The more I think about the 350 swap for the RS, the more I think it would be really cool if done right, but the more I think its not exactly financially smart. I would spend almost $5,000 on this project, minus suspension/wheel/tire mods. Here's another scenario...

One of the salespeople at work sold an ordered '02 Formula to a lady in her 50s. She is trading in a '91 305 TBI Firebird, white with t-tops, all power...95k miles, and it has been smoked in, so I would need to get the interior detailed, and possibly some things re-done.

But here's the thing. I can probably buy this car for $1,000...maybe even less!! I can then turn around and sell my RS for $2,500, which is easily $1,000 less than true market value because of its condition and new parts (radiator, water pump, brakes, Firehawk GTAs, alternator, etc.) So I can sell my car very quick, make $1,500, and have a fairly clean '91 305 Firebird to boot!!

Comments?

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Jason E

'89 Camaro RS
-Medium Grey Metallic
-2.8, A4, T-tops, 94k miles
-Hypertech chip, Accel wires/coil/K&Ns
-Alpine 60x4 and Bostons

'97 Z28
-30th Anniversary package (white with orange stripes)
-LT1, M6, t-tops, 45k miles
-Eclipse CD and 10" Aluminum sub in JL Audio Stealth box, Boston RM speakers, Xtant 403a amp

Speed Kills...Wanna live forever? Drive a Ford.
Long Live #3...

 

why dont u just keep the RS a v6 and keep it??

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1972 Chevy Chevelle "Malibu"
Hooker Headers, Flowmaster 40 series mufflers, accel 8.8 wires,Edelbrock performer intake Edelbrock Carb, Torque Thrust "D" wheels
Click here for my Malibu information
In Memory of #3 Dale Earnhardt

[This message has been edited by Graeme'sFirebird (edited October 14, 2001).]

 

and the question is?

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$150.00 2.8 Auto.
Blown Head Gasket.
turbo has arrived,
got gaskets, working on heads, headliner & hood & hatch struts-all for $140.00

 

If you really want the 350 I would say buy a car with the 350 in it. With all the money you would save you can build it up. It's just the cheaper route.

 

A clean 91 bird for $1000? Buy it, buy it and don't look back...

 

Agreed; besides it being cheaper, it'd be much less headache in the long run! (And it gets you out of the IROC-RS airbrush debate! ) From what I hear, the 305-350 swap is direct; the only thing you need to upgrade is the injectors and the computer chip.

Err.. oh, wait, I don't know if the same is true for TBI...

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-Tom P (Hot rodded 1986 Firebird 2.8l)

 

Keep the RS, keep the Z28, and get the Formula. Drop the insurace on one of them though so you can afford it.

 

insurance should drop anyway, more vehicles than operators.

 

Well My brother has a 89 Camaro TBI and total today with price of car, paint, motor work, 4th gen seats, Suspension mods, gears, tranny and stereo is only a net out of pocket expese of $5000

Runs low 14's high 13's because he wanted to build a 305 instead of a 350.
He goes by the name of Brian Felts on here on the TBI board.

So what do I say. By a V8 car and buid it up. TBI is cheaper to build up that TPI, but your not going much faster than mid 13s without juice evenm if you build a 350TBI.
Now if you want to through the fuel injection away and go carb, well you still wont have to change as much stuff as if you were doing it to a V6 car.
If you dont plan on buidling something really fast just keep the 6. If you want to go fast get a V8 car.

------------------
89 Trans Am Turbo 3.8L All stock 43,000 miles #1053 of 1555

Past Thirdgen:
86 Trans Am w/ built 355TPI with SLP goodies and too much other stuff to List. One sweet *** car, wish I would have had a good enough Job to pay insurance on three cars so I could keep it, but for a 89 Turbo Trans Am w/ Low miles, I think I made the right choice!

 

me personally, if you want to have the v8 car (350 of course) sell your RS, buy the other firebird (they look better anyway. jk) for 1k, sell yours for say 2k then go to autozone where they're selling near complete 350s for 1300 bux, i think it was a 350v8, engine dress up kit, edlebrock manifold, and carb, with small tube headers and timing chain cover. for like 1100, which is supposedly a 1300 buck value or something close. And in st. louis there was a performance shop where i found a tuned port injection manifold for 100bux i think, it was used, but was a TPI manifold and computer system. Also some of my mechanics told me that they did a 305/350 swap from TBI to Tuned Port and they only needed to swithc like 2 wires out everything else was direct. no better way to go.

 

Um they are just stright lied to you. Its a completely differnt harnes. You have 8 injectors in a TPI and only 2 in a TBI and the plugs on them are completely different. So there is atleast 8 things you have to do. Then you have to swap computers, fuel pump. I dont think I need to go anyfurther to show you that its no that easy.

 

Grame's,
You sound like my mom She gave me the same advice this morning. She said "You gotta get over this needing a bigger engine thing." Right....

Tom,
I already determined the IROC RS thing was a little cheesy

I guess everything boils down to what the car looks like when it comes in...I have yet to see it. If its kinda faded, and the interior can't be defumigated by a new headliner and a good scrubbing, I will probably reconsider selling the RS.

The other thing is if I get this car, the 305 TBI STAYS. This is gonna be a driver, not a road racer...I have the Z for that. The reason I want this is because I can get a decently quick car and make $1,500!! Do a decent tune-up, get an exhaust and a chip for the 'Bird, and it will be more than adequate for a driver. Assuming I sell mine for the bargain price of $2,500, I budget about $750 for new interior trim here and there and a solid tune up (change ALL fluids, plugs/wires/cap/rotor/fuel filter etc.), and bank the other $750, which is 3 car payments on the Z

 

the mechanic might have been confused, he said the swap was done several years back, so it might have been TPI 305 to TPI 350, not sure though. But if you don't have to worry about emessions, u could always just run a carbed 350, that'd work out great.

 

Okay, the 350 swap is nto a nightmare. You just can't do it on the car you drive everyday or need working after the weekend. If your car is like mine and sits monday thru thursday and only sees some life on friday night, saturday if it is not raining and occasionaly on sunday a 350 swap is cak because you don't need or rely on the car. The swap could take me 6 months to get it right and it would not matter one bit because I do not need the car. That is the key in a 350 swap. I have seen several nice 350 swaps at Orland Speed World. Most are now running 13's, most went with carbs, 1 went with a LT1. My end goal one day if I am lucky is to build up a small blcok 400 for my ride and swap it IN where the 6 used to sit.

 

I say go for the 350. You may spend more, but there's a saying that goes 'A good car is bought, but a great car is built.' I'm not saying that buying a Z28 or a Formula is bad or anything, I just think that when it's all done, you'll know that you've created this from the V6. Just my 2 cents though.
--
86 2.8l Camaro, Z28 hood, R134a retrofit system, custom air intake, American Racing Chrome Nugget 15x7 rims, 225/75/R15 phantom tires, Cobra Ultra 2 CB/PA, Sony CDX-L250 cd player, 1.5 " rear lift.

 

I still can't decide...I guess I just gotta see this Firebird first.

The nice thing with the swap is, no I don't have to depend on the car...the Z can go non-stop for a few weeks with no problem. Just one difference with my plan though...I show up at my uncle's shop with $4,500 or so in hand and my RS, and 2 weeks later I have a 350 TPI sleeper...I have neither the time, energy, skills or patience to pull this off.