hey guys, this is my very first post on this board. thought i might as well join the camaro community i am a proud owner of a 1986 camaro z28 (im guessing).. dunno for sure, doesnt say on the car.. it has t-tops, an 86 305 was swapped in with a 5spd, and the hood and ground effects of a iroc z where put in..

anyways heres the deal, i am going to sell the existing motor (very solid.. compression is average 130) and buymself another smallblock. i am most likely going to go with a 350.. maybe 400, but at least 350. and i wanna do the motor up to the nuts. right now i only got $4,000 cdn.. that isnt alot of money, but its a good start. i wanna raise the compression ratio, got some race cams or something with lots hp/torque increase and sound nice (lumpey cams).. but i guess with the greater lift/duration, they will pretty much all do it.. i wanna get connecting rods... prolly leave the crankshaft, im guessing its pretty $$$ to get a different one.

i dunno what kinda performance products to get regarding, headers, pistons, rods, carb, cams etc.

any advice is greatly appreciate, thanks a lot!

smokey

 

Welcome to the board!

You have more than a million options to choose from. Whether you know and engine from top to bottom or not, it's usualy a very safe bet to buy a pre-made "crate engine. GM Performance Parts alone sells factory stock short blocks, high torque stroker 383 engines, typical 350 engines, higher powered 350 engines with better heads and a decent cam, LT1 engines, LS1 engines, LS6 engines, 454 big blocks, 502 big blocks, 555 cube big blocks that make nearly 1000HP Find what suits your budget and $$$$ching your 1 happy guy.

Other companies like Nu-Tek Motorsports can build you anything you want if you have ideas in mind. I'm sure they can reccomend a certain combination also if you tell them what you're in the market for.

Check out the sponsors for this page possibly! Goodluck

 

I have a buddy who has an 89 GMC 1500, had a 305 in it and when it finally gave he junked it and bought a GM 350 HO Crate engine, and just some generic heads and a mild edelbrock cam, and this thing screams... fast as hell. Got me hooked... so when I decide to go big I am going with a Gm crate motor

Just thought id let you know, GM crate engines are worth it.

 

A stock 350 shortblock will work really well to start with. The least expensive way to get one is from a rebuilder, about $1300 Canadian.

Heads are important but EXPENSIVE

So if you want to save money, and don't mind getting dirty, port and polish a set of 305 heads and use those. Follow the link at the end of my sig. $600 Cdn.

Put in a Comp Cams XE 262 hydraulic cam and lifters. $250 Cdn.

Edelbrock Performer or Weiand Stealth intake. Used $125 Cdn.

Rebuild the QJet. $150 Cdn.

Hooker shorty headers and full 3" exhaust. Roughly $800 to $1000 Cdn.

This should leave you with at least $500 to cover the rest of your expenses for the knick-knacks--and they will be there.

But that will be a fairly stout 350, about 350 hp and mid- to high-13s in the quarter. Can't beat that with a stick

 

Better do something with that 5 speed if your gonna make some real power. GM never put the t5 behind a 350 for a reason. If you have more than 320lbs torque that 5 speed is toast. Possibly look into a t56 later down the road or an automatic.