88 Trans AM Rebuild / Restore - F-Body Online

Papabear · 03-19-2008, 10:12 PM

I bought an 88 Trans AM a few months ago, I want to restore it to it's former glory. At the same time I want to get a little more power out of it. It has the 305 TPI that is supposedly bored out 30 over, I can't really verify that with out tearing the engine down.
Any way I want to start with the suspension and transmission if any one has any tips or trick that I could use to squeeze a few mre ponies out of this thing I'd really appreiciate it.

19Stroked89 · 03-20-2008, 04:34 AM

Welcome to FBO!! Sounds like a cool project car you have. First dont expect alot out of a 305 if your wanting much power or torque you may want to consider a 350 swap. However if your wanting just alittle more get up and go than a 305 is fine for that. You can achieve that with a cold air intake, good set of headers and a nice flowing exhaust system.

As for the suspension I would suggest subframe connectors first.

Does this car have the auto or manual tranny?

strc09 · 03-20-2008, 10:56 AM

As stated above, the 350TPI would be a great swap...or even what I've done and do a 383 swap or you could even go up to a 406TPI. That'd be a monster...my 383 is pretty nice. However, again, if you're just looking for a little omph the 305 isn't a bad motor, but you're probably not going to a great deal out of power.

I'd definately start with the suspension upgrades such as SFCs, panhard, LCAs, STB, and torque arm. Those will all help with how your car handles and performs. Also, a nice set of shocks/springs will help also.

To spruce up the 305, several of the 350 parts are interchangeable. If I was going to give the 305 a little more omph, I'd start with the exhaust. Put a new catback and some nice headers. Mid-length/long tube...not really going to make much difference with the TPI setup since the torque band is so low and they run out of breathe up in the higher RPMs. As for the induction part, there are also parts available to help it out. You can put a CAI on it as well as change out the runners to the SLP style and upgrade the intake. I run SLP runners and an Edelbrock TPI baseplate on my 383. I like them. When you put them on, port them out first. More air...more power. Also, put the airfoil in the throttle body to help with the air coming in.

To the block itself, you can free up some power by adding an electric water pump and upgrade to a set of 350 cylinder heads. Preferably the Vette 113 casting aluminum heads. Either way, have them worked first. Throw in a new cam and some 1.6RRs. There are also the "Free" mods like the Throttle Body Coolant by-pass, smog delete, and a couple others that'll help. Then, with all of that done you'll need a good tune on it to make sure it all works as efficiently together as possible.

Another question as mentioned before...manual or auto? If you've got a manual you can always upgrade the clutch and that'll help some. If you've got an auto and you're just making a street cruiser you can put a S10 torque convertor in and it'll function as a stall for your 305. The stall will help also.

I'm willing to bet that if you did some of this you'd have a very nice 305 that would suprise a lot of people. IMO that is a little more important to me than necessarily beating them. I like seeing the look on people faces when they expect to spank you and they don't. It's always nice to win though.

Hope this helps.

BTW...welcome to FBO.

mechanic98 · 03-20-2008, 12:16 PM

Welcome to Fbodyonline

Papabear · 03-22-2008, 05:23 PM

Thanks for the input, and its a manual. I have an 11 year old son and it's really his car. So I don't want something that is going to be a 9 sec car I just want to put a little more muscle in it for him.

strc09 · 03-22-2008, 05:56 PM

I would definately recommend the upgrades I mentioned above. They'll help tremendously and give the car some more omph. It won't be super fast, but it'll definately suprise a few people. I'd also recommend upgrading the clutch to something a bit stiffer to compliment to upgrades. It'll be a nice ride once it's done.

FirebirdPhil · 03-22-2008, 07:03 PM

Welcome, make sure you keep us updated on the car during the build up and post some pics if you can