Auto Brainlet here, I have a 89 camaro with an 305 TPI...

Find a '94-'96 Impala SS or Caprice 9C1 (That's the police variant) and get an LT1 out of there. Watch the Opti-Spark though, they go bad and are super fucking expensive to replace.

Manual? Get a short shifter. Cheap, easy to install, you're always using it. Solid shifts are so satisfying. It's always the first thing I do to my cars. Harden up the bushings to the linkage if it's soft too.

Don't bother with the 305 user. Friend of mine has an Iroc with the 305 and it's garbage. Has a cam, head work, and an Edelbrock carb. The carb was the single biggest improvement, but it's still extremely slow. Also has a T5 he had built for 600hp/600tq after he destroyed the original in the car.
>He's horrible at driving a standard

Drive it like you stole it until she goes. Then debate on which direction you want to go with for a swap.

Sell it and get a FR-Slow.

I had an 82 Berlinetta which came with the 305 from the factory. It was a gutless wonder so I swapped in a carbed HO 350 and it made such a difference it really felt like a new car. I highly recommend going with the 350 swap and exhaust upgrade to go along with it.

If you're worried too much about cost, don't be. You can sell your 305 assuming it's in decent shape for a few hundred and put that towards the 350. Doesn't even take long to do the swap because these cars so so gloriously simple. A brand new 350 costs $2k from Summit, but I recommend doing what I did and get a used one for under a grand. That means you'd only spend a couple hundred difference between your sale and purchase.

Do it OP.

It gets less than a Nissan Rogue in terms of horse power, and that makes me upset, if I’m gonna swap it I’m gonna do LS1 or LT1, but I don’t know where to find one

This. Thanks for the tip

Literally this.

The 305 is an anemic garbage pile of an engine. You’re better off swapping in a LS1, LT1, LT4, is LS2; all of which can be found in multiple cars made by GM sub-divisions over the years.

summitracing.com/parts/mll-bp3503ct1/overview/make/chevrolet

Buy that and swap it in your car. Easiest 373+hp you'll ever make. Even comes with a warranty and free shipping.

Picture of the swapped in 350. Still plenty of room in the engine bay after the swap. Could probably put a big block in here easily with a different hood.

What else am I gonna need to swap to get the most out of it? Most to least important if possible, I’m assuming exhaust first

hotrod.com/articles/ccrp-9903-305-chevy-small-block-engine-build/ heads intake cam carb but youll also need a diff distributer for going carb

>Invest $1,575 into a 305

Is your car carbureted or fuel injected now? The linked Summit engine isn't compatible with *factory* fuel injection, but it is compatible with carburetors and aftermarket fuel injection systems. If you don't know which fuel delivery system you'd prefer, I'd personally recommend going with a carburetor for this. Carburetors are cheaper, easier to work on, only require very basic hand tools, and more versatile than 1980s-90s fuel injection tech.

It's been a few years since I owned the Camaro (hit and run driver totaled the car while I only had liability on it) but I think I remember pretty much everything about the build.

I had a Holley 4-barrel carburetor with pretty huge secondaries, a basic cheap distributor, and a fairly lopey roller cam. I recommend going with that Holley 4-barrel carb with large secondaries as it allows the car to get decent mileage when just cruising around, but as soon as the secondaries open up you can literally hear the whistle of induction of air and fuel happening up front and the car just takes off.

So to answer your question, I'd go with an exhaust upgrade, likely a single large pipe coming down next to the drive shaft, splitting to two smaller pipes at the muffler (factory exhaust isn't sufficient for a 350), a decent carburetor like the Holley 4-barrel I mentioned, and that's about it for the super important stuff.

Oh and I almost forgot to post this. This is the Camaro in question after the exhaust and engine swaps. Note this is nowhere near WOT, just revving a bit.

youtu.be/_WjN1yKJG-4

>At least it’ll get you by while you save up to build a 350!
Topkek user

Let's play a game, OP
Let's count Camaros on the road the Foxbodys!
Oh Wait! That wouldn't be fair.
GM knew they were so bad they just stopped making them :(
Oh well, at least you can actually have a fast car now!

Are you seriously implying you see more Foxbodys on the road than third gen Camaros/Firebirds? Not at all my observation on the west coast. Foxbodys are very rare nowadays, while I still see the occasional IROC-Z or Z28.

Almost every foxbody I've seen in the last 5 years has been slowly becoming one with someone's yard, not on the road. On the other hand, there are still plenty of turd gens out there and I see one driving once every other week or so.

I see at least 2 foxbodys a day in Georgia, where as I may see 1 camaro a week, and it's ALWAYS an rs. Haven't seen a z28 in a VERY long time, and that would be the one my mother owned. I may have seen an IROC decades ago.

Georgia here btw. I just don't see enough camaros. Even at the drag strip the Chevy guys either go pre 85 or post 2008. Anyone in between is a Foxbody.

>Even at the drag strip the Chevy guys either go pre 85 or post 2008.
Really? You can do a lot with not a whole lot of money on a C5 Corvette. Hell a five grand blower kit alone can easily push it over 600/700 hp.

>1/8th mile records

As many others have said, ls1/t56 swap all day

I would also recommend springs, shocks, and subframe connecters. I have an 87 GTA with Koni yellows, Eibach pros, and S&W race cars subframe connecters, handles like its on rails

Hey OP, I still have some brand new front shocks for my 82 Berlinetta that I was never able to use before it got totaled. They're still in their boxes and everything.

Also I'd recommend going with a Wonderbar sway bar to stiffen up the car around corners, but I'd do that after you splurge on the engine swap.

Op here, thanks for the tips and recommendations, I’m gonna do some more research and post results if and when I can!

Quiero sexo

why even bother with a swap? i bought a virgin 4th gen ls1 camaro in 2009 for 4500 bucks.

then again why even bother with a 3rd gen camaro when the c4 vette is the similar price and better in every way.

>swap for a 350

In NC, both own, and occasionally see a few third gen firebirds (and comaros) every week or so.