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So my 1st gen (12a) recently had a coolant seal blow, so I decided that I'm just going to drop in a 350 and make it a daily driver. So here my plan and questions:
I will be getting the deluxe kit from grannys so I can have my A/C and everything
Next I will be getting a mildly street build 350 and necessary accessories for it to run from a shop here in phoenix. (its a 330 horsepower motor with 390 ft/lbs) its a newly built ironblock motor.
I hope to get a T-56 tranny along with this.
So my first question is does anyone know what is necessary for the T-56 to work with an old pre 85 ironblock 350. I had heard someting like it was just a special clutch etc. that was needed but not sure.
Next, whats the deal with emissions on these swaps? I doubt any of you are from Arizona, but what is it like in other metropolitan areas? Do they go by the engine years emissions controls or what? Might be a stupid question but are these cleaner or dirtier emissions wise over the old carbed 12as? And do the pre 85 small blocks need a smog pump, and how many cats?
Since its a first gen with limited room for exhaust Ill probably run both headers to a single 3.25 inch pipe or so with a flowmaster 40 series, and however many cats are needed.
Thanks in advance for all the help, and hopefully by the end of august there will be one more V8 first gen on the road
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In a nutshell, the engine has to be at least as new as the car. All smog equipment related to the engine in the car it came from has to be installed on the car you swap the engine into. I believe that is a federal requirement but enforced at state level since that's who sees the car. You may have to talk to someone at the MVA in your state to see if there are more specific requirements.
I was thinking like this engine, something similar fro mteh company. It says 1955-1985, and mine 7 is an 85. I'm not completely familiar with old chevy motors but did they make carbed 350s up to 85? If so this should work then probably? I'll talk to the shop and the MVD about it as well, I just need an idea what I'm getting myself into, cause I deffinantly don't feel like dealing with converting to fuel injection and dealing with all the wiring ecu etc.
After some reasearch I answered my own question. They stopped coming carbureted after 1986. So I'll just make sure to pick up an 85 or 86 350 with smog pump etc. It seems liek Az goes by the same federal regulations you mentioned about same model year or newer. Thanks for the information, quite possibly saved me a bit of a headache later. =)
they did make carbed V8's thru the early 80s... but most 350's were TBI (throttle body injection) or TPI (tuned port injection) which were on camaros/firebirds/corvettes
all you really need for that block to fit a t56 is a bellhousing. plenty of companies make bellhousings that will allow older blocks to mate with the T56. reason is is that the T56 came on 1 piece rear main seal blocks while 86 and older are 2 piece rear main seal. no big deal tho.
all depends on the laws of your state and county, but to make it emissions legal i'm not 100% sure what you need. you could try and run 80s style smog pumps but in all reality, i dont think your gonna need it. i'm not sure how you would hook it up and make it all work. guess you could try running the setups on old 80s caprices that had the q-jet carb and stuff... Q-jet isnt bad at all but for your purposes, i think it would just be easier to run a regular carb and not worry about emissions devices. i'm not sure but you might need a intake and heads that have EGR valve/ports in place which is the key emissions component on V8's since 85. it allows for reburn of spent exhaust gases during idle and cruising rpms. your motor build up might not have it. sounds like your gettin a H.O. GM 350 crate motor with 330hp/390tq.
with a good tune on the carb, and catalytic converters, you should pass easily. 330hp 350 is pretty mild and doesnt emit alot of harmful waste products. it all depends on if your state has visual inspection for engine smog control components. my county does, but others in PA dont. so you gotta see.
and dont be afraid of fuel injection. GM's TPI system is pretty simple. Painless wiring makes a nice well labeled harness. you can pick up complete TPI units with ECM for less than 300 bucks. they make great torquey motors with peak power coming in around 4500rpms. with a 6speed, they are pretty deadly stoplight to stoplight motors. if you want more rpms, go with different aftermarket manifold like holley stealth ram.
You can get a LT1 intake modified to fit with SBC heads, or get LT1 heads modified to work on SBC blocks and use the LT1 intake with the heads. Just gotta hook up electronics.
And, yeah, theres also the HSR(Holley Stealth Ram). One thing I should mention is that unless youre getting your 350 for very cheap this will end up costing as much in the end as a lot of LS1/LT1 swaps tend to be, depending on what kind of power youre going for.
Yeah, Ellis Juan rules all... it may be cookiecutter but its king for a reason, what can I say?
Also, personally speaking, TPI setups lend themselves more for big cube type motors with long gears and automatic transmissions. 4.10s and a T-56 would result in a lot of short-shifting, but at least with the T-56's tall overdrives it wouldn't be too bad on the highway.
TPI gets worse as you get bigger cubes.. TPI doesnt breathe too well on 350s let alone bigger motors. but it can be made to work no problem.. your just gonna have a motor that rips to 4000rpms and thats it, and make so much torque, you cant use it all. lol. you get it to hook, theres no greater feeling than all that torque coming alive from off idle to 3500rpms.
with a T56, 3.73s is all i would go to keep from shifting all the time.. hell, 3.4x-3.55s would be great. you just need to get a gm or 9inch ford rear set up for rx7 style suspension/chasis so you can get the gears you want to run
i'm currently about to do the LT1 intake conversion for standard small block chevys. www.lt1intake.com does the conversion for 200 bucks. not a bad deal, its just that the lt1 has small gasket area and doesnt line up too well on some aftermarket heads. need material welded to the manifold to get it to seal up the coolant passages well.
the best intake you can run tho is the TPIS miniram but its also very expensive.
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