Daily Driver Motor to replace 305

[tony49837]

1984 Grand Prix. ALL stock. 305 4bbl, TH350 3-speed, stock rear 2:73??

I'm looking for suggestions to swap a new SBC into my daily driver. Would like more get up and go then the original 305, but still quite reasonable / dependable for daily driving. I'm planning to keep the stock transmission and rear end. Considering GM Goodwrench NEW old style 350 direct swap. 260-290 HP, 350 torque. Would this be a nice ride or not much better then the stock 305??? Has anyone done this mild swap?

 

[Blake442]

I had one of those crate motors (got it for free out of a parts truck) in my 442 for a while after I blew up my 307.
It was a nice upgrade from the 307, but it still left a little to be desired.
I sold the motor to a friend after I pulled it out for the 455.

 

[MD13ailey]

Well considerin the 305 makes like 160hp goin up 130hp would be quite a noticable difference. I now have a 355 that makes like 350hp, but before that I had a 305 that we built up I had 041 cylinder heads that had been angle milled down to 50cc combustion chambers that were ported and polished, rpm air gap manifold, 750 holley carb, headers, 2 1/2" exhaust 2700 stall in the converter, a comp cams 268h and some other things and what we actually saw the most gain from was changing the rear end gear ratio. my car came with a 2.29 gear stock and we went to a 3.42 and it made a world of difference it was a whole new car. if you could i would do a gear change along with the new engine and i think you will be happy with it.