Someone told me that the 700r4 (auto transmission) that they put in 92 RS Camaros with a 305 is EXACTLY the same as the one that they put in z28 92 Camaros with a 350. Is that true? I need to know because it will determine whether I swap out my current auto transmission for a t56 now or if I rebuild mycurrent engine/swap it out for something more power first. The only reason I was goin for the t56 first is because I assumed my stock auto tranny couldnt handle too much more horse power. I was about to order Tremec's T56 too. Anyway, assuming my current tranny could handle over 250 horse power, what would be the best/cheapest way to get a fast AND reliable engine. Must be reliable, this car is a daily driver. I've been told I could have my engine rebuilt (drives fine but does have 116,xxx miles on it) with performance parts and then it would be just as good as buying a new engine. Is that true? Is it possible to turn my current 305 TBI into TPI? How much would that cost roughly? OR, would I be better off getting a new engine? If dont want to hunt down an engine that will work with my car and look for all the parts, thats SO much trouble (as I learned when I started looking for a replacement tranny) so if I can get about 250-275 horsepower with my current transmission and it wont fall apart, I'd prefer to do that, and I can swap a t56 next summer. I only have enough money to do one or the other though, not both. the t56 swap altogether will be about 3500 bucks... but having my engine rebuilt, that would be around 2 grand right??? All replies greatly appreciated! By the way I have a little under 4 grand to play with right now.

-Matt

 

yes, it is the same transmission.

 

Yeah, trannies are the same like said, and it should hold up pretty well.

www.thirdgen.org has tons of info about the TBI to TPI swap.

 

Well thats some good news I suppose. It seems like it would be a lot of hassle to change my engine from TBI to TPI. I'm going to have the car worked on at a local automotive performance center. Do you think I could just tell them that I want them to rebuild my engine with performance parts so that it goes from making 170 horse power to about 270? I'd be quite satisfied with that much power, its all I'm looking for really. I dont care if its TBI or TPI right now to tell you the truth, and from what I understand, although TBI is less precise (meaning not consistently powerful I suppose), there are less parts to break. I dont know anything about how cars work, so could I just tell them what I want and they'll know what to do? Is this even possible? I assume ya could rebuild the engine to make it have 100 more horse power. And if I have them do this, about how much should I expect to pay for parts AND labor? I know thats hard to answer since I havent specified the job they would be doing, but all input is greatly appreciated. I just dont want to sound like an idiot when I talk to the mechanics on the phone so please help!

-Matt

Having the engine rebuilt with performance parts wouldnt cost more than a couple grand right??

 

basically I want to know how much horse power my stock tranny can handle (again has 116,xxx miles) and then how much it will cost to get that power.

-Matt

 

FWIW I swapped in a T-56 out of a wrecked '95 TA for right at 2 grand, with a good clutch and B&M shifter included. It's rated at like 450hp from the factory and is just about a direct bolt-in. It's not gonna like your 2.73 gears though, the T-56 was meant for 3.42 or higher.

As far as the tranny holding up....I started with a TBI305/700-R4 and swapped it over to carb, got better heads and put in a good cam, and with 140k on it the trans crapped out on me. I was probably putting out around 240-250hp at the time. With 116k on the tranny I wouldn't suggest sticking it with an extra 100 horse all of a sudden.