engines and trannies help please

ok i know to most of you this is gonna sound kinda stupid but i have a question....the 302 project got put aside for a lil bit due to money issues.....but for my birthday i was looking at a 350 to put into my car...i have a 98 3.8l camaro, i know what i have to change to put the 350 in but the question is what are the major differences between the 350's with 300+ horsepower and like the 350 thats in my friends 80 corvette with 230 horsepower cos with the 3.8 im not too far away from 230 anyways....any help would be great
now for the tranny question, i have an automatic transmission and would like to put a 6 speed in, not the 5 speed the 3.8's had...is this possible since the computers were for the v8's and 6 speeds or will it work in the 3.8 without changing the computer or......? thanks in advance and any help will be greatly appreciated!!!!

First off, it depends what generation 350 you are talking about. The LS1's and LT1's are different designs from the Gen I 350 in the '80 Vette.

The first gen small blocks were around for decades so in that time they had numerous different cam specs, head designs, exhaust configurations, carburation, emissions requirements, compression ratios, ignition, etc...The 350 in the Vette in 1971 was rated at 270 hp, the 350 in the '81 Vette was rated at 190 hp.

190 for a 350? That sucks.

First off, it depends what generation 350 you are talking about. The LS1's and LT1's are different designs from the Gen I 350 in the '80 Vette.

The first gen small blocks were around for decades so in that time they had numerous different cam specs, head designs, exhaust configurations, carburation, emissions requirements, compression ratios, ignition, etc...The 350 in the Vette in 1971 was rated at 270 hp, the 350 in the '81 Vette was rated at 190 hp.

thanks...yeah that kinda along what i thought.....thank you!

for the tranny i wonder if i used a computer for a 5 speed if it would just think that it was in 5th when it could be in 6th and just feed it the same amount of fuel so gas mileage wouldnt really be changed but would still have the top end with the 6 speed....or i wonder if i used a v8 6 speed computer....but with 2 injectors missing would it have a check engine light on or even run? anyone with any help would be greatly appreciated. thanks!!!

well, i dont think the computer will care what speed manual tranny you use. it monitors the engine to determine the fuel delivery not what gear you are in.

and you cannot use a V8 computer on a V6 or vice versa.

well, i dont think the computer will care what speed manual tranny you use. it monitors the engine to determine the fuel delivery not what gear you are in.

and you cannot use a V8 computer on a V6 or vice versa.


awesome...thats what i was hoping for....thank you very much!

its what i do