The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area The HiPo Shop 1986 trans am donor car HELP

i have the chance to buy a 1986 trans am complete for $200 can i use any of it for my 52 gmc 5 window, my truck is all apart right now i have a 350 with a 400 tranny waiting to be rebuilt and installed, i installed a 2000 trans am rear end on the chassis right now. should i swapp it for the 86 trans am rear? what else can i use from this car. ex" front disc brakes, steering column, gas tank etc. any help would be appreciate it. the engine in the 86 is a 305 fuel injected that starts up. should i just stick with the 350 carburated that came out of a truck or should i look into the fuel injected 305. Id rather not mess with all the electronics on the 86 but would it be better to rebuild the 86 for performance or should i stick with the 350

i have the chance to buy a 1986 trans am complete for $200 can i use any of it for my 52 gmc 5 window, my truck is all apart right now i have a 350 with a 400 tranny waiting to be rebuilt and installed, i installed a 2000 trans am rear end on the chassis right now. should i swapp it for the 86 trans am rear? what else can i use from this car. ex" front disc brakes, steering column, gas tank etc. any help would be appreciate it. the engine in the 86 is a 305 fuel injected that starts up. should i just stick with the 350 carburated that came out of a truck or should i look into the fuel injected 305. Id rather not mess with all the electronics on the 86 but would it be better to rebuild the 86 for performance or should i stick with the 350

Luis,
Welcome to the bolt. The 86 may not provide you with many resources for your project as the rear end is considered too wide for the AD trucks and the front suspension does not lend itself to a straight forward transplant. The drivetrain though would be a good option even with all the electronics that go with it. The swap will not be easy but if you wanted easy you could go buy something else. Even the 2000 rear end you say you have installed may pose some fender clearance issues so you may want to check that before you go much further.

First, all things being equal I'd stick with the 350. Second, do you know what gears you have in both rears? Is there something wrong with the trans am rear that would make you think the 86 would be a better choice. I assume you've measured and both will fit. I would leave the rear alone unless the 86 has disc brakes. I know the 2002 rear disc brakes will bolt on to the 80s rears but not sure about the 86 to 2000.
You didn't say anything about your front suspension. The price is right, you could sell the 86 rear for 50.00+ and the whole thing for scrap metal for more than 200.00. You would have to measure the gas tank to see if it would fit. I would avoid the fuel injection route, it's a lot harder job setting up than the carb.

Just a point....the mid-80's Camaro/Firebird differential is 62" wide from wheel mounting plate to wheel mounting plate....within a 1/4" of the stock AD differential width.

I'm currently running an 88 Camaro/Firebird 3.42 drum diff and have also run an 89 IROC-Z posi/disc 3.08 on my daily driver 54 truck. When you convert to the 5 lug on 4-3/4" (Camaro/Firebird) bolt pattern you may have to buy aftermarket rims with 3-5/8-4" of backspacing if you go with 15x7 or 15X8" wheels. I scoured the j-yards for just one for a spare tire. This Back spacing will give you tie rod clearance with a 235/70/15's on a 5 lug front disc conversion and 255/70/15's on the rear if you chose to go with 15" rims.

The rear Camaro/Firebird sway bar is also applicable to the AD. Be sure to salvage the emergency brake cables as they can be slightly modified to work with the stock AD footbrake. Also the driveshaft.

Dave

You have to make the final decisions yourself. All I can give you is what I would do.

Having owned an '86 IROC-Z Camaro in the recent past, I can tell you that I love the torque response of the tuned port injection. The 305 needed it since that engine was such a dog. But bolt a tuned port on a 350 and you've got all kinds of torque. On the same 350, I previously had it in a Corvette with a Wieand Action Plus intake and a Holley 650 double pumper carb. When I bolted on the tuned port EFI, I'd say I easily picked up at least 50 lb-ft of torque everywhere in the rpm-band. The only thing I lost was the upper 300 rpm that I used to get with the carb. But with all that torque, I never missed it. The TPI has a reputation for running out of breath at about 4400 rpm, but I can tell you that it is more the RV-type stock cam that was to blame for that than the design of the TPI. I had an Iskendarian 270-Megacam in that engine, and with the tuned port bolted on, I easily made power to 5000 rpm, and I'd say it ran out of breath at about 5200 rpm. But it had torque enough to roast the tires for a full city block.

Why did I get rid of the '86 Iroc? I didn't want to tackle all the electronic gremlins. Mirrors that didn't work, door switches that quit working, broken wires in the engine bay from 21 years of baking in the heat and getting brittle, 21-year old fuel injectors that were all failing...I could have restored the IROC, but frankly, I didn't want to spend over a grand chasing all the electronic gremlins.

So based on that, $200 is a great price for a TPI Trans Am, but I would use it for a parts donor. Mostly because of the electronic gremlins in a car that old, and partly because the 305 will never be a good performance motor. You should pull off the tuned port, complete, manifold up to throttlebody, including the MAF sensor in front of the throttlebody. You could check the rear end ratio. But I could tell you what it is, depending on the options. If it is a manual transmission, then 3.23 was the standard rear end, with a 3.73 optional. If it's the auto tranny, then the ratio is a doggy 2.73. I'd say if the tranny works well, why not grab it, provided it's a stick shift. If it's the automatic, forget it. The 10-bolt used in 1986 uses a cone-type posi, which works very well until it wears out, and is considered non-rebuildable. You buy a new one. The year 2000 rear end is a perfectly good unit also, and is newer, and should also have disc brakes. It also has 14 years less wear on it. So I'd go with the 2000 diff unless the '86 diff is a 3.73. And if so, that would tempt me.
Or keep both diffs, one as a back-up.

I wouldn't try to reuse the stock wiring harness, but DO pull the computer and keep it. The stock harness will only save you $400 bucks over a brand new Painless harness, but like I said, it has been baked for 22 years and is brittle. It is worth $400 bucks to get a new harness. You can reuse the fuel injectors if they are in good shape. If they aren't, then buy a new set of those from Summit Racing.

Don't be afraid to cam up your 350. Just like any engine, the tuned port responds well to a slightly bumpy, rumbling cam upgrade.

And if you don't want to spend the cash now, then box up the TPI and run the carb for now, like I'm doing on my '52 GMC. Nothing wrong with that. But I WAS getting 22 mpg on a powerful '86 Iroc with that TPI. Something to think about.

Another real quick note. The reason I got away with 19 lb/hr 305 injectors was because I was at 6000 feet altitude, and with the thinner air, I got away with it on my 350. If you're at low altitude, you will need the 350's injectors.

Please see my response to this topic in Hipo.
Thanks.

The late 70s and early 80s camaro rears are also the perfect width for the AD. I'm running an 80 Camaro 10 bolt with 2002 Firebird disc brakes.

guys thank you very much for all of your responses, i agree with almost all of you now after a day of asking people and thinking about it. i really dont want to deal with all the wiring and computer harnesses. so i passed on the car. im going with my original plan with the 350 carburated and a 400 auto tranny. i just thought for the price that i should jump on the deal, but then again id rather spend the money on the engine i have now. plus the time i would take on stripping the car for the parts. a little re cap of my truck 52 GMC 5 window short bed. i have sand blasted the chassis painted it with por 15 and chassis black paint. installed a 2000 trans am rear end with 3:42 gears need to rebuild a 350 with a mild cam and a 400 auto tranny . future plans are to get some disc brakes up front, new fuel cell, new radiator,new brake lines, pretty much new everything mostly re do all the truck

thanks again guys for your time with the response i have some pics ill try to post some down the line once i figure it out

Sounds like a pretty nice ride.

Well I didnt know you could use the disc set up from the 2000s on the 80s that will make good use out of the 01 camaro rear I have laying around, we have a 81 z/28 that I can use it on. Is it a bolt on deal or lots of fab work required? I have a 54 gmc lb that I tryed to use the 01 rear in it is 65inches and that is too long, I then picked up a 89 350 iroc that had a disc brake 3.23 posi in it and it is going in the truck, it is 62inchs and fits great with the wheels and tires I have on it

Best thing to do is take measurements.

Well I don't know about other years but the 2002 Firebird rear discs will bolt right up to the 80 Camaro rear. I would not be surprised if other years will match as well but better look before you leap.

Cool thanks for the tip!!