1980 Trans Am build thread....oh yeah its official

What should I do next?

  • starter? $40

    Votes: 4 26.7%
  • headers? $50

    Votes: 7 46.7%
  • Intake manifold? $50

    Votes: 2 13.3%
  • Fuel Lines? $60

    Votes: 2 13.3%

  • Total voters
    15

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Good luck man! This dude I work with has an 80 or so Camaro with the t-tops and a nice 350 and it's a decent ride. Kind of shaky and creaky but it's cool. Good luck with your ride, nice lookin paintjob! :D And you get to start sort of from the ground up, which seems like it might be easier some times....
 
And chevy sold ford the 302 anyways. look at a pic of a69' camaro ss on the hood it says "302" if you dont believe me.[/quote]

Swing and a miss! LMAO... Thats like saying a B16 and a VW 1.6 are the same engine.

Anyway my idea is to follow Project F-Bomb in Hot Rod Magazine (twin turbo Second Gen.) Or theres one in Popular Hot Rodding for the suspension/brakes mods. I believe theyre pulling around 1 G on the skid pad and really killing the slalom. If thats not your thing and you just want straight line speed theres about a million cubic shit-tons of info for suspension settings for that. Either way please for the love of god upgrade its brakes. Those stock ones are terrible and dont even belong on... say... a Civic

Engine wise you should go with a 5.3 out of a Tahoe or Silverado. This may sound rediculous but throw on some heads, and a cam and that stock 300HP becomes more like 475+ This has been done in hot rod a few times and theirs kits everywhere to retro-fit it in. You can snag one from LKQ for less than 1500 last time I checked. May sound like too much but build that 301 up and for the same price you'll still be pushing a boat anchor ever on the brink of explosion with less HP.

Whatever you do good luck with the build.
 
Also no Camaro SS EVER came with a 302. Thats what the Z28s had. SS's Had the 350 and the 396.
 
the 302 is also a smaller version of the 327 and 350 small blocks. it is the same prinicipal of the 305 and the 350 big blocks
the 302 was the dz code motor and cranked out about 325hp
 
the 302 is also a smaller version of the 327 and 350 small blocks. it is the same prinicipal of the 305 and the 350 big blocks
the 302 was the dz code motor and cranked out about 325hp
I think you mean 396 and 400big block as the 305 and 350 have always been small blocksThe 350, 327,302, 305, all share the same block so they are physically the same size. It's the internals that distinguish each of them. Different bore and stroke etc...
 
Engine wise you should go with a 5.3 out of a Tahoe or Silverado. This may sound rediculous but throw on some heads, and a cam and that stock 300HP becomes more like 475+ This has been done in hot rod a few times and theirs kits everywhere to retro-fit it in. You can snag one from LKQ for less than 1500 last time I checked. May sound like too much but build that 301 up and for the same price you'll still be pushing a boat anchor ever on the brink of explosion with less HP.

Not a bad idea. You could also pick up an LQ4 or 9 6.0 liter for just a bit more. And in that case, if you get an '01 or newer they already have pretty nice aluminum heads. Not a bad platform at all.
 
No it wasnt in the SS. Ever. It was in the Z28.

History lesson. The earliest Ford 302 is a Windsor block engine. It is larger version of the 289. The 289 came out in 62 or 63. Chevs 302 came out in 67. How could Chev sell the design to an engine they hadnt developed themselves?
 
yeah i just found that 67-69 z. They only made it for some Trans Am race and they had to put it in so many cars for it to be production model for them to be able to race it. but who cares the point is chevy> ford.
 
Not a bad idea. You could also pick up an LQ4 or 9 6.0 liter for just a bit more. And in that case, if you get an '01 or newer they already have pretty nice aluminum heads. Not a bad platform at all.


Thats what my buddy said he wants to put in his 01 camaro. he said one outta an escalade or something was what he was trying to get because he blew his 5.7 LS1 up. Dunno. I have been messing with honda. All i really know about chevy is LT1s and carb 350s 305s and such. I dont really keep up with chevy much anymore.
 
No it wasnt in the SS. Ever. It was in the Z28.

History lesson. The earliest Ford 302 is a Windsor block engine. It is larger version of the 289. The 289 came out in 62 or 63. Chevs 302 came out in 67. How could Chev sell the design to an engine they hadnt developed themselves?

ford 302 didnt come out in 62 63 the 289 or whatever did. Even Chrysler is better than ford dude. Just take it.
 
The LQ's are the exact same as LS's, just have iron blocks. Not aluminum. Theyre also the only bigger motors that are direct drop ins because of the 24 tooth reluctor wheels. All the others have like 58 tooth wheels or somethin like that.
 
Why does my buddy want to put the LQ in because its Iron i suppose. the LQ is the escalade motor right. and the 289 came out not the 302. ford did a 302 because of chevy. whos to say ford didnt buy it, is henry ford your grandaddy or something and you know. you never heard the story of the 100mpg carb. lol
 
He might want iron cuz theres a myth that the iron blocks hold more power. Its not true though. You musta missed what I said. The 302 is based off of the 289. The 289 came out 4 or 5 years BEFORE the Chev 302.
 
ford chevy pontiac and mopar all had engines in the 300ci range due to the 305ci limit mandated by trans am rule makers. everyone got there a different way using what they already knew. ie chevy destroked the 327/350 and found it made good power rated for the street at 290 but internal documents show it made between 400-475 as raced. ford coincidentally reached the same figure with their combo. challengers got a destroked 340 (dont know its actual ci.) The big three where in an all out war for sales through the trans am series and NHRA so why would anyone sell any of their trade secrets. just like the 305ci engine that came in my 91 camaro is called a 5.0 and a 302 that came in a mustang for the same year is called a 5.0 the engines are totally different not even sharing the same true ci amount and purely coincidental. face it calling the engine a 301.7589 cubic inch engine would be stupid. and how would they make that look sweet on the side of a cowl hood or fender.
 
^ Whacked that nail square on the head.
 
like any hot rodder he probably wants it because it is cheap horsepower. theses no replacement for displacement except for boost and the escalade motors do both well for a lot less than their aluminum counterparts. if I didn't already have a 500hp beast of a fuel injected gen 1 motor for my camaro done id like follow the same route. the 6.0s can get to 500 with a cam, worked over heads, a good valvetrain, and intake (carbed or injected) and you never have to worry about reliability.
 
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Werd. I had an LQ4 ready for pickup to go in my 98 Z28, but the guy sold it from under me. Fuckin sucks.
 
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