timeflyere6

i have a 1992 camaro rs 305
i want to swap my engine but not sure what to.
I have decided Iw ant to go carberator on any of my choices
I have researched 350,383,lt1,ls1,ls3 and relativly they each have there own pros and cons
What I need is for people who have used any of theese engine to tell me how much there swap cost and how the engine holds up.
I want this car to be reliable and yet powerfull and im not to conserend about horsepower do to seeing each of theese engine have a 400-500 hp potential, and as for the nature of the use of the car its going to be for show/fun not intended to be on a track.
so if any one can give me your resault and opinions on which engine is the most reliable and and able to handle power the best as well as for a decnet price i would apreciate it very much thanks

gcgarner

Then why in the world do you want a carb'd motor? And wouldn't carburating an LSx be a big step backwards for that motor?

What kind of injection do you have now, TBI? I would stick with that for simplicity. If you're new to this, I think you're going to be way in over your head unless you do a straight-up swap.

I just did a 350 TPI swap in mine and it is a beast compared to the tired old 305 TPI that came out of it.

IMO, here's the motor you need:

http://www.rebuilt-auto-engines.com/...33108103304.58

I got my new motor from these guys and it is schweeeet and an easy swap (I helped my mechanic, but didn't do it myself). If you're looking for more power, they will port the heads, swap the cam, just about anything you want done before they send it to you (with applicable charges, of course).

If you're just learning, another plus to swapping in this TBI motor (I'm still assuming you have a TBI motor now) is that they are very mod-friendly and you can learn a lot just by tinkering and adding bolt-ons as time goes by.

Good luck!

[edit]Oh ... and I just noticed you were new! Welcome to TGO!! And as far as your question about cost goes, it depends on whether you do it yourself or have a shop do it. Mine cost roughly $4,000 incl. motor, labor, injectors, knock sensor, chip (you'll need all three of these for sure), headers, hi-flow cat, catback, radiator, dizzy cap, plug wires, balancer, water pump, belts, hoses, etc. Of this total cost, approx. $1,000 was labor.[/edit]

timeflyere6

thanks and yeah i have a tbi the reason i wated to go carb was for the easy option of an air blower i thought that be cheap easy power

gcgarner

You can get a supercharger for your TBI, as well. And you'll save a ton if you are able to swap over your TBI parts from old motor to new ... if budget is an issue.

timeflyere6

Yeah I had looked into that,the part I dont like is having to burn a new chip every time i add a mod. what I have seen and know from owning a carberated car is that the carberator has no need for the cm and I can completely eliminate most of my emission regulations do to the age of my car

gcgarner

If you eliminate your ECM and go carb'd, you are essentially taking your motor back to the stone-age. There are many more things run off the ECM than the motor (speedo and cruise on your car for instance). It would be a REAL pain to go computerless. If you want to go w/ carb and no computer, sell your car and buy a 2nd gen ... or a 60's muscle car. I don't do DIY tuning, but the ones that do it say it's not too hard to learn. And I'm guessing you are familiar with computers, so you can probably pick it up really quick. If you don't want to do that, chips are relatively cheap and you can find people to do custom tunes all over the place. If you plan on modding your motor again and again, you definitely want to go the DIY route.

Since you are talking about a streetable car and not a 1/4-mile screamer, going carb'd and eliminating the ECM would be absolutely the wrong thing to do.

And you can delete your smog stuff from a TBI car, too ... although I strongly oppose it unless it is a strip or show car only. It doesn't "rob" you of HP like some claim and it helps keep the air clean ... and helps YOU pass inspections. I know in NC at least, my 92 has to have the smog equipment for a visual inspection. It can be completely disconnected 'cause I don't have to pass a sniffer, but the inspector has to see it.

tilerob79

hey gc garner
what is that motor that you linked
www.rebuilt-auto-engines.com/...33108103304.58
Is that an L31
and do you have any idea how much horsepower that motor has, does it have vortec heads?

gcgarner

I believe it is about as close to an L03 roller-rocker as you can get. No, it doesn't have vortec heads. I think the head castings are either 191 or 193.

It's just a really good deal on a really good motor. And it comes with a 7 yr/70k warranty! I pimp these engines out a lot 'cause I have one (well, with TPI anyway) and I think it's the best deal around. Anything is an upgrade over our mighty-mouse 305s, and this is the most bang for the buck you can get IMO.

I would say HP all depends on what you do with it. If you just build it like a stock motor, I would guess about 240. Keep in mind that these motors are actually 355's since they have been bored .030 over.

Like I said before, this rebuilding company will port your heads, give you a cam upgrade, etc. for a charge.

I'd say this motor is capable of 400+ HP (you'd have to invest a lot of $) if you built it right. Might not want to go much more than that since it is a 2-bolt ... but I think a 2-bolt will hold up to almost anything you throw at it as long as you keep it streetable.

five7kid

iTrader: (14)

That's a plain-jane LO5. The Vortec engine is http://www.rebuilt-auto-engines.com/...47108073092.a3 ('96-'98 VIN R).

gcgarner, I believe you meant "roller lifter", not "roller rocker".

Even if sticking with TBI, I'd recommend the L98 longblock, http://www.rebuilt-auto-engines.com/...47108073092.a3 , '87-'92 VIN 8. My brother put one of those in his '95 pickup.

QwkTrip

iTrader: (22)

timeflyer, where are you located? I have a slightly used (200 miles) Holley Projection throttle body injection system that will support up to 500 Hp. It is fully programmable and will allow you to keep adjusting after various stages of modifications. It bolts in place on top of any square bore carburetor manifold.

PM me if you're interested.

timeflyere6

so which engine gives better horse pwoer and torque and to swap to a 350 I still need to change my ecm?
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what would i need to to install this tbi i mean as far as computer wise and would it work with like a super charger as i was being sudgested?

I hat being new at this i know some things but still little compared to the total big picture

gcgarner

Right on, Five7. Thanks for the correction. You are the one that recommended these reman'd engines to me several months ago. Thanks for your help. I love mine (obviously).