Hello all. To start off, I've always built Honda's. My last one was a Honda S2000. I built the turbo kit from the ground up and had 350hp with 8lbs of boost. That was fun, but then things came up and I sold it. Now a year later I cant stand not having a car so I went out yesterday and picked up my first v8 car... 1988 Camaro hard top 5spd.

Saying that, I'm completely new to carborated v8 engines. I've always built cars with fuel injection. Here are my rookie Camaro questions...

First off, I have a 305 engine...

1. When I first start it, it revs up and down and almost stalls out. When it warms up, it idles perfect. What is causing that?

2. How many liters is the 305?

3. What are all the common problems these camaro's have so I know what to expect?

4. What is are some good superchargers for this vehicle? Not looking to be the fastest on the track, but looking for 350+ to the wheels. (I have to out do the S2K.)

5. When I supercharge it, how will I tune it? I just ran a piggy back computer on my S2K and took it to the tune shop. That's with fuel injection... How do we adjust the fuel to handle the increase in air when it's supercharged?

6. Do they make turbo kits for these Camaro's? Which is better Supercharged or turbo charged if so?

7. Finally what are the biggest performance upgrades with the best HP gain for the money? Such as cams, carbs...?

Thanks for all the help and sorry for the rookie questions. You have to start somewhere

 

actually I'm confused if it's fuel injection or carbs. Can anyone explain TPI to me? Really don't know much about the car yet...

 

Silly Honda boy, lol.

HUGE difference between a carburetor, TPI, and TBI. Being an 88, you probably have a TBI, possibly TPI depending on the trim level. The only way it would be carbureted is if someone made it that way. Does it have a round air cleaner or a throttle body mounted on the front of the intake with 8 individual runners coming off of the plenum?

Regardless, the 305 is a dog and isn't good for anything but getting groceries. 350+ to the wheels equates to over 400hp at the crank, which is a lot of power. A stock 305 is rated at 170hp at the crank unless you have an IROC-Z.

To make any kind of real power with a 305, you'll have to build up the bottom end, get rid of the smog heads, and cam it. Not worth it with a 305. Find yourself a nice 350 block to build.

If you've got TBI, that's a very limiting factor. It'll be tough to make 400 hp with that fuel injection system. You'll want to either swap to a carb or a TPI setup.

 

Thanks for the response. I'm pretty sure it's a TBI. A round air cleaner sits on top of what the previous owner said was a rebuilt TBI (I believe). Will any 350 chevy motor work? Will the same trans bolt up to the 350? And when I swap in the 350 will this upgrade it to the TPI? I know I'm clueless. I'm not a novice mechanic, so what kind of work am I looking at and how much will it cost to switch to TPI? Not liking the idea of switching to carb. Are these motors easy to pull? I just rebuilt my buddys cobalt engine and it was not fun. That is a much newer vehicle though. Thanks for the help. I want to figure this out so I can start looking for a 350. Also, I've heard about 383 stroker too. So bottom line, what's the best way to see at least 350whp?