SACAMARO

Right now I have a 91 Camaro with a 305 headders and 373 gears I was wondering if it would be a good idea to get 350 vortec heads with a new intake and bigger injectors or just upgrade to a full 5.7 vortec motor and just rebuild the motor and add headders a and bigger injectors maybe a cam?
What do you think I should do?

Apeiron

You'd lose compression with 350 heads.

SACAMARO

So just the full motor swap?

Apeiron

You could, or start with headers on the 305.

SACAMARO

I have headders on it with 373 gears already but I thought I would be able to get mor power with the vortec heads

Vega

They make vortec heads for 305s that basically give you just about all the flow and power advantages of 350 vortecs with the added advantage of smaller chambers so they wont kill your compression. Some say they flow worse than 350 vortecs, i dont doubt that since 305s werent really meant to be a performance engine, but they still flow very close to 350 vortecs and substantially better than stock 305 heads. Wish you were closer i have an awesome set of 305 vortecs that i have no use for anymore since i got rid of my 305 RS. Is yours a TBI or TPI car?

SACAMARO

Tbi set up

Apeiron

You can use 305 vortecs too, but that could mean another head swap if there is a 350 in the future.

SACAMARO

So pretty much just save the money and hold for a vortec 5.7

Vega

That makes it a bit easier to swap, in fact i bet you could do the whole build i planned on doing on my old RS. Was gonna throw the 305 vortecs on, a summit racing vortec intake, new non-computer controlled MSD distributor, Comp Cam, headers, and a set of springs that eliminate all of the clearance issues that come with running higher lift cams with vortec heads. I can send you links to the stuff if you like i still have them all saved cause i have a few friends who have TBI 305s and are planning to do similar builds. aftermarket exhaust and headers would be the place to start if you dont have the money to do a full top-end swap like i was planning. But the beauty of the top-end swap is its pretty cheap and a lot easier than swapping the entire motor as the shortblock will stay in the car, plus will have a dramatic impact on the car's performance. Lots of people dog the 305s but i think theres lots of untapped power in them. If planning a carb swap you would have to swap the fuel pump as well

Vega

Thats true, 305 vortecs wont work well with a 350, too much compression. My plan was to build my 350 after the top end swap and once the motor was done to a complete longblock swap, then sell the vortec heads for what i bought them for and use the rest of the top-end stuff on my 350 lol

SACAMARO

Yeah if you can I would really appreciate it I just want more power and I know I can get more power out the motor I just wanna make sure I getting all I can for my money and I'm doing it the right way

Vega

I'll post them here so anyone with more experience can chime in if they know of anything better to use or have any suggestions

SACAMARO

Kool thanks because right now the headers with the 373 gears it pulls pretty good but I want more power

Vega

http://www.alexsparts.com/valve-spri...rf-hyd-roller/
http://www.summitracing.com/parts/SUM-226018/
http://www.compperformancegroupstore...Code=RLERCAMXE

SACAMARO

So it's the cam springs and intake and all I would need are the heads right?

Vega

Youre already off to a good start with the gears and headers, thats the best place to start. The top link has springs that should be good for this combo and will solve the clearance issues. The intake is a cheap alternative to other name brand vortec intakes (also i hear these summit ones are the same or very comparable to Weiand intakes), and the cam will give you the best performance you can ask for before needing a new stall converter (i did that on purpose so i wouldnt have to buy extra stuff, just keeping the cost down, if you could afford an aftermarket stall you might benefit from a little more cam) also, thats a roller cam, so you should be able to use your stock roller lifters if you still have the LO3 in your 91'

SACAMARO

I'm not to sure but I wanna pull it apart but I can buy all that and use my same heads or would I need to get the vortec 305 heads

Vega

If you plan to run the TBI still, yes. 305 vortec heads can be found for cheap, most junkyards have a lot of them cause nobody wants them, they pick over the 350 vortecs instead, might be able to find some on craigslist. I got mine for $100 but expect between $150-$200 for a clean set. As for carb a 600cfm would do well, you could buy new or rebuild a used one its up to you, as well as brand, i like Holley but its just a prefference. If you swapped to a carb a fuel pump swap would be necessary since the stock pump has too much pressure for a carb. Also with a carb swap you need a stand-alone distributor, the stock computer controlled distributor wont work with a carb. I might be forgetting something but i think thats just about it

Vega

With that intake in the link you would need vortec heads, but keeping your stock heads you would need a non-vortec intake. Or i believe there are adapter plates you can use on your TBI intake to make it work with a carb if you wanted to go that route, but id recommend vortecs since the stock heads will choke the flow that cam would supply

SACAMARO

Yea I really wanted to stay with the TBI

Vega

Thats not a problem, however someone else would be more knowledgeable than me on building the TBI. I know they make TBI adapter plates for typical carb-style intakes though and i would recommend that with an aftermarket intake. Anything to help bump the flow up some. Maybe someone else can chime in on building the TBI

SACAMARO

Ok kool thanks a lot for all the help both of yall and thanks for the links I'm gonna look in to starting to get these but the vortec heads I can get them off of Craigslist or eBay?

Vega

Yeah, i got mine off craigslist, either would work though. Id just search "vortec" or "305 heads" i know the casting number of the heads i have is 059 so you could search that too, im not sure what the other casting numbers are i believe theres 2 other really popular ones (mines not so popular cause theyre marine heads), but you could search this site or google for the other casting numbers and search each casting number on craigslist, might turn up something. Good luck

SACAMARO

Yeah I found some but it said marine heads I didn't know if they would work too cast# 059

Vega

Those are the same ones i have lol, if theyre in good enough condition id run them, theyre the same as the other ones just used in a different application. Be sure to check the coolant passages as the marine motors typically use the water they run on as coolant so there will be some rust, its usually not too bad though, mine werent. How much are they asking for those? and do they have pics? what condition are they in?

SACAMARO

They are asking 200 they are painted orange and look like they have been taken are of real nice

SACAMARO

There off an 02 305

Vega

If theyre in good shape go for it, inspect the valves and coolant passages. $200 isnt bad but id offer $150, if you can get them for that price and all looks to be in good condition id jump on it. Those with an aftermarket cam will go a long way to wake up your peanut cammed LO3 haha. Sticking with the TBI will save you money on the swap too rather than the extra expenses of swapping to a carb. Its my belief that the roller-cammed 305s (like the LO3s) can be made into pretty stout performers with the right top end components. Also the stock rotating assembly is good for a 100-150 shot of nitrous

SACAMARO

Alright sounds good and the valves don't even look used

Vega

Yeah the 059 ones are usually in amazing shape except the coolant passages because of the marine use. Nobody runs their boats as much as their cars so they stay fresh longer. Mine are the same, other than a little paint flaking you would never know they werent brand new haha. I say go for it, just remember about the vortec intake, and look for a TBI adapter plate. The intake in the link i sent you would work great but you could just as easily shoot for an Edelbrock of some kind, might be able to ebay a used one but ive never had much luck with that

How are your RPMs at highway speeds with those rear gears? (60-70 or so), ive been looking to get some more gear in my Iroc but i think something was changed up when the tranny was rebuilt cause i cruise at about 2500 at 60mph in overdrive and i know its supposed to be closer to 1800. Then again my tach might just be off too lol. If the RPMs are good i might shoot for the 3.70 BW gear but for now im lookin at the 3.45s since i love highway cruising and dont want to hurt my already amazing highway mileage too bad. Im pretty sure something was changed in my transmission when it was rebuilt though

SACAMARO

The rpm's are pretty low in overdrive around that speed but I need to get my chip updated because it says I'm going faster then I really am with the posytrack that's the only down side I'll want to race and start pulling then get up to 110 on the speedometer and really I'm going Probly 90 to 100

Vega

Hm, im not sure if the speedo on those cars is controlled by the chip or not, i thought it was an electronic sensor in the tranny? or maybe you mean something else that im not picking up on lol, either way thanks for the info, i know somethins up with mine now cause i cruise way too high at 60 or so. I figure my tach may be off a little though cause i still get awesome mileage. I also know those 90-92 gauge clusters are a real PITA to keep healthy, my tach on my old 91' never worked right, i hear its pretty rare to come across a 90-92 cluster that has everything in perfect running order

SACAMARO

Oh alright so do you think it's that sensor in the trani