Well it looks like my 305 is terminal, so I've got a good excuse to go out and find a 350 to drop in over the winter. I'm going to hit the wrecking yards this weekend if I can. I've been told of a few local yards that sell running 350s for about $250. And I have a friend with a shop and hoist that has offered to let me put my car in there over the winter and do the swap there. So I'll keep this post updated with my progress as it comes in. And I'll take pictures too. :rockon:

:rockon:sounds like an awesome winter project - look forward to the updates

Wow a 350 for $250, That seems to me to be a sweet deal. That and a few bucks of engine MODS and Tunes, and that baby will hum :old:

Yeah I'm expecting them to have smogger heads on them. So if I can get the scratch together I may go ahead and add a set of Vortec heads and a Vortec TPI intake manifold.

you ever thought about doing an lt1 swap in it. you can get a running lt1 for 500 bucks. long as you get the ecm and wiring harness from the donor car its not to hard.

Yeah I have thought about it and I would like to do that sometime in the future. But for now I'm looking for the easiest and cheapest way to go so I can have my car back. I didn't realize LT1s can be had for $500 though. I'm gonna have to see what I can find and the wrecking yards and how much I can sell my old Talon for.

these are what you can find them in

1992-1996 Chevrolet Corvette C4
F-body:
1993-1997 Chevrolet Camaro Z28
1993-1997 Pontiac Firebird Formula and Trans Am
B-body:
1994-1996 Buick Roadmaster
1994-1996 Chevrolet Caprice (probably a 4.3 lt1 you dont want)
1994-1996 Chevrolet Caprice Police Package (i think also i 4.3)
1994-1996 Chevrolet Impala SS
1994-1996 Chevrolet Caprice Wagon
1994-1996 Buick Roadmaster Wagon
D-body:
1994-1996 Cadillac Fleetwood

only the corvette and f-body cars have aluminum heads, all the others have iron heads. i know there is a guy here in amarillo selling one out of a caddy running with just over 100k for 500 bucks w/ accessories

Awesome! I'm definetly going to be keeping an eye out.

Found an LT1 for $400 without wiring harness. I'm thinking really hard about doing the LT1 swap... :alien:

You can find LT1s all over the net. If you're up for paying shipping you can find one with everything you need. I'd suggest getting one out of a 95-97 F-body or 95-96 Vette. They have the aluminum heads, more base horsepower, and the vented optispark.

Yeah I remember the HP jumping to 285 I think at that point for Fbodies. Is there a way I can tell just by looking at the motor if its the high or low output? Or do I just need to get casting #s? There are plenty of good wrecking yards in the Dallas/Fort Worth area so I'm just gonna do the leg work and pocket the shipping cost.

All the engines have the same output. The only thing that bumped up the rating was dual cats. But what you should be looking for is one with a vented optispark (distributor). The older ones were prone to water damage.

As for castings, if you really want to look, the 374 heads are the best. They have more meat on them for porting. And I would avoid the 93-93 engines. They had speed density and batch fire injectors, as opposed to mass air flow (MAF) and sequential fuel injection.

Thanks for the info. I'm going to see what I can find next saturday. I'll post pics if I come home with anything.