bit more aggressive. You may be able to take advantage of that to make a litttle more power once you get a handle on what it can do.

 

Thx vader since it only has 35,000 miles on it ill leave it how it is for awile. Ill get back to you guys when i start to learn more about my car.