in that car we went with a new set of gauges. I'll post a pic when I get home. but your in luck as they now offer a bolt in set of gauges for the 3rd gens to replac the cluster if you want. you CAN make all the stock gauges work if you want to, and it may be a little less trouble to do that. but for me, Id rather have the aftermarket gauges that look cooler and are easier to read if you got the budget and time to do it.

 

Can you send me that pic?

 

Okay, now that I have my 305 tpi out, wtf am I going to do about all the wiring??? I'm pretty sure that I can eliminate almost everything... right? Because pretty much everything was ran off the computer. And going to a 327 I don't need all that stuff. What are some things I have to hang onto if any??

 

you can take out all the eng. harness if you want to. the alt, starter, fans, batt are all on different harness that also includes the oil press. sender too. but, with the pcm and eng. harness out, you'll have to do some rewiring. you'll need to add in a relay/fuse/switch( or use a switched wire to turn on the relay) for the fuel pump though as the pcm turned that on. you can take the existing ckts though and just figure out what wire was the fuel pump on wire to the relay and just either put a switch on it, or wire it to the ign. switch ckt somewhere as I did. only problem there is, the fuel pump will be running the whole time the key is turned forward. unlike the factory where its only on for 2 seconds when you turn the key on, then only on when the pcm see's that the eng. is running.
you'll also have to do the same thing with the fans. I used a automatic temp. sensing fan controler. its awesome. you start the engine, watch the gauge until it hits your target operating temp's. then turn the **** until the fans just kick on. that basically sets the on temp.. it'll automatically shut itself off when it drops 10degrees. then back on when it hits that temp again. its only like $40 too. you'll need to add your own wires to the distributer too. tach wire, ground, switch'd power is all if I remember right. I also took the opportunity to ditch the factory starter wires and used a maxi fuse in an easily reachable location and regular 10 gauge wire down to the starter. your orig. wires are proly crappy and have been repaired before already anyways. I had a fusible link burn up on me at the dragstrip and had to rig something up to get home. that sucked.
anyways I'll send that pic.

 

making the gauge retainer plate and trying diff. gauge layouts.



cut out thin, one layer cardboard to sit where i wanted the gauges, then spray painted over to give me a guide where to cut the holes. cardboard template's were same diam. as gauges, so i could just open up the holes to match the painted edges trial fiting them as i went to get a snug fit. the gauges hold themselves in. also notice the tabs sticking up too. fold those over the edges of the cluster plate and put a screw in there to hold it in place. now the gauges just pop out all as one with the cluster plate.



getting close.



wired up.



finished product.


but like I said, you can buy a preassembled/wired gauge cluster for a good price compared to piecing it out buying all the guages seperatly, then making the gauge mounting plate, then wiring it all up. thats the way Im goin to go when I get around to doin my Iroc.

 

i have also done that conversion before,and i had no ploblem using the factory gauges,i just pulled all of the sensors of my doner eng and wiried it up!the only wires i got rid off were the ecm wires which run down the heater box,hope this helps

 

Will a 305 intake manifold bolt onto the 327? I'm kinda thinking about now keeping TPI,and modifing the computer to pump more fuel. Will this work???????? Any sugestions???????

 

it'll work. but you'll be giving up alot of power compared to a carb/intake. I bet youd even lose torque. it'll still fall on its face around 5K rpm. the runners just arent designed to flow above that. better bet would be to rework an LT1 intake which could be had for prolly $150 all day long. matter of fact I could sell you one of mine if your interested. you'd have to redrill the 4 center bolts, and drill a hole for the distributer in the back. not sure what people are doin for the thermostat. there is a company that does the conversion for you if you'd rather. it is very important to get the dist. hole in the right place. then again, wonder how much a stealth ram intake is? might be more cost effective to just buy one of those. or a mini ram. could be more avail. by now, Im not up to date with TPI stuff, since I never liked them.

 

But I bet it will still have an *** load more than the stock 305, right?

 

Ok, this really sucks if its true. I'm going to be moving back to Va in the very near future, like within the next month. And they have the emmissions test there. So does that mean that my 85z28 won't pass because it went from the 305 TPI to a 327 that is carburated. I need to know if it will pass or not before I install the 327. If it won't then what would be my options? Get an
LS or LT-1 that is fuel injected?? Are there any loopholes to get around if it doesn't pass?

 

you'll also have to do the same thing with the fans. I used a automatic temp. sensing fan controler. its awesome. you start the engine, watch the gauge until it hits your target operating temp's. then turn the **** until the fans just kick on. that basically sets the on temp.. it'll automatically shut itself off when it drops 10degrees. then back on when it hits that temp again. its only like $40 too.


Where did u get it??? Can u order it thru summit??

 

I just bought this from summit. http://store.summitracing.com/partde...8&autoview=sku Can anyone tell me what stall would be the best? Thanks!

 

yesa summit hax the fan tmp controlers


that package would best match a 3800 9.5" stall converter. i recomend Edge Racing converters
"street edge" converter. awesome driveability and relativly tight feel.

is this ur only car? daily driver? if so Id go more like a 3000 rpm stall range. better fuel economy, easier on drivetrain parts, etc...

700r4 trans right? make sure whatever conv u get is a lockup converter.

 

Thanks, no its not my only car, this is just a project. Something to cruise in and maybe race a little. 700r4 is correct. I want to put 4:10's in but everyone is telling me I'm crazy. Everyone is saying to put in 3:73"s. Since I've never driven anything with these gear ratios ( that I know of) can you really tell a difference?

 

OMG, def. you can tell the diff. you will LOVE the 4.10's since its your toy car. only prob. with them is they are a tiny bit weaker then 3:73's cause the gear is minimally thinner. but chance's are, you'll break either one if you drive it hard enough. I say save your cash until you can afford a 9". then buy 4.10's. the only reason you'd maybe want to go 3:73 instead of 4.10's would be if you were goin to put nitrous on. then 4.10's are too much gear for a build like that. eitherway you'll love the setup. it'll rev fast, pull until you shift it (it would pull to 7500rpm if you wanted to, but it'll prolly peak around 6300rpm. Id recomend 65-6600rpm shifting point as your starting point), smoke the tires at will, and get you in alot of trouble if you let it.

either go with true duals, or 4" mufflex single exh. system when you can afford it.

Id recomend holley HP750 with all that, and an MSD 6al and billet distributer. if you had all that stuff, and good sticky tires, no reason it wouldnt be an easy high 11sec. car that you could drive anywhere, anytime.