Stroking a 305

[DoubleV]

I believe the op's question has been answered and then some. Maybe we should start a new thread about the pros and cons of stock vs mods and our preferences/thoughts on it.

 

[fleming442]

I think that's been covered, too!
Oh wait, that was the cut up GN thread....

 

[CaliWagon83]

For what it's worth...Here's my take. We're judging a 35-40 year-old platform by 2010s standards. Of course it's going to look weak/deficient. What makes the G-Body appealing for those willing to put in the time (and money) to restore/upgrade them is they have huge engine bays that will take almost any engine, and if you're willing to beef up the frame and chassis, you can set them up to perform well at the track or strip.

Plus they do have kind of a classic look. More modern than the '60s and '70s stuff, but still kind of retro. Why do you think they're so big in the lowrider scene? If I didn't already have it in the family, I probably would have started with a different platform to restomod. But I have it, I have fond memories of it, and I think it'll be really cool fixed up.

 

[MrSony]

Man, what a tough crowd. A stock Gbody really isn't that bad when put in perspective. Mine was 100% unmolested and 100% maintained when I got it. It was fine...and exactly how it was intended. Gbodys weren't designed and built to be performance cars. What were their counterparts? Volare, Granada, AMC Concord, and later the Taurus, K-car, and Camry. Any real performance standouts there?
Yes, the G is a great platform for performance improvements but they aren't in any way immune to 30-40 years of salt, neglect and hackery. No car is.

Back to the OP's post, he was pretty clear that he wasn't interested in a 350 swap. I can respect that and that's the way I responded. I still think it'd be an interesting build that's likely to add some fuel economy along with a little extra grunt.
What I didn't add, and some of you other guys did, is that gearing is a great improvement for the money. Exhaust helps too but with a stock-ish 305 it's likely to be just as much placebo as actual performance gain.

Perspective for what? For what it was when it came out? Yeah, i mean, I guess it was comparible to cars of it's time. I really wouldn't know, being born 10 years after the discontinuation of the midsize GM RWD stuff, but I've driven a couple different models from the 80s, namely my regal and a fox body. Or you mean now as compared to modern cars? If one wants to drive these things daily (as I do), you have to upgrade things like the brakes and all related components, worn suspension components, bigger/wider wheels and tires for more grip during wet/snowy conditions. Our cars can't stop as quickly as a new Malibu or Fusion with our dinky 10" single piston front discs and rear drums. Nor can they take rapid side to side movement (swerving to avoid the literal 3'x4" diameter potholes near my house for example) as gracefully as modern cars can.

And Dear OP, I hope we didn't scare ya, or piss ya off enough to leave. We enjoy rambling about things that don't matter. If you want to do up the 305, **** it. Go for it. It's your car.

 

[MrSony]

For what it's worth...Here's my take. We're judging a 35-40 year-old platform by 2010s standards. Of course it's going to look weak/deficient. What makes the G-Body appealing for those willing to put in the time (and money) to restore/upgrade them is they have huge engine bays that will take almost any engine, and if you're willing to beef up the frame and chassis, you can set them up to perform well at the track or strip.

Plus they do have kind of a classic look. More modern than the '60s and '70s stuff, but still kind of retro. Why do you think they're so big in the lowrider scene? If I didn't already have it in the family, I probably would have started with a different platform to restomod. But I have it, I have fond memories of it, and I think it'll be really cool fixed up.

We have to judge them by modern standards. The roads aren't filled with g bodies and a bodies anymore. Hell, the only American RWD cars that are in production that I can name off the top of my head are the mustang, vette, camaro, challenger, and charger. Thats only 5! Everything else on the road is AWD/FWD, ABS, traction and stability control, blind spot monitoring, backup cameras, hell some cars even drive themselves, and some of those even do it successfully!

 

[olds307 and 403]

The G bodies for me are the last full frame, 2 door, rwd, Olds V8 powered cars made. Slap a decent Olds 350 or 403, paint it semi gloss back in a 442 with better exhaust and you have GN 1/4 mile times and only lose a couple of mpg with twice the fun as stock.

 

[DoubleV]

They we're some of the best selling cars of their time. Tons of people bought them and drove them daily year after year and they were happy. They were good enough for people back then but for todays generation they aren't good enough because they're being compared to modern cars.

I've never had a problem stopping in any of the gbodys I've owned. Are the brakes in gbodys good? No, but they're good enough to get the job done but people say you HAVE to upgrade them otherwise what.... you'll die?

Same with a bunch of other stuff people are always saying is a 'must' to upgrade. This is why you can't find unmolested gbodys, because Joe Bob Smith had to rip off the stock 'quadrajunk' and put a Holley on it , add an electric fan just because 'its better', and put in a th350 trans because the stock overdrive trans 'sucks'.

I like gbodys because I think they look cool and I was brought up in their era. I do not compare them to modern cars.

 

[Clone TIE Pilot]

Driving a G body or any 80s car in the 2010s is like driving a 20s Model T during the 50s, 30 years outdated. Its pretty pointless to compare antiques to modern cars. G bodies are the new Model Ts, they will never be like modern cars. That is not to say they can't be improved but you have to accept they are antiques now.

 

[Turbolq4]

Driving a G body or any 80s car in the 2010s is like driving a 20s Model T during the 50s, 30 years outdated. Its pretty pointless to compare antiques to modern cars. G bodies are the new Model Ts, they will never be like modern cars. That is not to say they can't be improved but you have to accept they are antiques now.

Even pretty hot G bodies will get smoked by a new Camry in every measurable way. Things that can't be measured is where our cars win. And win they do!

 

[CopperNick]

Hi all I'm still new to the forum but I'm looking for some help here. I have an 84 Grand Prix with a Chevy 305. The motor is getting old and tired (200,000 miles into its life) and it is time for a rebuild. The motor is starting to burn oil and I'd like to fix that before it gets too bad. The car is numbers matching and I'm intent on keeping it that way, I.E. don't want to drop in a 350 ect. I would However like to get a bit more power. I'm not looking for anything crazy as this car is my daily driver. I had started looking into stroking the motor to get a bit more out of it but can't really find much good info. Everything I find is people saying " just throw away the 305 and get a 350." I'd really like to get more input on what stroking a 305 entails. Questions like, will it have to be bored for con rod clearance or can I just get it bored say 0.010 for clean cylinder walls? Also reliability? This is my daily driver and I really don't want to have issues like overheating ect. I've never rebuilt a car engine before either and was curios how stroking it would effect compression ratio as I'd like to continue running regular 87 to 89 octane.

Thanks everyone.