Last summer I got in to drag racing and I love it. It didn't take long to realise that drag racing my Subaru may not be the way to go. I want to build a Camaro for the strip. Unfortunately, most of my knowledge is in Subaru's. I am wanting to do this build with a 3rd or 4th gen. Camaro. I have a 1996 1 ton Chevy extended van with a 4L80E trany and a 350 with rod knock. Soooooo, I was thinkin' maybe I could rebuild the 350 with some performance parts and put that engine/ tranny in to a Camaro. Could this work? What things should I consider here? I just don't have a clue when it comes to American Muscle so any advise would be helpfull.

-David

 

its possible, ur best bet would be a 3rd gen. if you get a 4th gen just use the motor that came with it because its better than ur vans 350 to begin with

 

good luck on the build.

If you get a 3rd or 4th gen why not just use the 350 in it?

 

Sorry again for my lack of knowledge here, but don't some of the 4th gens come with a V6? I would be looking to pick up a Camaro for cheap with a V6 or a blown motor or blown tranny. I was thinking that it would suck to sell my van for $500 and have to turn around and pay a few thousand for a motor/ tranny for my project. I really like the idea of having a 4L80E Tranny since this car will be making a lot of power. I guess that I want to use the van engine just because I have it all ready. Even if I get a Camaro with a 350, it would still need to be rebuilt with performance internals so why not do it to the van motor and pick up a Camaro with no engine or tranny for a few hundred dolllars.

 

mounting in a 4th gen will be a problem so go with the 3rd gen if you are set on this route. 4th gens have the motor sitting halfway under the windshield and a 350 is too tall to fit in there

 

I am definitely not set on this route. So if I want a 4th gen I should get 1 with a 350 in it all ready. Is engine removal/ installation difficult with a 4th gen? I got the impression that the motor can't be pulled out, rather the car has to be lifted off the engine. True? Would I have trouble putting the 4l80e on a 4th gen? I like the 4th gen so much more.