firstrestomod

Hey guys,
I am new to this website although for the last year i have been reading thread after thread here, on other post sites, hot rod sites, resto sites, and countless hours of trying to study and learn about small block chevy's and i have finally got on my way to building my first engine. The first one i had seized and i didn't know enough to try to figure out why because a sweet deal on a 350 fell in my lap but once it got dropped in, turns out it had an internal crack so back to the drawing board i got a really cheap 305 in it just to be able to get it back home and running. when that one started acting up on me i was shopping around for a serpentine setup and ended up getting a 87+ 305 tbi for $100 and decided to tear it down for some experience on working on internals. low and behold it is a factory roller (but most of you know that). the last 305 i dropped in i believe was a HO and came with 416 heads which i have decided to make a home port job out of. i have access to an on base machine shop that can put in some 1.94 valves for fairly cheap and he will let me know if the block needs to be bored or if i can just get away with a hone as well as whether or not new valve guides will be in order (they very well might be because i want to do the porting myself). My questions begin here and please keep in mind this is my first post and i have searched many threads even though i am not too computer savvy so if a question i have can be found in another thread please be kind and direct me.

Here goes:
How can i tell if the 305 (HO?) has flat top pistons? there is a little bit of a dome around the edges but there doesnt look to be a dish like there were in the tbi 305 (casting number is 14088551).

Being active duty i am on an EXTREMELY tight budget and at all costs want to avoid spending money on things i dont ABSOLUTELY need to reach my goals. Do i need to have the crank/rods/pistons cleaned before (assuming i can) swap them into the new block?

What cam should i look to buy? I want to get something with about 210-220 duration because i want to retain a good compression ratio as well as enough vacuum to safely keep my brakes working well. i was looking to have a max lift somewhere around .45" to be certain i will have enough clearance with the springs and guides. I am open to suggestions as i have not purchased a cam and have found little market for what i am looking for

My goals for this build are to have a weekend drivable car with roughly 300HP (of course more if it's possible without getting rediculous) with parts i can easily change over to a 350 when the time comes but for now i am going to use the 305 because i already have it and i have a little bit of a point to prove for all the marines running around with their 5.7's and 6.0+ that a well built 5.0 can still hang with the big boys as well as show the 1 out of 5 guys around here that just because they have a mustang doesn't mean they are the baddest guys on the street. Also I plan on occational trips to the drag strip about 20 miles from here (i am not completely crazy, i don't street race like most punks my age) but would like most of my power to be street friendly.

Up front: I have not removed the rear diff. cover but going with the trend that when i bought the car everything was in pretty much the same condition it was when it came off the lot (kids parents bought it for him in '84 and a year later he got into a crash in a different vehicle and never drove it again so it sat in a barn until shortly before 2010 when i bought it) it has 3.08 gears and a bone stock 700r4 with stock converter. I do have a holly 650 electric choke carb (single pumper), an edelbrock performer intake (both came with the engine thats mostly still in it now for $120 total), 1 5/8 heddman long tube hedders, and an Ebay 65k HEI distributor with the OEM ignition control module spliced into the wiring when the old one burned out.

Am i out of my mind to expect these things from my build and hope to retain as much of the rest of the drivetrain as possible? Thank you in advance, there are many very knowledgable people on this site and sorry for the long winded explanation of where i stand but i believe i am in a very unique situation trying to bring so many different parts together. I look forward to any and all input you veterans have to offer.

firstrestomod

Anyone? My head hurts from trying to work this out for so long. Anybody who has used these heads on an 87+ block? Cam selection? Power goal reality check?

Atilla the Fun

Bigger valves isn't about cheap. It's about best flow. No doubt they can move the 3-angle out, but can they then do a 75-degree bowl hog? If not, skip, because you don't need big valves or porting to build a streetable 300 HP 305. Pistons having a perimeter chamfer / bevel is common. Not desirable, not good for nitrous or boost, but tolerable for this. Your 305 cannot hang with a mild 350, or a stock LS1, or a comparably built Mustang 5.0. Especially not with a stock converter and 3.08:1 gears. Plan on finding some 3.73:1 gears in a 2.5L S-10 2WD, or a 4WD 2.8L S-10, as the most common sources. For a better torque converter, try the 4.3L S-10s.

Atilla the Fun

416s on '87-up block is no problem. Use FelPro 1094 head gaskets, don't have the block decked. Cam, for un-ported, 1.84"-valved heads: http://www.summitracing.com/parts/CCA-08-420-8/

firstrestomod

Thanks for the reply atilla, i was actually inspired to DIY port the 416's from the "how to" thread you put up on the subject and figured if it wasn't as as much of a black magic secret the machine shops kept locked up tight i would like the experience of going through with it especially because i can borrow all the tools i need for the job except for the bits and as always if i can get a little more out of the build for maybe 10 hours or so of work i would like to do it. I should specify that i am hoping for that 300+ to the wheels. Good for me though the mustangs around here are mostly 4 and 6 cylinders with the mufflers hacked off so they sound bigger than they really are regarding the TC are all the s10's an upgrade so long as i find one with the 700r4? As far as the gears go, would it be more cost effective to change out the entire rear axle with the 3.73 gears in them or get the gears and have them put in or someone knowledgable help install them. Transmission and rear diffs are some of the areas i lack virtually any knowledge in and have no tools to accomidate as of yet. With respect to the cam you selected i am astonished that the stock 416s can handle .500 lift without grinding down the guides and/or new springs, but am slightly confused because i have mostly heard that cams with equal duration on intake and exhaust were reserved for the upper echelon of aftermarket heads because of the relatively poor flow of the exhaust side of stock castings? I respect the knowledge you have and appreciate your input but cant wrap my head around that big of a cam in a 305, i could imagine how beastly it would be when i get a hold of a 350 though

Atilla the Fun

You can't use any S-10 torque converter unless it is a 4.3L version. Then, you want the '96-up for the best results. You can't use the S-10 axle housing either, just the gears. Better to pay $20 than $200, no? You do need the heads cut to take that much lift, but even with that lift, it's still just a 215 cam, which is mild. Single pattern vs dual pattern is about how the heads flow, not about how much they cost, or who made them. For what you typed above, it's one of your best possibilities. And with the converter and gears, it'll be easy to drive under all conditions. 300 HP? Not guaranteed. But with the right cat-back, and not using a Hedman or Flowtech Y-pipe behind your headers, I expect 280 HP. My porting would push it past 300, sorry I haven't yet finished a thread on 416s, though I do have a pair on my bench.

Jim85IROC

iTrader: (2)

If you are going to use a 1094 without decking the block, you better at least have some confidence that it's flat. I ran a file over my block and discovered that my deck was very uneven. I ran the file over it until I had some confidence that it was at least flatter than when I started. When you do the same, my guess is that you'll find that the deck surface is proud around every head bolt hole, as well as at the bottom between a lot of the water holes. I also chose to spray the block side of the head gasket with copper spray in hopes of getting a good seal on my imperfect surface. The motor isn't back in the car yet, so I don't know yet if I was successful.

firstrestomod

Luckily for me the guy who runs the machine shop here on base is a very honest and very good machinist. That with the fact that he is usually swamped with work i trust that he will mil the cylinders, check for straightness on the deck, and not tell me i need any more work than i ABSOULTELY have to have done for both our benefits. I've already filed out a lot of the iron that was clearly not ment to be there but was left by gm im sure to lower production costs. Whether or not the mating surfaces are true, that copper spray sounds like some insurance i will not want or be able to get away without.

firstrestomod

$20 go quick is better than $200 PITA go quick any day! I re-researched the rear gears and while the UPO code said im sitting with the 3.08s, all technical data on the subject says i should have 3.23s. Either way a little high for what im hoping for and anywhere around $20 the new ones will be worth it. Also, are you thinking i would make better or worse power with the flowtech Y pipe? At the risk of bringing up a subject that has been beaten to death: due to my very low clearance with the longtubes i have been thinking about cutting away at some of the subframe and re-enforcing it so i can run duals because none of the shops around here could or would try to work with the exhaust. If a Y pipe were an option to run down the stock routing without having to modify suspension or cut anything away i would jump on it it just to be done with the exhaust.