I have always dreamed of having a car that I can drive on the street and have fun on the track.With this in mind Ipurchased an 89 camaro hardtop,it has a 5 speed a 3.42 one legger dif and a anemic 2.8 v6,the engine is already gone so I dont have any plans for it except trashing it.The problem is I already got a 400 engine ,vortec heads and a 4.11 posi unit I took out of a blazer and headers but dont know wich transmision stick with I a couple choices first keep the 5 speed or drop a powerglide ,th350,th400 or 700r4.also wich cam and carburetor would be the best for my application I live about half an hour from the local track and expect a mid 12s performance.any help would be greatly appreciated.

sorry for the mispelling.

what kind of compresion dose it have? any porting on the heads? if it has 9.5 10. comp than check out the voodoo cams from lunati dont go to small on the lift id get the .525lift pn#638-60105lk from www.jegs.com  and roller rockers. carbs probaly go holley 770cfm street avenger. tran i would go with the th400 with a hard shift kit  just because i love mine. single plain intake thats what i would do but do as you wish have fun  

thanks for the input regarding my combo .
as for compresion its 11:5:1 without any porting on the heads,what do you think, can i make it into the 12s? what about cruising rpm? another question the car was originally fuel injected ,can i use the stock fuel delivery sistem with a regulator?

thanks in advance.

marc anthony

The Tremac 5 speed will not live long behind a 400, neither will that spindly 7.5 inch rear end that came with the 2.8 V6 on the other end.

You'll also have to add a major redo of the suspension and brakes for both ends. This is the kind of swap that looks simple at the begining, but will test your techncial and financial abilities befor its on the street.

A 400 inch motor, especailly a built 400, will need a beefy transmission, a race preped TH 350 or 400. The 700R4/4L60 is a good choice witha 4.11 rear as in OD it will hold the street revs down which is good if you use a wilder cam like the VooDoo. the down side is that the 700R4/4L60 runs a real low low which combined with a 4.11 is going to make traction out of the hole rather elusive. You could always go with a 6 speed stick. Actually the cost of that against a built auto and high stall converter may not be all that different.

The rear at a minimum will need to be a 8.5 inch, a GM 12 bolt of Ford 9 inch would be better. 

Bogie

hi mark, sounds like you're ready to get deep in this project, i have a couple ideas to keep you from getting deep in your pockets. to ease to the walk through i'll start at the rear of the camaro. you say 12's and some street time? it can be done very easily with your basic layout. as the guys said earlier, the 7.5 will die if using sticky tires and much stall at all on the launch. plan on the thing breaking. an investment in maybe moser's 12 bolt or similar rear would fit your plans. they are a bit salty, being 1500 +/-. however the thing will allow for tons of abuse at the track and future engine enhancements. as for the tranny, /th700 has a 3.06 1st, and a horrible 1st to 2nd gear drop. the convertors are very expensive for this model trans also, it does have an upside being the od. offering reasonable highway rpm's. consideringthe money it would take to get the thing to live behind a motor with decent torque would in my opinion count it out. the th 400 is bullet proof but is comparatively heavy and eats power.  a non lockup model th350 make the most sense to me giving the description of you intentions. 400's are strong in the lower rpm's so stay around 2200 adv stall making a convertor for the car/combination very reasonable in this 400/th350/4.11 3rd gen.with a 255/50/15 street tire 60 mph will have you turnin' very near 3000 rev's, this will drop some if you run a 28x9 at the track. a 400 near stock internals and near stock vortec heads,(you'll need to check retainer to guide clearance with anything bigger than .430/.440 lift. ) if things are good run something similar to comps xe 274, it is a fantastic cam good streetability, nice idle and will pull your 3500 pound car really well and wont beat the crap out of your valve springs, edelbrock performer rpm (check hood clearance) a holley 650/ 700 dbl pmp carb, 1 5/8 headers w/2 1/2s out the back. as for ignition a simple fat cap gm hei witha msd 6 a will handle what you're into. this combo will have you well into the twelves. if you get the n2o bug, stay really consevative without forged pistons, ect.... 100 shot will bring you an 11 something if your air is anygood at all. were at 800 feet here and this time of year the cars run well. the cam will operate the factory disk/drum set up on the car. overheating won't be an issue with such a tame combo, it'll make make a nice, stout street car, with respectable track times.good luck let me know what ya think.

The voodoo cams from lunati SUCK!  I replace my Comp XE 268 with a Voodoo 268 after reading all the ads about the Voodoo Magic.  It sounded Great and had a nice lope but Flat out sucked with power and Torque compared to the Competition.  THat Voodoo magic is all advertisement.  I put a COMP cam back in and the difference was Night and day.  STICK with a COMP Cam !  

i agree on the mouse anyway.... those voodooo's beat the crap out of valve springs too. i think they are over rated too much hype.