can a 1985 camaro 305 4bbl engine and tranny fit into a 1984 pontiac firebird 2.8 2bbl

 

No , it can't fit inside the engine . Why would you want to put a 305 inside a 2.8 anyway ? ...Im just messin with you man !

Yeah , you can swap motors .

 

with the size of our engine bayz, you can fit just about anything you wanted under the hood....big blocks, small blocks, four bangers, etc....wouldn't go for that viper v10, or even an ole' buick straight eight though, that'd probably be pushing the envelope a bit.

 

Yeah, as long as you keep the engine and tranny together for each, absolutely. And it's even easier for you because you're going from a carbed engine to a carbed engine..most go from carb to EFI, or vice versa...or even EFI to EFI is much harder to deal with.

 

A straight 8?? Jesus.... Ahhh, how I long for a big block. I saw this 430 that would be a quaint little item to drop into my Camaro....

 

only issue i'd see with a big block v8 is the extra weight on the front end of the car...don't konw if it'd help the handling out much if any......LS1 is the way to go. :-d

 

If you dropped a big block in, you could say goodbye to taking turns at anything more than 15 mph. I assume that also if you do drop a V8 in, you might need new shocks, etc. to handle the extra weight. LS1's are ungodly. 5.7 liters...320-ish horses.....too damn computerized and high tech for my taste though.

 

fair enoug nixon, and yeh, knew shocks on the front end are very much needed to compensate on the weight. I'd imagine that shocks and springs to support the big block would need to be so stiff, that the ride alone would be sooooo terrible (even worse than the cars already ride...lol). My LS1 affair is lead because of the 24mpg, emession legal (will pass as my v6), and the fact that there's an extra one w/ six speed sitting in my best friends garage. :d all of that is enough to float my boat.

 

What kind of person has an LS1 with six speed tranny just LAYING AROUND in their garage??? Are they rich, or just insane?! Lol... I still dig the older carbed muscle, or these Tuned Port 350's...although the gas mileage is a very nice touch.

 

will i need 2 replay the drive shaft???

 

rich? not really....kid graduated from tech school about two years ago in auto repair (paint and body work). But his father and him had been doing some work on cars for a while and they decided to swap his 3.1 for a LS1...swapped motors w/ a six speed transmission, about a week later the motor blew (apparently it was bad from the start) so...they scrapped the first motor and went to a second one, the second motors lasted so far (lil' over a year now) but to be safe, they purhcased another LS1 block and disassembled it making sure things were in tact. So, the blocks lying on the floor in plastic, intakes on one set of shelves, heads on another, valve covers on another, wiring harness next to that, along with coil packs, injectors and everything else you could ever want to build the ole LS1 up....the six speed belongs to my other friend, but he's been trying to get rid of it for a while, but i've convienced him to hold on to it (since he first thought of putting it behind the LS1 that's to go into his 50 buick (w/ the straight eight).

 

That's a good question...I don't know if the same driveshaft will work. I ASSUME the factory shaft will work on any engine that went in a Camaro...I figure they probably used the same one. But, you start getting into a more powerful engine, and I'd replace it...the stock one probably cant handle a lot of power.

 

nope driveshafts can stay ..... so can rears,

radiator might need a lil' changing (but that's a junkyard find). Motor mounts can come from a bone yard also, but you could always just get new ones from autozone....all in all, it's a very simple swap...why ya gonna do it? (just curious)

 

thanks 4 the info guys. y i am goin 2 do it well my car is just not fast enough i dont want much but i just want to be proud of my car. i would just buy v8 car but i replaced alot of stuff on mine, it took me a year to get it how it is now and i just put a nice exhaust sysem on it. also its my first car. and the amount of money i would need 2 get the new v8 to look the why my car is now would cost more then to drop in the 8. besides i love my car.

 

IceBird -

I would...
Find a non running V8 Camaro - tow it home, park them side by side - pull the V8 (say its a 305) take it to an engine rebuilders, swap it for a 350. Take the struts, torque bars , etc from V8 car - swap 'em to the 6er. You could easly take the drive shaft & rear end. Forget your new exaust system, won't work - take the one off the V8. Raditor etc.
1. pull the engine& transmission together.
2. Count on spending $$$ lots on Mis. items - rebuilt Dist. Carb, Plug Wires, Water pump, etc. etc.
3. Have yourself another car for daily driver - yours is gona be down for a while.
4. Count on several weeks of toon'n & test'n - as well as braking in the new engine.
5. Sell your V6 stuff here (or give your V6 engine to GhostRider).

 

the exhaust system on my car now will fit, its just a cat back, y wont it work??? the motor i am gettin was just took out of the z28 2 months ago with less then 100,000 on it. it still has all the fluids in it everything is still contected evan the tranny and heads and carb so on.............. man i keep hearing diffrent thing that its simple becuase i am stayin carb and wont take long and i dont have to change much except the motor mounts and rad. is this a bad idea what i am goin 2 be doin???

 

ok

 

hmmm anyone ever think of adding an extra set of shock on your front end???

If you look, the bottoms ofthe a-arms are still stamped for regular shocks. Might not be a place for the top of the shock but it has the spots to mount the bottoms. And that owuld be enough, the shocks would only be using when the front end loaded down, but since the top is unhookedi tshould not have and bad rebound effects.


Take a peak under there, a set of 2nd gen shocks would bolt right in.

I run coil over spring in the rear for more pre load,

 

IceBird-
I'm just assuming that the V8 exaust would have a higher rate of flow - check the diameter of the pipes if its the same it should be ok. Exaust is minor stuff - after you get that thing in and running then you can worry about exaust.
THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS A GUARANTED EASY ENGINE SWAP!
You can get in to trouble swapping engines in a Geo Metro!
We used to talk about "Jerking an engine out & Dropping an engine in" Even if everything goes well, its hours of wrench twisting, knuckel scraping, work. I'm just trying to give you the eyes wide open view. There will be unexpected problems.
There are good books on engine swapping - you might check one out.
Lable Everything as you pull it, zip lock bags & a laundry marker are good.
The more you prepair before you start the easier it will go.

 

Ghost is right, before you touch one part, do major research. I had to for my engine swap. 3+ months worth.

Do expect to spend some time. Its not something you can do in a weekend. Maybe a week strait if your lucky.

Best bet would be to find a rearended donor car etc. Sell fenders, etc make your self some cash. While its out, do basic matience that is much easier while engine is out. Oil pan gasket etc.

Will need motor mounts, radiator, fuel lines, hoses. Once engine is in and running. Take the v8 springs from the one car, and put into yours. Otherwise handling will go down hill fast. Look and see if sway bars are bigger also

 

k i dont no how fast i will get a reply but i guess its worth a shot i am goin to be goin 2 look at the engine in like 30 min is there anything i should look for 2 make sure it in good shape??????????????

 

Is the motor still in the car? Or can the starter be hooked to a battery? Might want to run a compression test. Check the plugs to see how they look. Check the exhaust for signs of blown rings (oil). Check the oil to see if any coolant or gas is in it. If you have access to "real" tools, run a leakdown test on the block. Are you planning on doing any work to this setup, or just dropping it in as it is?

 

thanks tomp 4 your input, my friend did the compression test everything was fine he checked everything on it and its in perfect shape and the miles are 75,000 so its not that bad. ya before i put it in i plan on addin heads plugs and so on oh my uncle is goin 2 bore it out 4 me, lets not 4 get the crome and blue paint. i will have a show car buy summer lol.. well i hope.

 

All I can say is it turned out to be much less aggravation to get a new car and start with the V-8 installed. This is what I did, now Ive got a 350 Trans Am that I can fool around with, and a 2.8 I can drive without the wonders of 13 mpg and constant rear end sliding. Oh and if your going to swap a 305, go for the gold and go with a 350 or better. The difference between the LG4 and my current 350 is astonishing. The 305 would barely spin from the line, whereas my 350 will bake them all the way through 1st. And theres a lot more top end to. Of course the 305 is a lot more powerful than a carbed 2.8.

As for a car to build, around 84 seems to be ideal. No knock sensor on the LG4 to deal with, which was nice as the stock computer would run it fine.