ok so a guy i know has a 400sbc and its complete for $500. came from a 74+- firebird or at least it was in there.
carb to pan just need a fuel pump.
will this bolt to a t5 and will it be too much for my rear end?
i know ill need new springs and maybe diffrent mounts what else?
and what should i look for on this engine. hes been turning it occasionally just to keep the oil from sitting and it ran when it came out of the firebird but what else do i need to know.
any help pls. im going to look at it in a few days here.
thx
oh hes also got a 4speed trans and a 3.73 posi read end with it. would i be better off saving and buying all the guts together??

 

It will bolt to the T5 as long as it has the V8 bell house.

 

Why would you need new mounts and springs? A small block is a small block, the bellhousing is the same, the mounts are the same, hell the 400 might even be lighter than your 305.

 

you will need a flywheel for a 400 or they sell a balancing plate that bolts behind the flywheel so that you can use the flywheel off the 305

 

ok so no mounts/springs. now that i think about it that makes sense.
der... sbc = sbc

so this shouldbe a straight drop in right?

as for ecu obviously all thats coming out but what about my gauges are 3rd gens cable or electric?
from what ive been told the engine is "clean enuf to eat off" whatever that means.
but what do i need to look for to know im getting a good deal?
$500 seems likea very good price to me i know this guybuilt this engine up already too.
so any other things i should know.

 

An "engine that's clean enough to eat off" means just that...it's extremely clean and not grungy. If it's been built and doesn't have a ton of miles, $500 is a great price.
The gauges are going to be your biggest stumbling block. All of them are driven electrically and get the signal through the computer. There are a couple of harness plugs in the back of the cluster, and the gauges are hooked up via a flexible "pc board" that is attached to the back of the cluster housing. There are no separate wire type of connections on the gauges to hook up to. The speedo, tach and the other gauges are motor driven (not direct drive, but conductive electro-magnetic I would presume). And the trip odometer is direct gear-reduction motor driven. You may want to consider installing custom gauges, it will be a lot easier to figure out, and probably the only realistic way to do it without a computer anyway.
If you want a picture of the back of the cluster, I can post one since I have a spare one lying around which I'm presently ****ing around with for my 91. The original Camaro gauges suck anyway, and I'm looking at the possibly of building in some mini gauges to take the place of the factory oil/water/battery gauges.

 

The only gauge you will have a problem with after getting rid of the computer is the speedometer. Its electricfrom 90+. The other gauges (temp,oil,volts,feul) are driven of of their own senders right to the gauges. Those wires will go through the left bulkhead connector seperate from the computer harness which goes through the right side of the firewall behind the fender.

 

thx