I just bought a 1996 camero its a 3.4 liter and a automatic transmission. When you start the engine it makes a loud ticking noise so i think im gonna just replace the engine if its a big problem. My question is what do you think is making the tickin and how hard would it be to put a chevy 305 v8 inplace of the 3.4v6. Thanks i really need help.

 

If it just ticks for a little while and then quiets down it is probably a bad lifter that bleeds down when the engine is stopped. If you can stand the noise it won't cause any harm. If it ticks continuosly, you should get the lifter fixed before it chews up the cam. If you hear a deep knocking sound from inside the engine, you got big problems.

The car is designed for an LT1 engine and they come in either in 4.3 (260 +- ") or 5.7 (350'). If you want to use a 305 small block. you will wind up with a project not worth the effort. Go for the 350 LT1, it will fit right in and you can pick up the parts needed such as computer from a junked 96.