GreenieG

hi i got a 87 z28 with a 305 carb and t5 tranny, ive been wanting to swap in a 350 outta a 3rd gen trans am and i wanna keep everything carbed and the same tranny. how much do you think or have you payed for this operation?
any info would be good as im trying to plan my budget thanks

blackbmagic

Do it yourself its super simple. Go rent a hoist for a day grab a few buddies and grind it out in a weekend. Should be less than 1k all said and done.

camaronewbie

Anywhere from $60 an hour to $120 an hour labor - just depends on if it's a shadetree mechanic in a small shop or a franchise/dealer mechanic in a larger shop.

It would be MUCH MUCH cheaper to rent a cherry picker for the day (any l;ocal tool rental place, and do it yourself. Get everything disconnected from the 305, and get everything ready on the 350 - the rent the hoist (picker) for a day and do it - the actual heavy lifting swap part of the job only takes about an hour or so. The main time consumption is reconnecting everything back up and tuning.

GreenieG

yeah i did think bout that but when comes to these things im not to knowledgeable though

GreenieG

im just trying to find out what others have paid

midnightfirews6

iTrader: (1)

You probably won't find many on here that have paid a shop for the swap. Get some knowledgeable buddies and a Haynes manual and read the engine section really well.. anything unclear in there can be found on here through a search or you can post a thread with whatever questions you have. It's basically like a puzzle- just figure out what goes to what and label everything, yank the old motor, drop the new one in and reconnect and rebolt everything in. Not much knowledge needed, but you'll gain a lot in the process and have the satisfaction of knowing you did it yourself.

Otherwise, call around to your local shops for a quote. You'll likely be looking at a few hundred in labor alone.

Whatever you end up doing, good luck!

PS. Go easy on that T5... they don't get along too well with 350's.

GreenieG

yeah ill have to call around then and yeah im aware the t5 wasnt exactly made to go with the 350 but im not gonna be drag racing or anything so no worries

torque_is_good

just out of curiosity, why would you spend money paying someone to remove your engine and install a used (junker) engine? I can see if there is something wrong with your engine and the swap unit is a reman'd long block or new crate motor or a rebuilt engine. But to pay someone to install an engine that you have no clue about it's actual condition is just.............questionable.

So, if you have your heart set on installing a junk engine, then do it yourself and save the money for future repairs.

blackbmagic

I you want a quick reference my shop is on long island. We would normally charge 87$ an hour for labor, plus parts and markup. You would be looking at somewhere between 1800$ and 2,400$. Most of the time with older cars we find a lot that has to be done before we can just simply pull a motor out and drop a new one in. Motor mounts, hardware, belts, hoses ect. Lots of hidden cost that will make a mechanic seem like a crook. If you were doing it yourself you would see these things, maybe not do them right. A shop isn't going to risk their reputation to for example not put new mounts in, I know I wouldn't.

juansupreme

Well you just have to look around for a competent mechanic.
An engine install/swap is roughly a 10 hour charge,


My 86 Trans Am broke down had it towed to b&l tire in NJ in 06. I went up to Avenel NJ to look for a motor. I paid $350 for a tbi 350 from a 92 Roadmaster a junker just removed. had it shipped to b and l tires.
The owner charged me under $500 or $450 including installing my new holly carb'd intake for my OEM Quadrajet. Car still driving.

So you just have to look around for a competent mechanic to take things off motor, take out motor, put other motor in car, put things back on. turn on car Ta Da!! finish.

oamhmad

iTrader: (1)

I got quotes from $800 to $3000 for a 305 to 350 swap. Ended up finding a shade tree mechanic on craigslist who had a hoist and together we did it for a fraction of that cost. I spent a lot on replacing little parts though.

torque_is_good

the OP has disappeared. The thing to remember is yes, you can find someone to perform the labor however, a cook is only as good as their ingredients. I hope you aren't expecting top notch performance and reliability when you give the mechanic a used engine form lord only knows how it was maintained.

GreenieG

the engine is used but its in pretty good condition and if I had the money i would buy a new engine but since i don't, I gotta go this route. alls i know is the 350 i wanna put in is in way better condition than my 305 thats in there now. because i gotta save room in the budget for body work, paint, new tires,and front suspension work.

DJP87Z28

Local per hour charge (example $75/80 per hour) and the book rate of 6/8 hrs for engine change + other parts required. Any good shop should be able to give a written estimate for the Labor.

mjwadams

I paid about 2k to drop in a Jasper motor, which was done by a pro. This also included a new radiator, clutch, and other assorted parts. I also had some other parts like the alternator fail shortly after the swap.

torque_is_good

that would be $2k in addition to the purchase price of the new motor, correct?