ideas for my 86camaro

ok so i want to rebuild a 350 to replace my 305 in my 86z28
tomorrow im gunna go get a engine stand , where would be the best place to pick up an old 350 to rebuild , i plan on getin it bored out and new heads ect....
is there anythign i should know about picking out the engine
im hoping to get a job this week so i have some sort of income for this :p

any advice would help , even like what type of cams,headers,heads,pistons etc that would be ideal ,

hit up the yard, if you're going to rebuild the engine go and pick up a motor from one of your local salvage yards. ofcourse, there's always the internet. i dont know much about the whole ebay thing but you might be able to get one there or you can hit up www.hpsalvage.com they sell LT1s and LS1s...

my recomendation, get an engine out of a '96-'99 (later the better) tahoe, suburban, silverado, or GMC counterpart, with the R code 350. its a one peice rear main seal 350, with the 062 casting Vortec heads, and is an easy EASY starting point for a pump gas friendly 400hp engine. i nabbed mine for 100 bucks from a chevy dealership doing an engine swap, the core charge was 100 bucks, i would imagine that a junkyard engine would be close, maybe a few hundred instead of just what i paid. but well worth the investment. before buying, i recomend pulling a valve cover, and intake, to check for thick burned oil, also known as sludge, if there is alot, ya might want to check other options. also, pull a head, check the carbon levles, and look to see if the cross hatching is still on the bores of the block, they should be. if they are worn off, youll have to bore it out to clean it up. which youll probly do anyway, also feel for a ridge at the top of the bore, there will probly be a light one, but if its pronounced, again, youll have to bore the block out. once you find a good core, i would leave everything but the shortblock, and heads, take the rest home. put it on the stand, then start tearing it apart, and clean it up. pull the cam, lifters, and throw them away. get a performance cam, i like comp cams xtream energy, get a low lift (under .5inches) for daily driving manners, or bigger if its a toy. also, im guessing your 305 is TBI??? or is it TPI??? either way you can get vortec intakes for it. SDPC has the TPI intake, and jegs has the TBI intake. simple bolt on. no brainer. also i would upgrade the rotating assembly, you can get scat forged cranks on ebay for like 350 bucks, a set of forged rods, and a set of forged flat top pistons. for emissions controled vehicles, i have yet to find a better set of headers than edelbrocks T.E.S. headers. so i recomend those. the primary tubes are a bit on the small side, being 1.5inches, but they boost low end torque and also improove top end hp. much better for the street than large 1 7/8 in pipes. thats kinda the broad sweeping suggestion from me.

oh and something else, your 86 engine has a two peice rear main seal, the single peice rear didnt show up till 87. so you might have to get a flywheel, or flexplate (depending on if you have an auto or manual) from a 87-92 camaro to match the new engine to the old trans.

ok so its a 86 305 tbi , altho my dad swears its a carb and not a throttle body , umm its a 5speed

but i plan on rebuildin it so your sayin if theres alota "sludge" i should look at another engine?


umm here are the rpo codes if it helps

Here are your results:
VAN : ASSEMBLY PLANT, VAN NUYS, CA
VG8 : VEHICLE, BUYER NOTICE LABEL
VK3 : LICENSE PLATE, FRT MOUNTING PKG
V73 : ANTENNA, FIXED
Unable to locate code YAY in our database!
YF5 : CERTIFICATION, EMISSION, CALIFORNIA
YT9 : OPTION PACKAGE, FISHER FURNISHED PARTS
Z28 : MERCHANDISED PKG, SPECIAL PERFORMANCE
1AY : 1AY: Stock Orders Processing Option (DEALER ORDERED CAR)
Unable to locate code 1ST in our database!
49A : STRIPE COLOR ACCENT LT ANTELOPE (91)
6ZW : SPRING, COMPUTER SELECTED, FRONT, LEFT HAND
Unable to locate code 621 in our database!
Unable to locate code 629 in our database!
7ZW : SPRING, COMPUTER SELECTED, FRONT, RIGHT HAND
8NL : COMPUTER SELECTED REAR LEFTHAND SPRING
81U : PRIMARY COLOR, EXTERIOR, BRIGHT RED (91)
9NL : SPRING, COMPUTER SELECTED, REAR, RIGHT HAND
AR9 : SEAT, FRT BKT, EUROPEAN STYLE, PASS A DRIVER RECL
A01 : WINDOW, TINTED, ALL SHADED, W/S
B3W : Advanced Price Sheet Processing Option
B94 : ORNAMENTATION, EXTR EMBLEM, BODY, VAR I
C60 : HVAC SYSTEM, AIR CONDITIONER FRT MAN CONTROLS
D08 : PAINT, HIGH GLOSS FINISH
D34 : MIRROR, VISOR VANITY
D35 : MIRROR, OUTSIDE REAR VIEW
Unable to locate code D7G in our database!
D80 : SPOILER, RR END PNL
D88 : DECAL, STRIPE, SPORT
Unable to locate code E57 in our database!
Unable to locate code E7Z in our database!
F41 : SUSPENSION SYSTEM, FRT, RR, FIRM RIDE, HANDLING
GU5 : AXLE REAR, 3.23 RATIO
J50 : BRAKE SYSTEM, POWER
K60 : GENERATOR, 100 AMP
LG4 : ENGINE, GAS, 8 CYL, 5.0L, 4BBL
MM5 : MERCHANDISED TRANS, MAN 5 SPD PROVISIONS
M39 : TRANSMISSION, MAN 5 SPD B0RG WARNER, 77MM, 2.95
NB2 : EMISSION SYSTEM , CALIFORNIA , TIER O
Unable to locate code BP5 in our database!
N90 : WHEEL, 15 X 7,ALUMINUM CAST,4.75 INCH BOLT CIRCLE
PB4 : LOCK CONTROL, WHEEL
P20 : HUBCAPS, WHEEL, STYLED
QYZ : TIRE ALL, P215/65R15/N BL R/PE ST TL HWY
T93 : LAMP, TAIL & STOP, SPECIAL
UL6 : RADIO, AM, CLOCK, MTR
UP7 : RADIO PROVISIONS, FOR MONO INSTRUMENTATION
U21 : CLUSTER, INST, OIL, COOL TEMP, VOLTS, TACH

*edit* were not sure if the engine has been changed outa the car b4 or not cause on the flywheel there is no timing marker and theres like thsi old intake it looks like coming from the passengers side fender next to the battery that isnt hooked up to anything , oh another thing can someone post teh link to where you can upload pics to this site i didnt find it , and i dont want to setup apache atm

Well personaly, if it's a toy, I would go to your local "you pull it" junk yard and hunt around for a good 4 bolt main 350. I don't know where you live or the prices up there, but down here I can get a complete long block at the " you pull it" for 50 bucks. Every thing Iroc says is golden, but there are a few other options. World products makes really good heads for a really good price. There S/R heads are great and are concidered stock replacement up to the time the vortec heads came out. Now as far as cams go, for a good cam I agree with Iroc about the comp cams extreme engergy unless you are going with hydraulic non roller, then I would find someone to cut a custom cam. You can e-mail [email protected] for one of them. I've had them cut me a few custom cams and they're awesome and fairly cheep. Roller rockers are a must, hardened push rods a plus and good lifters a must also. If you get the comp cams cam get the kit, they come with lifters. If your block isn't a roller block I would either get it machined for them or get the retro fit ones, roller has less friction there for more power. For rotating assy. I'm a firm believer in the stroker engine. For a great inexpencive stroker kit go to enginekits.com that's powerhouse engineerings website. They're great guys with great products. You can pretty much build your motor with them and save money. But ket there 383 kit with 6" rods. You can also pick up a good intake manifold there too. They sell professional products, which is a knock off of edelbrock. Same specks, same good look, less money. But that's up to you. They also sell master rebuild kits if you want to keep it a 350. I'm not sure what brand of crank they use, but I do know that there pistons are Kieth black. There are some other items of consideration too. If you want a high horsepower high rpm motor then you should get a 7qt oil pan with a high volume oil pump. That should get you started. LOL

always there to catch what i miss eh 92RS ;) but yeah man, listen to what he says, especially when it comes to TBI stuff, he knows alot more than me. also, take into concideration, that my suggestions are based on an easy is the best philosophy, that will bolt right in. there are however plenty of other routes to take.

as far as what i said about sludge. where that comes into play, is that if there is alot of sludge, then it means the engine saw lots of idleing, and stop and go traffic, and therefore probly has more wear and tear, looser tolerances, and such, where as a low sludge engine has probly had more highway miles, and is in better overall shape. but if your planning a total tear down, .030 overbore, new rotating assembly, and all that jazz, probly dont really matter. the low sludge engine is just a more desireable starting point to me. it means that that engine was more likely well taken care of.

http://69.22.114.245/MVC-013F.JPG
http://69.22.114.245/MVC-014F.JPG
meh car , didnt get a shot of the engine cause those damm shocks wore out and didnt use the "stick" lol

defently look for a 4 bolt, look for the pickups they usually had 4 bolt mains, me i was lucky i found my 4 bolt on the side of the road complete from intake to oil pan, now its in the process of bein bulit up to a 383 stroker yea buddy :evillol:

um, your e-brake, aint right. it should go no higher than a 45 degree angle, yours looks like its at nearly 90 degrees. you need to adress that, your parking brake shoes might be toast, the cable could be broken, or the bracket may not be bolted all the way down. i just happend to see that from the pictures, and thought i should tell ya. but aside from that, it looks pretty sweet man. love the raised white lettering on the tires, not alot of the camaros have those anymore.

always lookin out 89...

[QUOTE=mike123]ok so its a 86 305 tbi , altho my dad swears its a carb and not a throttle body , umm its a 5speed

An easy way to tell would be is if it has 4 barrels than its a carb cause I believe all z28 camaros with 305s had quadrajet 4bbl carbs, until the introduction of TBI and TPI. But if it only has 2bbls and some wires running to the top of it then its probably a TBI.

carb it is then
so when i goto the junk yard and if i find a code R 350 frin the cars above
basicly only take home the short block and heads leave the rest? what else do i need when i do the swap wiring harness, computer?

Before you go swapping out wiring harnesses and computers, what kind of horse power are you trying to acheive out of this motor cause you can get good HP out of a old chevy 350 with a cam and other small stuff like a performer intake and a replacement carb like a holley. Headers and after market y-pipe. Anyway my point is before you get into changing the wiring harnesses and stuff like that you might want to get a Summit or Jegs catalog and set down and study it. Cause in my opinion replacing a motor with somthing that you just replace the motor is a whole lot easier than getting into the computer and wiring stuff.

it was my understanding if you gunna change it to a 350 you gota get a new computer and wiring harness? am i wrong?
and ill go order a jegs mag

ok, well if its a carbed engine, then you dont have to worry about computers and whatnot. if its TBI, you dont need any electronics frmo the new engine from the junkyard. all the electronics, and sensors, and computers from the original engine should bolt right up. best way to do this, would be to build up as much of the first engine as you can, then place it next to the old engine, and swap over everything from the old engine to the new one, and plug it back into the car.

sounds like a good system...

can you guest esimate what kinda gas millage it would be with lets say i rebuild the motor not bore it out so 350 with the comp cam , vortec heads that are ported and polished with the flat pistons headers and exhaust? not sure about the carb yet

oh geeze, um... gas mileage, lol, hp is so much easier to guess than that ;) but id say, if you run around a 9.6:1, with the vortec heads, cam, and a 750 carb, you could expect around 12-17mpg, but i really have no idea, carbed engines really arent my focus, and i dont really have alot of experience with the vortec heads on carbed engines, those heads are really efficient, so they might boost mileage a bit, but i dont want to give you a higher number and possibly lead you on. dont wanna say you got a shot at 20mpg, then you put it together and get like 9mpg lol, youd come back on and bash me and id loose my rep, then id cry and it just wouldnt be good ;) but yeah, mileage is a hard one cuz it depends on so many variables. type of driving, if you commute or just do saturday afternoon top down drivin, if your a lead foot like me, what kinda gas you use, what the air is like, how the carb is jetted, everything. but i feel that 12-17mpg is a good guess, maybe, and i stress maybe a bit more because the design of the vortec heads are so efficient at making more power from a given ammount of fuel. but i honestly dont know.

well right now with my 305 and me useing plus (which is 2.35$) and driving it slow usuallly keepin it under 2000 rpms i get HORRIBLE fucking gas millage i mean ill drive 4 miles and ill see a good dent in my gas tank , its really hurtin me right now

sounds like there is something very wrong there. id try and diagnose the problem on that one. sounds like its running too rich.

it is , its runing wayy too rich my dad thinks its the timing ,hes gota pick up his timing light tomorrow but theres no timing marker on the flywheel or i couldnt find it

eh, more likely is the metering rods in the carb, or the jets. timing will make it run like crap, but not really rich. unless the timing is so far off that its not burning the mix. oh and i think you mean the harmonic balancer, on the front of the engine, rather than the flywheel on the back. the timing mark is going to be a notch in the harmonic balancer like a groove all the way across it. you might want to put some white out in the groove to make it stand out better. id set it at around 10 degrees advanced.