Contemplating swapping a 305 for a 350. Took a look at some of GM's crates, was wondering if anyoneis using or has experience with them, if so your thoughts. Or would I be better off with another brand or just beefing up the 305.

 

yup I have had a few over the years. All are still running.
Grab a ZZ4. good times.

 

I have a turnkey, the 350HO Deluxe. Many members will advise you to go the 350 route--and with the ease of a crate install, why not if you can afford it?

JamesC

 

Wow! I have the GMPP 350 H.O., I do not think that you would be disappointed. It is as advertised, and comes with a warranty and GM parts. You will surprise a lot of people. Good luck!

 

I know of a site where you can get a remanufactured 350hp Chevy Gen I 350 with 400lbs tq, COMPLETE ENGINE with a 12,000mi 12 month warranty (or a 36,000mi 36 month warranty for $250 more). It’s called www.cmengines.com.
383 Stoker for $500 more. Once again, these are COPLETE engines. You can get just the block or whatever too, but the complete engine is only slightly more expensive one worth the money to have it done right and completed.
Anyway, if you’re curious, look at street performance engines.
People who have done business with them here have nothing but positive things to say about them.

 

Thanks for the input. I've been doing my homework on them, matter of fact, one of the Marines I work with is running a 350 H.O. right now, and seems more than pleased with it. While I like the idea of having 330 HP at my disposal, California isn't cheap for gas. I think if I do anything, I'll just go with the 350/290, seems a little more economical, and suits my purposes just fine, as I don't plan on racing too much. I guess the next question after that is how it will mate with the transmission, which certainly does not need to be replaced.

One other thing, there should be no problem dropping it into an '87, right?

 

Should be drop in and the tranny will work fine. I would go with a GM performance crate vs any rebuild or built up by someone else. I'd go at least to he 350HO. It has alot of upgrades you may consider in the future.

 

Any gen 1 small block will bolt right to your trans without any issues. You're good to go.

 

Right on. Actually, doing the pricing, seems like it would be cheaper in the long run to go with the 350/330 HO turn-key. the 350/290 still is some assembly required. Guess now it just comes down to shopping around for the best price for a new one, or trying to track down a slightly used one. I'm sure it's going to be good luck with the latter, but hey, it's only money.

 

I also have an '87 305 carb. Factory cc qjet carb.
I too have been looking at the GM 350, 330HP crate with the Vortec heads. If I go that route, should I keep the factory CC carb/distributor, which at the moment run fine? What other changes would be necessary with this swap? My goal is to keep it looking as stock as possible, including the factory air cleaner, yet I'm tired of 170HP.

 

I purchased my 350HO Deluxe for a number of reasons, but the write-ups in CarCraft were the capper:

Project Humble Pie, Part 1: Dyno-testing GM Performance Parts 350 HO Crate Engine (Feb. 04), page 48.

Project Humble Pie, Part 2: Bigger Cams and 400 hp for the GMPP 350 HO Crate Engine (March 04), page 64.

Project Humble Pie, Part 3: The 350 HO Engine Get a Big Mechanical Roller Cam and Makes 420 hp (April 04), page 52.

Part 2 can be found in the following link along with some generally interesting info on both the 350HO and 350HO Deluxe:

http://www.sallee-chevrolet.com/Chev...ockV8s/330.cfm

JamesC

 

Yes. I would highly recommend that route. The factory CC carb is vastly superior as a street/performance system to anything that would come with a "turn key" crate engine.

You will need a Vortec spreadbore intake manifold. The EGR won't be functional unless you route an external pipe from the exhaust to the intake manifold, because the Vortec heads don't have the exhaust cross-over passages built into them. This isn't a "functional" issue, as the engine will run fine without EGR, but it isn't technically legal to run without EGR.

If you're tired of 170 HP, then you don't want to keep the factory air cleaner. Not "as-is", anyway. The single snorkel is restrictive (even to a 170 HP 305), so at least get or fabricate a dual snorkel.

The exhaust is also very restrictive (even to a 170 HP 305). Headers would be much, much better, but if you want to keep exhaust manifolds, at least get L69 or LB9/L98 manifolds. The rest of the exhaust should be changed out with 3" stuff (cat, cat-back, muffler, etc.).