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I have the Camaro White Book, is it accurate? According to it until '93 you couldn't get a 350 with manual tranny, only the 305, and then in '93 you could but not with t-tops, is all that true?

I have an '83 z28 that I'm planning to fix up, the pevious owner was a nut and beat the body up a bit, but with prices what they are I'm thinking it may just make more sense to get a car that's allready in good shape. Th one I have has a bad tranny and was planning to put an engine and tranny out of an 86 I have (a wreck but tranny and engine are good) I also have a line on a free parts car, an '89 RS for the body work I need, but even with all the free parts I'm wondering if it would be worth the labor costs to rstore it when a z28 in decent condition can be had for 2500-3500 in my area.

Also I actually prefer stick to the automatic I'd have and am wondering which is the faster car, the 305/stick or the 350/automatic. Any opinions? If you were to get something for under $5000, what would you be looking for? What about fourth gen firebirds with V8's? Are they as fast as the camaros? 5.7's or 5.0's? I don't care for third generation firebirds but would be open to the fourth, are there many differences in the running gears?

Thanks for any and all replies.

Reply to
DAY TRIPPER
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Right now, used car prices are through the floor... You would definitely be better off getting a car that is in better shape to start with.

The Vampire, "Muffin Man"

Reply to
The Vampire Muffin Man

Thanks for the quick and informative responses.

A few follow up questions,

Why do you feel it would be better to get a 350/automatic and do a tranny swap instead of getting a 305/manual and doing an engine swap? I am wondering because with the former it seems like quite a bit more work plus the rear's gear ratio would need to be changed, with the latter unless I am missing something it would be a straightforward change, is there something I'm not considering?

When I asked which was faster the 305/manual or the 350/auto, I realize that manual's are normally faster, but was wondering if the extra inches a 350 has makes up the difference, or even makes it the faster car.

Also, can the stock five speed handle the 350? I am wondering why Chevy didn't offer the 350 with the manual tranny, and thought maybe the 350 produced too much torque for it, which would make the swap I suggested a poor choice.

Anyone know?

Thanks again.

Reply to
DAY TRIPPER

My 88' 305 ci came with a whopping 220hp w/ the 5 speed. The Camaro part was RPO LB9. the same motor with an auto behind it was rated at

195hp. From the Camaro White Book.

Believe me, the car can't deal with the extra torque without beefing up the subframe/undercarridge. My Bird with the 305ci has a small crack from chassis flex in the rear top corner of the door frame.

...Ron

--

68' RS Camaro 88' Formula Bird

Some are wise and some are otherwise

Reply to
RSCamaro

You're preaching to the choir. Supercharged 89 Firebird 305 TPI.

Reply to
Bruce Chang

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