Anyone in NJ have a 350/290 or 350/265?
- Thread starter Cuse99
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If you're trying to get an idea of butt dyno, there's so many variables - car weight, rim size, tire size, gearing, transmission/valve body/TC stall, exhaust, cat, headers, so on so forth that can and will throw it off from what you feel in your car.
Also, read what they do to the engine during testing to get those numbers. It'll never make it in the real world dropping into a stock application.
Also, read what they do to the engine during testing to get those numbers. It'll never make it in the real world dropping into a stock application.
I can't help with your specific request, but will echo ck80 post. We installed tons of these in various shops I worked for over the years. Out of the crate they're nothing special but did have a good warranty. They're basically just a smog era replacement until you upgrade the cam and start bolting better parts on the outside. Gearing will make a bigger difference than anything else based on seat-o-the-pants.
Those two engines won’t be very powerful compared to other performance cars on the road if that’s what you are looking for. I’ve worked on two but didn’t own them and can’t speak for their reliability.
Someone once told me about buying an engine you didn’t built yourself “you get what you pay for”. The only crate engine I’ve ever bought myself was a zz383 from GM but that was a different animal. Made a little more power than advertised at the flywheel. Compression ratio also checked out to be slightly higher than advertised, which was not what I wanted. Bought in 2008 and still going strong.
Someone once told me about buying an engine you didn’t built yourself “you get what you pay for”. The only crate engine I’ve ever bought myself was a zz383 from GM but that was a different animal. Made a little more power than advertised at the flywheel. Compression ratio also checked out to be slightly higher than advertised, which was not what I wanted. Bought in 2008 and still going strong.
I appreciate your response. I have a follow up question. What was the power of the new motor compared to the original 305? My research is the original 305, back was it was new and efficient and didn't have 100K miles on it, was 115 HP. So if the new motor 350/265 is lets say 235 HP, that would be just over double the power. Is that what you say when you installed these motors?
Thanks but I'm not looking for performance. I'm looking for an easy swap, can use 87 octane gas, and get more power than what I currently have which is about 100hp. This is a daily driver El Camino, not a weekend warrior car.
When you did the swap do you remember what the performance was like compared to the original 305?
FWIW, I think your research is off if you're talking a factory 1984 LG4 305 v8.
Gm played with numbers for marketing reasons.
Some lg4s were rated as low as 150hp. The identical v8 in the same year grand prix would get labeled 160hp, likely because there was no high output optional motor upgrade like the l69 mcss, the lc2 regal, the lg8/vin 9 cutlass.
Fbody lg4s had slightly better exhaust and were rated 165-170hp.
But to call it 115hp you're way way low.
I’d step up to the vortec. With the roller cam and newer heads I’m sure your mileage will be better than the other engines.
I honestly think the very best option is to see what this engine is like in a car that I can drive. I'm not really looking for dyno numbers and the variables are not enough to make a difference in my application. I just want to see what this engine is like in a car when I drive it around the block. But I do appreciate the feedback.
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If you're just looking to swap out a tired 305 for a standard crate 350 and reuse all the stock externals, it'll behave very similarly to what you have. The extra 45 cubic inches will give you a predictable increase in power but it'll be proportional. That's true at the gas pump too. You'll notice the difference but it won't be dramatic.
The base crate 350s are reliable because they're tame. If there is a drawback, it's the flat tappet cam, so you'll need a bottle of additive with each oil change. Other than that, they're just fine as long as you've got realistic expectations. There's a reason GM has sold millions of them.
The base crate 350s are reliable because they're tame. If there is a drawback, it's the flat tappet cam, so you'll need a bottle of additive with each oil change. Other than that, they're just fine as long as you've got realistic expectations. There's a reason GM has sold millions of them.
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