butt hurt over my 305

[speedbob]

Ok.. im not new to gbody cars..my first was bought in 1986..it was a 1979 monte that i drove for 10 years +..

Ok so i like the 305 chevy motor..frikin bulletproof!
My question is why is everybody so against the little small block? I had a 1973 mustang with a 302 in it and not one person that rode in it said" you gotta go bigger" It was fast.. Why dont we associate the smaller block chevy's with power?

I am building my 1983 malibu and was going to throw a few bucks at it..for a reliable cruiser with a bit of gitty up.

I am not planning on a rebuild but just a simple carb, intake,distributor,new valve covers and a air cleaner.

sense i am already taking it apart should I just change the cam and lifters also?
I was thinking of getting the edelbrock performer stick. Has anyone installed that one? and if so how did it perform? Did you install another brand, any suggestions would be very helpful.
Robert

 

[speedbob]

Oh.. someday my new car is going to be a bigblock so throwing a 350 in it is out..When i do pull the little chev out a 454 is going in so for now I just want a bit more pep in the step..so to speak

 

[Longroof79]

Bob,
Most guys choose to go with a small block 350 instead of the 305. More bang for the buck. I'm not saying that you can't make a reliable cruiser using the 305. But you don't want to dump too much dough into it.
My wagon originally came with a 305, 4-bbl. It ran great up until I pulled it out of the car at 96,000 mi. I was able to obtain a free 350 4-bolt main truck engine. I just had all the machine work done, assembled it. and swapped it one weekend.
I like the increased power from the 350. The 305 seemed to run out of steam on the expressway. The 350 just keeps pulling.
I can also thank a hotter cam, headers, etc. for that.

But if you plan on going with a big block, I suppose you can keep the 305 alive for as long as you need to.

 

[jrm81bu]

The Ford 302 like the Chevy 350 doesn't suffer from the small bore that the 305 does. The bore is the main limiting factor of the 305, it just can't breathe that well.

 

[Clone TIE Pilot]

305 breathe well, just not past 6,500 RPM. They have the same bore / stroke ratio as 383s. 305s are low reving motors which somewhat limits their potential with common hotrodding tactics. Plus they are one of the smaller SBCs made but most of the hate torwards them stems from ignorance and parroting hate talk. It's not hard to get 300 Hp out of them in street legal form but that is their practical limit.

 

[dragonmaster093]

actually with cam lifters heads and carb a car mag mode 340-360hp out of a stocl lower end and every pc could be later used in a 350 build, so in my opinion put in a cam an intake and carb and enjoy the red headed step child sbc

 

[GuysMonteSS]

Heres a link to a car mag 305 build;
http://www.popularhotrodding.com/engine ... ne_blocks/
Guy

 

[DRIVEN]

I have no hate for 305s. They have proven track record as an economical and reliable engine. When choosing upgrade parts I think it would be wise to select things that enhance torque rather than horsepower. The 305's small bore and long stroke will respond better to torque mods. The Edelbrock Performer combo is a safe bet for a street cruiser. I also like Comp's Xtreme Energy line. They make great torque and have a little more noticeable idle. Any entry level dual plane intake is probably fine. Not a huge performance difference over a stock cast Qjet intake but saves some weight and looks better. A Qjet would be my first choice but a small Holley or Edelbrock is fine too. Your stock HEI is fine. You could buy a recurve kit and experiment with that but unless you want to drop some real money on a DUI unit there's really no advantage. The $99 "new" HEIs that everyone sells are a waste of money. Stock exhaust is restrictive but fine for a cruiser so I wouldn't spend anything on headers.

What's the rest of your combination? Overdrive? Gearing?

 

[speedbob]

wow i was not expecting so much feedback. Thanks all.

Ok well my gearing is stock. I just got the 83 wagon. Trans is a 350. rear is stock gears. Probably freeway gearing. I have not checked yet. The car is going to be built for the freeway.

The popular hot rodding 305 is very interesting but I dont want to keep the motor so buying heads and exhaust are out. I would rather save that money for a big block later in the future.

So the cheep hei are crap? this is a cheep build for now, at the least for the little 305. If i spend more on the hei to rid the computer can i use the new hei on a big block?
I already have an edelbrock performer and a new quadrajet carb.(non computer).
At 130.000 miles on the motor you would not be able to tell with the valve covers off. nice and clean and no smoking.
Thanks,Robert

 

[DRIVEN]

SBC and BBC HEI is interchangeable so you can use it on your next engine. If yours is CCC then I would consider a factory non-computer controlled distributor from the wrecking yard or CL.
Gearing is probably the best bang for the buck to make your car feel like it has more power. I found that going from 2.29s and a TH200 to a set of 3.42s and a 200-4R I had the same cruise rpm on the freeway but way quicker acceleration. Try this calculator to see what your optimal combination would be. http://www.angelfire.com/fl/procrastination/rear.html