Chevy 350 or 305

[SScamino]

It was pretty slow but had some get and go to it but Probably cause of my 3.73s.

the 305 spools up quicker than a 350 so it just wasn't the gears. I have an Eldibrock SP2P on my current 305 with a qjet that was built by a guy who use to build carbs for nascar and it goes pretty good even with the 3:08 I have in the back end..

I probably over exaturated, it wasnt slow, but it wasnt fast, it was just fun I guess, I could spin both wheels from a dead stop into second then chirp the wheels, it could take fox mustangs and mild 350s easy, I just wanted something more, the cam went south on that motor, its still on my stand... when I did the tear down there was rust on all cylinder walls 8 lifters had concaved and the pistons were just junk bearing scuffed probably from the cam metal shavings. I was surprised to see rust, water never got in it and its been rebuilt/bored before.

 

[SScamino]

blizack
Nope, at the flywheel

custom442
Funny you should say that, I got the engine free. It came with a bunch of parts that I sold off seperate for more than I paid. OH, and that $4,000 you said I would need, is that labor included, Or just in parts?

I think most everybody here has atleast once wanted to prove to everybody that a 305 can make some serious power.. and can it? yes... is it worth it.. no.. look a 305 was built to move whatever chevy built for it. It is no means a performance motor. You can make 1 horsepower a cubic inch with it really easy. but 400 nope sorry. You'll need more than 2000 dollars. I hope you prove me wrong though.

 

[custom442]

before I spent 4k on an engine build I'd go get me a plug and play ZZ4.....

not if you've got results like mine

The machine shop where I had the block done was top notch, 600$ is pricey for an old block, but you can see for yourself the quality of the job in some of my pics. It was actually a good deal for boil, magnaflux, bore, hone, align hone, new main caps, new bearings, freeze plugs, coating, and clearancing for the 400 crank... I'm sure I forgot to mention something in there

 

[pontiacgp]

before I spent 4k on an engine build I'd go get me a plug and play ZZ4.....

not if you've got results like mine

The machine shop where I had the block done was top notch, 600$ is pricey for an old block, but you can see for yourself the quality of the job in some of my pics. It was actually a good deal for boil, magnaflux, bore, hone, align hone, new main caps, new bearings, freeze plugs, coating, and clearancing for the 400 crank... I'm sure I forgot to mention something in there

no, because I'll have around 450 hp/tq outta my 383, and then I'll throw a 75 shot on and it'll be the same price as your built 305. Who's feeling silly now?

It'd be easy and cheap to get the 450 hp out of a ZZ4 and BTW we all know alot of HP sounds impressive but it's torque that moves the vehicle

and custom....the crate engine that are being sold today are beating out the engine builders prices and unless you have a machine shop to do all the work needed it's cheaper to by a crate. Alot of guys are buying the ZZ4 and upgrading them for the dragstrip...you'll find a good assortment of new ZZ4 parts for sale that have been removed for the upgrades.

 

[custom442]

It'd be easy and cheap to get the 450 hp out of a ZZ4 and BTW we all know alot of HP sounds impressive but it's torque that moves the vehicle

and custom....the crate engine that are being sold today are beating out the engine builders prices and unless you have a machine shop to do all the work needed it's cheaper to by a crate. Alot of guys are buying the ZZ4 and upgrading them for the dragstrip...you'll find a good assortment of new ZZ4 parts for sale that have been removed for the upgrades.

I've read the book on goodwrench/zz4 builds, can't remember which one it was but it's at the local barnes and noble. Remember this is a 383 not a 350. I looked into crate vs. home built for about 6 months and found it wasn't even in the same ballpark. If you want the same power with a zz4 you're going to need aftermarket heads or a lot of head work on the stock ones. You're also going to need forged pistons and maybe a new crank. The only reason they even have 400 tq to begin with is the compression is bumped up to 10.0, now lets say you're successful and add 100hp for a few hundred bucks on a zz4 :? , you're still not coming anywhere close to what the torque of the same sized engine with a longer stroke brings. I found if you're building from scratch it's not cost effective for anything less than a 383. And it really isn't, it would've costed about 300$+ less to build a 355.

Not to mention the cheapest zz4 around is about 4 grand, and that's only a long block without shipping price included.

 

[CaStylin]

IMO, if you want to make it for power then get the 350, if you just want to change a couple of things out (intake mani, Carb, headers) then stick with the 305

 

[pontiacgp]

Not to mention the cheapest zz4 around is about 4 grand, and that's only a long block

what do you think a long block is?.....all I know is the engine builders around here are loosing their shirts to the crate engines. The circle track racers have almost al gone with the GM crates ..one guy last year had 7 grand in his 350 and he tossed it after a few races to drop in a 602 crate....we had 4200 in the bottom end of a 350 and that didn't include the heads....we took that out cause the crates put out more consistent power for the $ than we could have them built....and for the ZZ4 you don't have to take my word on it cause there is a bunch of guys running at the strip with a modified ZZ4 and they wouldn't be doing it if they were not getting the results they are looking for....we have forrest and forrest right up the street from our race shop and they build engines for the super modified circle track cars and they don't even try to compete with the crate engines of the lower class circle track cars because they could not complete with the price....I don't know how your building your engine for as little money as you stated but if you can you need to open up an engine shop....BTW I hope you remember the grind off the excess casting below the cylinders to make room for the rotating crank....

 

[custom442]

Pontiac gp - the grinding has already been done, it came with the block - I mentioned before it was clearanced for a 383. My finished long block (without accessories/manifold/carb/etc was what I meant-- and 'think' a long block is) is the same price as a new 4,000$ zz4. I have receipts to prove it, like I said, this was researched for months before making a decision. I saved $ on a cast crank and aluminum pistons. It also is a 2bolt main, but even with a cast crank/hypereutectics/2bolt, I'm sure it will be fine under 550 hp. This is what a number of sources have told me... so If I wanted to get some more power I can always add a shot of nitrous if I'm not where I want to be. As insurance, I won't be going over 500hp/tq though

And it is also very possible with some nice vortec heads to build a 400 hp 383 for 3,500$. The machine shop that did the work on the block gave me a lot of tips and options. They told me where to save and where to spend to get the most for my dollar

btw, I'm not sure why you sometimes ask me a lot of questions about simple things like the long block thing. I'm not complaining, just wondering why

 

[pontiacgp]

I can see now how your building the engine on your budget...I would strongly suggest tho that you get yourself some 4 bolt main caps and modify the block for the 4 bolt mains....the larger size of the crank will significantly add to the weight of the rotating mass...plus a cast crank along with its questionable quality is heavier than a forged crank

 

[kingcolbert83]

Everybody is saying do the 350 because it's larger displacement. If thats the case then why isnt anybody telling him to just get a low mileage bbc. If the motor was in good condition then he could reuse most of the parts, get the heads redone with cam, intake, carb, ignition and be in that range for about the same price he is going to spend on building a complete 350. We know he will have tons of torque and we know torque wins races. I've seen bbc budget buildups for under 1500. Granted that was with a good block and reusing parts but stock bbc are more than capable of his power range.

http://www.popularhotrodding.com/engine ... index.html

This is a good build on a 305 making good numbers and nothing major to the internals was done. Now if that is a good efficient engine with good numbers then I dont know what is.