I got my first 3rd gen car today. A nifty 1985 Trans Am. I know it still needs work but the engine is good atm which was big. And for 800$ I can't complain. I was thinking of taking him a dark navy Blue or perhaps a slightly light green when I eventually repaint him. Any comments?

 

Welcome
does it have the tuned port injection engine?

 

welcome

 

No it has a Quadra-Jet Carb. Its brother has that though. Although I didn't end up getting that one.

 

Welcome, now for the initiation...lol

 

Welcome. If you need any help with it you've come to the right place. Keep us posted on your project.

 

Thanks 85, I am new to rebuilds. This being my first actually for the moment I know only a few things about it. Mostly things like something with the fuel pump is fuzzy cause it leaks excessively(Looking at it more tomorrow before work) and that I will most likely need to replace the seals. Outside that I need to do a 305 to 350 swap once I get a decent 350 and tune it some.

 

welcome and nice TA

 

Who says?

Dare to be different man, this is what the hobby is about.

There's a few select members running 305's on here that will smoke the majority of the small blocks on this board.

One of them is a constantly whored out white sport coupe

Do what appeals to you, its your vehicle

 

another reason why im keeping my lil 305 tpi (pulls hard)...everybody does a 350 swap..so typical

 

welcome to TGO!!!!! i am another member voting to keep the 305. just build it up. you know the have whole racing classes devoted to 305's. just a thought. i am just going to go with the high flo stuff and other bolt on shinys and i'll be good to go as well. i can still spin the tires. trying to improve traction though. good job for $800. got mine for $300. i vote for the slighty light green on color. i like different. got black cherry myself. keep us up to date!

 

Well yeah.. I was thinking that before I got to have some fun with the 305 in it atm and it seems like tons of fun. Replaced the Fuel Filter, Fuel Pump(Leaked good reason as any), All my plugs, Cleaned out the carb and swapped out the oil. Guys have any pointers on beefing up a 305. Was gonna take off the Converter and replace it with Flo-Max Straight pipes.(We got no emissions tests up here, so anything is fair game pretty much.)

 

junk your quadrajunk to begin wit a top end kit will do you wonders just for starters elderbrock perfomer rpm intake, new carb and a new cam wouldnt hurt any I'd go with like 488 lift it'll give it power and a nice tone, and of course you gota open up the exhust. Nice buy tho hope you have fun with it

 

Can you explain alittle more on the 488 lift.

 

He's talking about how much lift on the cam. Basically get something in between .460-.490 in lift. Hope that helps explain it a little better. If you have a machine shop near you they can help with matching parts for your motor. If you have any other questions let us know.

 

if u want to be different build a 302 thats the only good sbc under 350 cid in my opinion lol....hey if being different is the goal go for a 307 lmao....but anyways welcome and good luck.....

 

Be careful when selecting a cam for your 305.

Everyone talks about lift. Watch your duration. Too much and you'll have hell trying to tune it for the street without a real loose converter to go along with it.

Start reading everything. www.hotrodders.com is a great site to start.

 

alot of lift with less duration, the more duration u have the higher up in the rpm range ure power goes.....

 

Thanks for the info man. I will start reading still learning really what most of the parts are let alone how to do any modifying except replace(With help) some parts that needed it.

 

I got my 87 Formula with a 305 carbed engine. At one point I wanted to put in a 350 but in the end my thinking was that everybody seems to swap in a 350, instant power gain without using your brains. I thought it would be cool to leave in the 305 and see what I can do to make it just as fast, it's more creative to me. So here's what I did and I see a HUGE gain in top speed and off the line performance...

Edelbrock Performer RPM intake
Edelbrock Performer 1406 Carburetor 600 CFM Electric Carb
14in. K&N Air Filter
Flowtech shorty headers with Y-Pipe
No cat converter
Flowmaster 80 series crossflow muffler, but I will be changing that out to something else to get a different sound.
2600rpm Torque Converter, was a stock replacement for a vette.
Rebuilt transmission with a shift kit.

I also replaced all the suspension with the suspension off my 90 parts car, the 87 was sloppy and old but the 90 gear was in perfect shape. If you don't have a parts car I suggest at least buying new shocks, struts, all 4 springs, insulators and a new sway bar link kit. That alone will keep the suspension nice and tight. And in my opinion it's not expensive at all if you do the work yourself, and it was simple to change it all out.

At this point I am very glad I never went with a 350. I can't wait to see what happens when I put a new cam in.

 

wow and all that stuff would bolt up to a 350 and make even more power... end of the day the bottom line is more displacement equals more power so no matter what u do to a 305 u can make a 350 more powerful it has more potential, what u gonna say when the 350 beats ya, "o yeah well im more unique cause i kept the stock motor"
isnt that kinda an oxymoron....

 

Geez I really didn't expect someone else to come along sounding off like a jerk. But anyway I forgot to mention I also already had a perfectly clean lower mileage 305 from my 90, that means I didn't have to spend x amount of $$$ on a 350 plus x amount of $$$ on rebuilding the insides, so, I spent a lot less money that I can put into a better paint job when I'm done, had fun and it's faster than stock 305.

 

well i wasnt trying to be a jerk, just pointing out the flaws and all the possibilites.... i guess i get a little irked when people say they are being "different" by keeping their stock motor size when i see more 305s then 350s all the time on here and around town. but anyways yes i can be a jerk so i apoligize for that....

 

dude, we all knoe more displacement=more power.. if someones building up there 305 thirdgen, then thats what there doing.. help them with that. im sick of hearing people saying things that are kinda common sense to a motorhead.. we know 350's were faster out of the box.. but a 305 that whips on lt1's with ease is alot more fun

 

to me a challange isnt makeing a sbc faster then a sbc, a good challenge is making a sbc have bbc numbers.....thats a challenge, 305 and 350 are to close rather see 383 vs 454 numbers...i just see it as shooting yourself in the foot when a larger bolt in motor is so readily availible...

 

funny u mention a bbc. my buddy has a 70 chevelle with a 396 big block brodix heads, and weiand high rise and an edelbrock 750.. we did a short run, light to light on the streets here.. i smoked him. im sure at a 1/4 mile track he would have caught me and blew by.. by im building my car for the streets. and its working pretty good.. not to mention, after i strap on my final "bolt on" i should have bbc tq as well.
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anyway, this convo is getting stupid.. nice car u have there thermotrans.. good luck with it, and welcome abord thirdgen. youre search button will help you out if you have questions on which performance mods would work better for youre goals.

 

welcome to world of 3rd gens.
Looks like you got a pretty good deal on that TA, from what I can see.

Good luck on your future mods.

 

Thanks again guys. And for a list of what you did to your 305 Speedy. My buddy is getting me a set of 350 headers for free to swap for my stock exhaust on my 305. Should help some. Gonna eventually cut the Cat Converter out and replace with flo-max straight piping(I like the sound more than anything else out there atm) If you remember doing it at a seperate time what did changing the Torque converter actually do for you? Add more oomph to the start off I'd bet. Cya.

 

Do what you can, you are in the right direction.

Free your exhaust up at much as possible. (dump the ratty stock muffler if its still there)

But first and foremost get your ignition up to spec. Replace the cap rotor plugs and wires (make sure you gap the plugs). Check your coil if you have a ammeter. If its out of spec replace that also.

Stick to the basics first.

A good scrub in the engine compartment will help you determine problems. Look for worn out/leaking exhaust gaskets, weak valve cover gaskets, a new pcv valve is good insurance. A clean motor will show any oil leaks.

Take all precautions and check everything twice. Get the motor in the most efficient running condition then begin to modify.

 

WOW u are one of the first people ive seen make a sugestion about the ignition system and not say he should run out and get some huge coil....i had about lost faith in humanity..... But yeah do everything built z28 said thats some of the most basic sound advice ive heard in a long time....

 

I've done a "scrub" I guess of the engine checked all the seals and covers. Swapped out all the plugs cleaned the carb and used Valve cleaner. Was gonna be looking into getting a new Carb for it I think those are easy swaps not sure though. Need to find one with Elec choke and Quadra-jet.