I am starting to work on my dads old camaro he gave it to me as a present for my 18th bday it is a 89 RS 5.0 it needs a paint job it is light blue right now but i wanted it to be all black it is a automatic and i wanted to know some information on these cars because i am really not that familiar with them. Like wut kind of 1/4 mile times should i expect out of it stock thanx! how much trouble is it to change it to a manual transmission???

 

1/4 mile times....high 16's I think. Maybe low 17's. They have 170 HP and somewhere around 245 Lb ft of tq if I remember correctly. I had one, It was fun to drive but don't race any V8 pickups or V6 accords unless you want to be embarassed. I was...more than once

 

Congrats on getting a camaro. Have fun with it. It won't be nothing too spectacular on speed, but hey, It's a camaro and camaros have history.

 

1/4 mile times should be low 16s to high 15s, as long as the engine's up to par and your a good driver . While the 305 TBI is not a performance engine by any means, it still has a lot of potential, it's still a SBC. For all the info you could ever really want to know, check out the www.thirdgen.org message boards, specifically the TBI board sticky "New to TBI" thread. That's a great place to start.

 

That was my first Camaro 89 RS 305-TBI, I loved that car. If I remember correctly it had 2.73 out back and was great for cruising down the highway. I was getting about 26/27MPG out if it cruising at 80MPH.
Sometimes I miss that car

 

+1 accord arent a problem.. those new v8 trucks are crazy..


but i guess having a tranny that slips like no tomorrow and shift all slow doesnt help

 

The newer v6 accords are definitely a problem, they come w/ 240 hp from the factory making them 15 sec. cars easy. BTW, good acquisition of the f-body, hope you enjoy.

 

Even if the engines up to par and he's a good driver low 16's might be pushing it with a TBI. TBI's are NOT performance engines by any means. Although, if you really want it to be a performer swap out the intake, heads and cam and your good to go

 

throw header son it and it will go 15s no problem, my old car went 15.92 @ 88mph

and yes people, in 89(87-89 actually), the 305 TBI was the base motor for the IROCs, 90 IROC and 90-92 Z28 the base was 305TPI

 

Ya, headers and a *full* exhaust would help substantially, but for the REAL performance boost you would need new heads, a different cam, and a different form of intake

 

I've been there and done that with the 305 TBI or better known as L03. My honest advice is not to spend any $$ on the engine performance wise unless you are dedicated to going all the way. Only do the free or extremely cheap stuff you find on TGO.org, but dont expect much of a difference. I used to own a 89 RS with the same L03 and I spent alot of time and effort trying to make it fast. What I found out is that the stock L03 will never go fast, only faster than stock which is still slow. The problem is with the 187 heads and the OEM peanut cam. If you really want to make the car worthwhile for racing you'll need to either change the heads and cam on the 305 block or swap in a 350. The cheap route is finding a set of heads at the junkyard off the LB9 motor, or 305 TPI and running an aftermarket cam (even the stock 305 TPI and 350 TPI cams suck). The more expensive but faster option while still retaining the stock block (meaning the engine wont need to be swapped) is running a set of aftermarket heads and an aftermarket cam on the stock 305 TBI block. Your 305 TBI has the same bottom end as the 305 TPI, so any heads/cam/intake that'll fit on a 305 TPI will also fit on yours. The ultimate fix is swapping in a 350 or maybe even bigger, but all depends on if you have the time/resources for an engine swap. Until you can make that choice or commitment, I'd recommend spending your $$ on the other parts of the car so when you finally do decide to do something with the engine and make power the car will be ready. Stuff like suspension, chassis strength, brakes, cooling system, transmission, and rearend. If I had known this when I used to have that 89 RS with the 305 TBI I would have saved myself alot of time, money, and embarassment. Thats my .02 from my experiences