Hey all, first of all I'll introduce myself as Mike...and I'd like to add that I am 19 years old...my father had an '82 Camaro and from a young age (5 I think?) Camaros have always been my favorite car...it was my dream to own a 3rd generation camaro for my first car, and here I am now with my first one as a grad gift...

Info: '87 Z28 Camaro with metallic blue paint...almost flawless interior and the body has 96k miles on it...no rust and the paint job is almost 4 years old...and it has a new engine which brings me to my question...

the lady the car was purchased from seemed pretty knowledgable about the car and her ex husband (mechanic) helped maintain it for her...he had recently put a new engine in it and when i asked her if it was a 305 or a 350 she was pretty sure it was a 350 but not sure...would any of you know how to visibly tell the difference between the two? what should I check for and is there any dead giveaway as to which it is...

again glad to sign up and certainly glad to have a dream of mine come true with this car, any help is much appreciated

 

Only for sure way is to look at casting numbers. Might need to use mirrors or something to be able to read it in car.

If it is a GM motor, what color are the valve covers- silver or black. Black is 350. However, valve covers are easy to change so not a for sure deal.

Matt

 

You say it has a new motor, but was the original motor rebuilt or was a completely different motor put in? This is where it can be tricky.

First of all, on the bottom of the hood or on the top of the radiator, there should be a white sticker with emission information on it. On that sticker it will say 5.0 (305) or 5.7 (350) liter. That will tell you the original setup. Or you can look at your V.I.N. number. The 8th digit will either be "F" (305) or "8" (350). Note: This is only true if the car is T.P.I., if not then the car is definately a 305.

If the original block was used for the new motor then you are in luck. If you look at the very back of the block, on the passenger side, in between the head and the transmission bellhousing, there will be casting numbers. 1987 was one of the first years that GM started putting the liter size on the casting numbers. So, you should see a designation of 5.7L or 5.0L. If not get the casting numbers and go to a local machine shop and have them look it up for you.

By the way, I have never heard about the valve cover thing. That is pretty interesting.

 

hey thanks guys, i can see being a part of these forums is gonna be a huge benefit to me and my z28...i'll check it out...and again thanks