KillaKitiie

My engine blew while i was driving down the street doing 45mph. It had 202,485miles on it not bad if you ask me. But the thing is i dont want to spend 1400 plus tax for a new rebuilt engine with new housing's. So me and my friend pulled out my engine yesterday and im selling off all the parts in the for sale section to help cover the cost of an 8cylinder swap.

So far i have an 78 corvette 3 speed transmission with 55k oringinal miles im getting for 200$ just the other day i had the oportunity to buy a complete running 92 rs camaro for 450$ but it didnt dawn on me what i could have done with it. Anyway's does anyone with any good exsperience with 87-93 camaro 8cylinder's tell me what kind of quality these engines are?

Im going to keep my swap written down here. Tomarrow im going to clean up the engine bay and maybe part the harness loom and start removing the wire i dont need. Anyone know if the corvette 3speed from 78 have higher gear ratio's?

Kalifornia087

iTrader: (1)

I don't know about mating up the tranny and the motor, but im sure there are adapters for it. The camaro motors are just fine. They are reliable and can make decent power with a few bolt ons. The only thing to look for is the start up smoke, common on most every third gen camaro, which is still only the valve seals. Good motors, just put a cam, intake, headers and exhaust, you're set to go.

-Austin

TransAmwonderland

Most likely the RS has a 305 TBI in it.... Run away...

gnx7

iTrader: (10)

Just realize swapping in an older motor into a newer car isn't legal. As long as that is clear you will want a transmission with overdrive as RX-7's have 3:90/4:10 gearing. Get a TH700R4 or TH200-4R to back up that motor.

The '78 Vette was an anemic emissions laden engine that could be awoken with some better heads/intake/carb.

Skip the 305. It is a POS.

hoofhearted

iTrader: (26)

Please tell us why it isn't legal.

KillaKitiie

For the car to be considered smog legal in california its has to have the same year or newer engine than the car to be swapped in. that said i was not going to use the vette engine just the three speed.

Damn so those 305's are really that bad huh? what about the 350 tpi?

FB II

the 350 will make you happy

Nihilanthic

350tpi isnt bad per se, but its got a rather limited ECM, its got a intake manifold that has intake runners that are FAR too long (the torque curve is a downard slant...) and really needs some head/cam/intake/exhaust work done to it.

You might as well start with a LT1 or a regular old SBC, imho. Youd make much more power with a carburator and a performer RPM intake than a tpi will. :P

KillaKitiie

Yea the california smog law's here are choking me i have a 350 sitting right in front of me with a th350 tranny but i cant touch it! Im going to just have to be patient and wait until a good lt1 deal comes along.

What year does the lt1 start being used in car's? so i can keep my eyes open for it. And is there any good webpage that has info on the lt1 engine?

Now that i think of it there is a group of camaro guy's running around town somewhere i remember them beating on my car pretty bad before..makes me wonder what they did to that 305 and what the effect's of it would be in a lighter car.

KillaKitiie

i went to the wreaking yard today and i didnt find one lt1,found alot of tbi 350's though.
And there was a shiit load of ford 5.0's what's up with that? what are these engines like guy's any imput on them as well?

Nihilanthic

LT1 came after they quit making FCs :P

Also, technically, if its a new crate motor, a 350 is legal, IIRC.. megasquirt it and tune it properly and theres your emissions problem solved!

stilettoman

iTrader: (1)

This has been discussed before many time on this forum, if you do some searching. The bottom line is the Ford 5.0 is 75 pounds lighter than a Chev 350. You can get aluminum heads for either one, saves another 50 pounds, but they will add about $1200. Plenty of performance parts available for either one. With all this torque available, I would really favor an automatic

If you run an automatic, the trannies for the Chevy are easier to set up. You MUST have overdrive for street use with your stock rear end. I was on a trip last weekend and my Ford AOD tranny had a failure of some sort, had to drive home in third gear because it would not go into overdrive - 3,000 rpm at 50 mph. I am sure something jammed or broke in the valve body - probably nothing too serious.

www.cardomain.com/ride/646433

KillaKitiie

I understand there is basic info here and you dont have to tell me to search..lol
what im asking these guys is what there own personal past experience is with some of the things i find in my area. Plus the weather just cleared up so hopefully i can start cleaning the engine bay up sometime this week like i said on the first post im going to keep track of my swap here no matter how long it takes.

gnx7

iTrader: (10)

use the search button genius. This has been discussed tons of times.

Basically:
'87-93 EFI Ford 5.0/T-5 or AOD (automatic) is the cheapest way to go (225hp/300tq). When you want more power from it you need better heads/intake/cam/injectors. THis will cost $1500-2K+ additional. This will get you to about 330-350hp smog legal. T-5 5speeds are fairly weak and when beat on will break. Iron heads and iron block. These can be found for $500-$1K+ all day long.

'93-97 EFI GM LT1/T56 (6speed) or 4L60E (automatic) is rated at 275hp/325tq (I believe). It may cost a little more to buy initially but with basic mods like upgraded exhaust and a small cam you will make more power than the modded 5.0 due to cubic inches and better factory heads/intake. The T56 is also stout. Alum heads and iron block. Usually sell for $1500-2500.

Now ask yourself how much money you have and that will determine which way you are going to go. Add at least $1K more for a basic fuel system upgrade, mounting kit, cooling system, new suspension etc doing all the work yourself. You are basically redoing all systems of the car aside from the body/chassis.

Use the search button Wile E. Coyote.

KillaKitiie

Aside from the good info you gave you dont have to be an sarcastic ***. I work from 10pm-7am i dont alway's feel like ******* searching for information that is hard to come by on a rotorie forum. I dont have time to spend on here for 4+ hours out of the day unlike some people. I made the assumption that people here were adult and helpfull which most of you were but then i want to get into alittle more dept and boom people start bitching..how about take your almost great post delete the juvenile remark's and be the better person. you make an otherwise great tech section sound like the damn lounge. One last thing if you dont like what im typing then dont reply ok...its that simple.

here you go and yes i am ignorant!