Is it worth rebuildng a 305

[85 Cutlass Brougham]

If you are building an engine, don't waste your time overhauling the 305. Get a 302, 327, 350 or 400 as your starting point instead. If you just want to add bolt on's, add some to the 305 as they will be reusable on a better SBC. I just woldn't put all the time and effort into a 305 when the 350 will return much better performance for the same amount of time and money invested. I am someone who has messed with a few oddballs in my time too, not just some Chevy fan boy. My oddities include an AMC 232 L6 and an AMC 360 V8. They were so expensive for so little that my next build was the 355 I have now. Good performance and cheap to build.

 

[229MonteHO]

I've had a pretty potent 305 before, in my '78 Landau. It had an Edelbrock Performer intake with a Qjet, Crane cam (.425 lift, 268 duration from what I was told), and duals off the manifolds with Flowtech mufflers. It was surprisingly quick, but the engine was tight and right. It had over 100k miles on it, but about 80% was highway. If the engine is long in the tooth and needs some major work however, I'd go the 350. If you can pick up a 305 for nothing or next to nothing, and it's in good nick (and you don't plan on boiling off the rear tires) then for a mild street motor it should be ok.

Aaron