my 84 trans am just had it's 700r4 transmission rebuilt last summer. the engine soon went bad and has sat since. the engine runs and sounds great when warmep up. I want more than the stock 305 G engine has but want to keep my trans. since we already put out money on it and are on a tight budget.I'm in a small town and not many people work on these or want to give more power to these cars out here. one shop builds a lot of drag cars and he said he could take my 305, bore it out etc.. and could give me 400 hp if I want it. I said I only want about 330-360 since I'm not going to race it but would like to have the power.I was thinking a 350 turnkey b/c I want a/c and all the bolt up items ready to go so I don't have to buy them. found one from jegs 350 330hp with a/c belts and all ready to go for $4700. the guy i talked to said he could get that or more for me for around 3000-4000 with my 305 and keep my a/c etc. and that includes installing it. I don't want to spend more than 4500 for the engine. is that I good idea about just redoing my 305 or is there a complete turnkey somewhere for a better price???

 

If you're going to spend the money on parts for rebuilding, you're better off doing it in a 350.

Any engine you buy isn't likely to be "turn-key" to the point of including an A/C compressor and such, but there wouldn't any point to that anyway.

What exactly is wrong with your 305 right now?

 

it has 3 cylinders that are very low in compression. the last time it was taken to town it would only run for 15 minutes the when turning or coming to a stop it would die and take about 10 minutes to start again. not overheating and no coolant in the oil. it starts now but shakes very bad and you have to hold the gas until it warms up. I ran it for twent minutes the otherday and it nevered died but I wouldn't trust taking it out on the road. I just want an entire engine ready to go so I don't have to worry about trying to find the right a/c , p/s, right pullys etc. that will work with my 700r4 trans. and stay under $4500 dollars

 

You don't need to worry about finding the right a/c, p/s pulleys or anything, because you already have them all.

 

every engine I find as a 350 for under $4000 still doesn't include everything I need and I'm sure it will cost more than 5 when all the parts are said and done and another 500 to install it. it's my car and my husband said whatever is fine with me. we are getting a loan to restore the car completely including paint. I just want what's in my budget for the engine.I'm paying off my 99 trans am this month and I don't want another $360 payment each month. I just don't know anything about correct parts for other engines. I can work on mine but that's it.
----------
so my parts from my 305 would fit on the 350?

 

They're not supposed to include everything, because you already have everything bolted on your engine right now. All of that can be reused on a new engine.

All you really need is a 350 shortblock. Everything above your 305 block could be swapped over.

 

thanks, that helps a lot. I think I'd feel better having a larger engine than boring one out. I'm afraid it wouldn't last as long as a new one. thanks again

 

You could rebuild the 305, and it would be just as reliable as a 350 would be. The only benefit to doing so would be that you get to reuse your block, which is about the cheapest part of the whole engine. By spending only a very little more (if any more at all, sometimes even less), you get to have a 350 with a much better 4" bore instead of your 305.