Can you get a lot of power out of a 305?

[Qdub24]

350s are a dime a dozen and dirt cheap. Just buy one and you'll be happier in the end. Sell that 305 to someone who needs a motor for their daily driver or something. The statement is still true for the most part however, "there is no replacement for displacement", except forced induction and nitrous.

 

[DeltaT]

If you want displacement on the cheap, consider throwing in a Buick 455 or a Caddy 501 motor. They drop right into our G-bodies and are cheap as heck in the boneyards. And there are speed parts available - manifold, cam, headers, etc. anytime you want to beef it up. I think you could do a 455 with headers, cam and manifold for $2500 if you are creative. Of course you will need eventually to beef up you whole driveline to handle the torque, but bang for the buck, this is a great swap.

Jim

 

[-83MONTESS-]

If you want displacement on the cheap, consider throwing in a Buick 455 or a Caddy 501 motor. They drop right into our G-bodies and are cheap as heck in the boneyards. And there are speed parts available - manifold, cam, headers, etc. anytime you want to beef it up. I think you could do a 455 with headers, cam and manifold for $2500 if you are creative. Of course you will need eventually to beef up you whole driveline to handle the torque, but bang for the buck, this is a great swap.

Jim

Or you could take that $2500 and build a 350 because I know everyone wants to hear that lol. But yea the buick 455 would definatley be the way to go if you could find one in good shape cheap. Around here the only turn key 455s are oldsmobiles. For some reason the buicks arent nearly as popular here.

 

[yourownself]

if you're in new england i'll give you a 350 block. sh*t you can have 2! don't waste your time on a 305 unless you're worried about originality of the car.

 

[malibu78]

if you're in new england i'll give you a 350 block. sh*t you can have 2! don't waste your time on a 305 unless you're worried about originality of the car.

sh*t I just might take you up on that I'm in MA

 

[yourownself]

if you're in new england i'll give you a 350 block. sh*t you can have 2! don't waste your time on a 305 unless you're worried about originality of the car.

sh*t I just might take you up on that I'm in MA

i'm about 20 mins south of boston.
one's in pretty good shape, has been sitting outside, so you'll want to have some machine work done to it, but it's a roller block. already 0.040 over. the other will probably be used as weight the next time i junk a car.
both have cranks and pistons. come get 'em!

 

[torjan]

How about using a 400 SBC? some here in Germany think a destroked 400 would be a really nice engine choice :wink:

 

[buickestate]

Most guys will say forget your 305 and build up a 350, the fact is yes 45 more cubes makes a differance in both torq and horse power.

That point is made every time this subject is brought up and the true answer to initial question never gets answered.

The fact is yes you can get a lot of hp and torq out of a 305. Not every one here is interested in building a race ready lumpy cam drag car. Some guys here just want to keep their clean mostly original G bodies clean and original with numbers matching enignes, and simply want to get a bit more out of the 305 that GM put in their cars. Simple things like a better cam, timming gears and chain, intakes, headers and dual exhaust, rebuild the carb or even a better aftermarket carb, better ignition, plugs & wires. Do some or all of those mods as budget allows and the 305 will wake up, do them all and your 305 should give you one horse or better per cube.

Keep in mind that most performance parts for the 350sbc will bolt right on your 305, and vice versa, so down the road if you want you can swap most of the performance parts you put on your 305 on a 350 if you desire the extra 45 cubes.

Even the LO3 fuel injected 305 in my 91 Roadmaster wagon has more hp and torq stock than most 350's had in the late 70's and early 80's.

the bottom line is, it's your car do what you want to do and stay with in your budget, and Never forget to have Fun with it.

 

[malibu78]

Most guys will say forget your 305 and build up a 350, the fact is yes 45 more cubes makes a differance in both torq and horse power.

That point is made every time this subject is brought up and the true answer to initial question never gets answered.

The fact is yes you can get a lot of hp and torq out of a 305. Not every one here is interested in building a race ready lumpy cam drag car. Some guys here just want to keep their clean mostly original G bodies clean and original with numbers matching enignes, and simply want to get a bit more out of the 305 that GM put in their cars. Simple things like a better cam, timming gears and chain, intakes, headers and dual exhaust, rebuild the carb or even a better aftermarket carb, better ignition, plugs & wires. Do some or all of those mods as budget allows and the 305 will wake up, do them all and your 305 should give you one horse or better per cube.

Keep in mind that most performance parts for the 350sbc will bolt right on your 305, and vice versa, so down the road if you want you can swap most of the performance parts you put on your 305 on a 350 if you desire the extra 45 cubes.

Even the LO3 fuel injected 305 in my 91 Roadmaster wagon has more hp and torq stock than most 350's had in the late 70's and early 80's.

the bottom line is, it's your car do what you want to do and stay with in your budget, and Never forget to have Fun with it.

Thanks, I am only looking to stay within a budget, and want to do things as I have the money so I think I'm going to build up my 305 a bit. and maybe down the road pick up a 350 besides my 305 only has 68,000 miles on it.

 

[megaladon6]

i wouldn't do more to a 305 than can be transferred to a 350. get rid of the emissions crap, put in a dual exhaust, dual plane intake (may not be worth it to swap though), swap to a 3.42 rear if it's a 200-4r.
a 305 takes too much work and money to make decent power. remember, you need 350hp at the flywheel to make 300hp at the wheels and 350hp is about all you can get from a 305 without forced induction. spend the same $$ on a 350 and you will make more power, at a lower RPM--where you can use it!
as to the question about a 400--a destroked 400 (about 377ci) is a ****in beast! you still have the low end torque/driveability of a 350, but the higher RPM and HP of a semi-race motor without major cash. and it will LIVE at 7000RPM. you can embarrass porsche drivers left and right. along with BMW's.