I have an 88 Camaro Sport Coupe with the 305 TBI. Like most I am wanting to get a little more out of it. I've considered a 350 crate motor, or just rebuilding the original 305. A friend told me yesterday though that the 305 block and the 350 block were the same and I could just bore out the 305 to a 350 and get all new pistons, cam, crank and all the candy. Any thoughts on this? Any idea of cost. Like most, I'm watching the pennies.

Thanks in advance for your help.

 

its gonna cost more than a 350 swap and you may end with a less than desirable result. Best way to make power out of a 305 is to treat it like a different creature than a typical V8, you have to treat it like a high reving engine (which it is). Engines like the 327 and original 302 (chevy) were no torque monsters but they were top end 6000+ reving engines that needed to breathe more than their 350+ cousins.

But if your looking for "Bang for your Buck" go with a 350 swap and beat the hell out of it till your trans blows. I pulled the 305 out of my 83 and swapped a 350 and carb and I blew so many transmissions it wasn't funny but man it was worth it. You could build a junkyard engine for little to nothing and get a nice amount of power out of it and a pretty decent engine. Only problem I had was the cam broke and the timing went out on a nitrous shot and took out a couple piston rings and valves (that was crane's fault in my opinion).

 

Welcome aboard thirdgen.org.

No, 305 and 350 blocks are not the same. They are identical externally (for any given era), but the cylinders are cast differently. If you try to bore a 305 block from 3.736" to 4.000", you'll hit water.

This is discussed often (comes up several times a year), so a would have produced the right answer.

 

Yeah, I realized that about 5 minutes after I posted it. I learned all I needed to know in about 15 minutes worth of reading.

Thanks for the welcome. I'm new to the camaros, actually cars also. I've spent most of my time under the hoods and fenders of Jeeps and Dodge trucks. This is just going to be a project car for me. It was my wife's car in high school and college and it spent the last 4 1/2 years parked in a barn with a tarp over it. It is extremely clean which is nice.

Thanks again for the help.