Dumping money into a 305...Worth It????

In my 83 Z28 I have a 305 with big plans to modify. I was told that putting heads and cam and the rest of the good stuff was a waste of time on a 305. Is this true? I was told to get a 350 block and build up from there, new heads, cam, exhaust the usual and will get much more out of the 350 vs. 305 with the same mods.

get a 350. people build up 305s because they dont have a lot of cash. like me. you can get power out of them but they arent reliable with that much power. they have a weak crank and a 2 bolt main. plus 350s are more popular and you can get more parts for them. about 1500 dollars is the limit on my engine, cuz if it blows i dont wanna loose all that money.

yea i have a very similar set up as you as far mods go on my 305. Edelbrock 4 bbl carb, edelbrock performer rpm intake, no emissions, headers straight pipes. I was planning on getting a new cam and heads, but I don't want to put it on my 305. Because I could a lot more if all this was on a 350.

There is nothing wrong with the 305's crank. Other than the ballance its the same crank in the 350's. And a 4 bolt main is unnesseary for street use. There was an article in a recent Camaro Performes mag tht did an upper end build adding 150hp to a 305.

http://www.goingfaster.com/spo/343hp305.html
http://www.goingfaster.com/spo/325_horsepower_305_cid_chevrolet.html

Them are some impressive numbers from a 305. Gives me a little hope. I still think I would like to do a full swap and just slowly build on a 350 over time (you know as the money slowly comes in.) This way I can still drive my car until the 350 is ready to be swapped, then start stripping her down. Im trying to post a pic of my car so you all can see it. 

Alright my pic is up, it's no very clear. I need to take one in better day light so you can see her shine. 

Clean looking 83!
You know thouigh you can do stuff like exhaust because it will switch over to a 350. Intake too if you plan on keeping the Q-jet if its still on there. If you don't go with a spread bore then you would need an adapter.
I tuned my q-jet. Did an edelbrock intake and TES and flowmaster. MSD wires and cap. Accel coil on my 84 Z28 and it ran great! Way better than my TBI I have now. I eventualy added a chip and a MSD 6A but the best thing I did was replace the worn timing chain with a Cloyes double roller. The old stock link chains are crap and have plastic teeth on the cam gear. Amazingly enough mine had no broken teeth. But it had lots of slop.

yea i have quite a few things done to the 305, i listed my mods a few post up. Take a look, I know all this will switch over. The car runs great, but I need more power. If I were to take my car to a shop would they be able to tune it. I know they tune the new LS1 and say how great a good tune really is, but does the same apply for a carburated car? 

a 350 block is the same as a 305 block its just different heads

quote:

ORIGINAL: TRIPSxZ28

In my 83 Z28 I have a 305 with big plans to modify. I was told that putting heads and cam and the rest of the good stuff was a waste of time on a 305. Is this true? I was told to get a 350 block and build up from there, new heads, cam, exhaust the usual and will get much more out of the 350 vs. 305 with the same mods.

quote:

ORIGINAL: 89rscamaro

a 350 block is the same as a 305 block its just different heads

Way off. A 350 block has a bigger bore. 4" inches compared to the 305 at 3.7. The 305 heads have smaller chambers because of the smaller bore and will bolt to a 350. Doing that is an effective way to raise compression.

If I get the car dyno tuned will this make a difference in how it runs. They say getting a tune on the new LS1 is huge step. The LS1 is all computer and stuff. Can the same be achieved by dyno tuning a carburated car?

If you have the computer controled carb then probley the best thing for you to do is to change the secondary metering rods and hanger (AH rods and G hanger might be best) and get a chip for it.

Yea I dont know what that means??? How can you tell if you have computer controlled carb? What  would the chip do for and old car like mine?

you can have a different bore but still have the same block. are you saying a 350 bored .30 over doesnt have the same block as the reg 350 because the bore size is bigger? is that also why a 350 will bolt right in to a 305's place

quote:

ORIGINAL: MadMikeZ28

quote:

ORIGINAL: 89rscamaro

a 350 block is the same as a 305 block its just different heads

Way off. A 350 block has a bigger bore. 4" inches compared to the 305 at 3.7. The 305 heads have smaller chambers because of the smaller bore and will bolt to a 350. Doing that is an effective way to raise compression.

quote:

ORIGINAL: 89rscamaro

you can have a different bore but still have the same block. are you saying a 350 bored .30 over doesnt have the same block as the reg 350 because the bore size is bigger? is that also why a 350 will bolt right in to a 305's place

Small block is a small block with one rare exception. But your statement that a 350 and 305 are the same blocks is some what correct but saying just the heads are different changes the satemnet to being wrong.
There is no way you could bore a 305 bigger to make a 350. Not enough material. You can not interchange pistons because of the size differences in the bores. You could interchange heads though. You could also interchange cranks but the 305 is ballanced for the less weight of the 305 pistons.

Is anyone gonna answer my questions?

there isnt a computer controlled carb..at least not that i know of, there wouldnt be a chip either.

quote:

ORIGINAL: TRIPSxZ28

Is anyone gonna answer my questions?

MadMike any response to your message? Is yours a computer controlled carb. Cause ive never heard of that either. What about getting the car dyno tuned?

There is a computer controled carb. It will have wires going to it. There will be a plug for a Throttle Position Sensor and a plug for a Mixture Control Solenoid. Its commonly refered to as a feedback carb. California had computers since 79. I never leave out the posibilty that other states caught up,  the vehicle could have been from CA. or a person could be speaking to us from California.

quote:

ORIGINAL: TRIPSxZ28

yea i have a very similar set up as you as far mods go on my 305. Edelbrock 4 bbl carb, edelbrock performer rpm intake, no emissions, headers straight pipes. I was planning on getting a new cam and heads, but I don't want to put it on my 305. Because I could a lot more if all this was on a 350.

So many post ago I do not remember so I just looked back and see you do not have a feedback carb.

Yeah, i didn't think so. But the carb was on the car when i bought it, so there was a chance i could have been wrong.
So this is what im thinking----350 block, new pistons, holley systemax top end kit, holley 750 cfm carb.
Here is link for the top end kit.  http://store.summitracing.com/egnsearch.asp?N=700+309613+4294840140+115+4294925044

I have a 305 TPI in mine, I heard it's a good reliable engine, that does well with mods.
 
I could care less what my car has, as long as it has the V8 rumble.

check this site out     for the 305 

http://www.goingfaster.com/spo/modthel03.html

Thanks for the link, it had some good points, but it was like a badly written book.