So i was bored at home looking at 0-60 videos of different cars and how most normal city cars were doing it in average of 7 to 11 seconds , so i decided to measure mine, i went to a long road near my home were theres never traffic or cops, used my cellphone stop watch and did the run, i managed to have a launch with no wheelspin, rev to 1200 and let go of brakes then gun it , it did 0-60 in 9.30 seconds, i know its not fast but for an 18 year old engine pulling a 3500ish car that came stock with 170hp id say that this is ok, my stock 2.73 gear prolly play a big role on why it takes so damn long for the motor to revup, im sure going to 3.23 is gonna help a lot in acceleration , specially with a low HP motor, im going to be doing head/cam intake with the EBL to the 305 so i hope it holds ok to all the HP is gonna be getting.

 

The best things I did to mine was the 2500 stall, and the posi with 3.23...Want a tad more gear, but it launches so good..Of course I have ALL the goodies on the suspension which really helps the launch.....Im sure im in the 6 second range right now...Will find out soon as I get it back to the track....

 

What have u done to your 305 performance wise besides what u mentioned ? My next mod should be headers and ypipe to complete my exhaust, next ill buy an underdrive pulley set from summit, then ill get the EBL system to learn how to tune for when the head/cam swap comes, eventually im thinking of upgrading to a disc rearend with 3.23 gears.

 

Headers, eddy intake, ported TB, TBI spacer,accel module.1LE ac delete.160 therm...(Heater works fine, and goes into closed loop like it should). REAL Ram air, tpi pump..AFR, msd everything else..no cat, no pump, no nothing left on the motor, but the bare basics.umi panhard, and control arms..energy suspension everything.subframe connectors..the y pipe is modded like crazy,full 3inch even where the cat used to be replaced every sensor, and every peice of hardware on the motor..have 1.6 rollers.aluminum driveshaft, corvette servo b and m shift kit..TBI.com stage 2 chip burnt for my car..Man there is more, but i cant think of it all right now...It is sure a lot more fun to drive now.Runs 14;s will hit 140+ with ease, and gets around 23 MPG.Have drove it to work 5 days a week for years now..Been to the track numerous times.With slicks it would run even better because it BOILS the back tires all the way thru first into second..I have 295 17's on the back, or 275, i forget...more gear and slicks, and it should run low 14's im guessing...I figure it is up to around 200 hp versus 170 it came with...I just built a cable for data logging so that is next....Glass hood coming, and then carb spacer so i can install my pressure gauge.Have new radiator, and hoses, and BA tranny cooler waiting to go on...THEN A REAL MOTOR....lol

 

Wow thats a nice setup, u havent even upgraded cam or heads and the car runs 14s, thats nice with some nice vortec heads and a nice cam like the lt1 that car should be in the very low 14s or close to 13.

 

I was in the same mind state when I wanted to go faster. I did everything to my 92 and was at the point where anything more would not justify the price and even went ahead to doing a cam swap. Then I realized that dumping money into it would end up with something less than doing the same on a 350 or better yet a LT1/LSX.


I have done pretty much everything but the minimal gains upgrades.


If you want to work on your L03 for the sake of it to see what it can do, then go ahead but you can find out what it will do by searching around and seeing what other members got from their work and money.

My advice is swapping out the rear for something better. Work on suspension and then on the motor, and even that I say spend $350-400 and get a 350 L05 in there. Do the needed things for the swap and hell even stock the 350 TBI will feel like night and day. I myself will be going LT1 which can be found easily for $500-700 with low mileage. Lets see what an L03 can do for that $ and comparing that to what the LT1 will do stock.

 

Im gonna first do the basics u know, complete my exhaust with headers and ypipe, my friend is a mechanic and he used to own an iroc back in the 90s and he ordered a thirdgen rear posi with disc cuz hes was not posi, i beleive its a 3.23, anyways hes selling it to me for 250 wich i think its a nice price, i dont want to mess much with the suspension, its a DD and lowering it will just make it worst, atm it i like how it handles so its staying like that, at most ill just upgrade all the bushings to energy suspension stuff. As for motor , i was thinking a running low milage L31 vortec 350 , they seem more plentifull than l05 and its a better engine with already good vortec heads on it. The reason i wanna stay with the l03 is cuz its already in there and my space for an engine swap is simply not available atm, if i can squeeze 230-240rwhp out of it then ill be happy with that, when space and money allows it throw a 350 in there with the same parts and just go from there.

Another thing i got on my mind is an l98 swap , they appear a lot on craiglist with ecm and everything for around 500 bucks.

 

Yes do that first. Dont buy the items that have no gain or not worth it for the $. Like Alum driveshaft or any mail order tune or the underdrive pulleys. Not worth it unless you get a decent deal on em.

The diff is a good deal. I got my 9 bolt 3:27 Posi PBR brake system for $225. As for suspension there is no need to lower it and that is not what I meant. I will not be lowering my car at all and do not wish to do so. For one is me wanting to run duals and I like the stance my 92 is at already. I meant like SFC's, Good shocks all around like Kyb's or if your budget is good some bilstens. Also look into Founders Performance PHB & LCA kit. I bought mine for $120 and from what I hear they will create a difference in how the car plants and handles. I still have yet to drive the car yet with all my upgrades so who knows.


I also looked into a 350 Vortec and they are price very close to LT1s. I see a bit more potential in LT1s for the price.

230-240 out of the L03 might be possible with all the basic bolt-ons and maybe a good tune. A LT1/L98 cam would probably get you there with the tune.

I tried finding L98s locally or on here and most people think their valuable. I see em go average for $600-800 depending on mileage. I would rather just buy the motor without the TPI since thats probably why they overprice them.

 

alum driveshaft is a must... until you have one you will never know...Almost all I have done will go on the 350, or 383.....Cam change, and tune can get you in the 13's with ease bro.....305's are a ok, no matter what anyone tells you..My last Camaro was a built 350 t top car......305's get a bad rap for some reason...Like i said ive had mine longer than most youngsters on here, and it goes to work 6 days a week....bring the lo5 on..no prob...Now at some point there will be more CI under the hood, but untill then..............KYB's are ok, but over priced for the return you get on them....do not lower the car unless that is the look you want..Hell do what you want it is your car, and it is all cool....good luck.........

 

id only add on what you could swap over to a 350 (or 383/396) later.

 

Very good advice................

 

A must is something that is worth the gain for the $. So far is it proven in soo many posts/threads that all you feel is just a peepier car with no gain in hp. How is that a must? Most go for $100 average. So like I said, unless you get a good deal. Wait for it and I have experienced it and my experience is the same as everyone elses.


We are talking about the L03 not a 350 or 383. A Cam and somewhat good tune should get you to high 13s or low 14s depending on many things. 305s are ok for those who don't want to go into the hassle into swapping an engine and or are afraid to do so to not get over their heads. They can be made into fun little motors but nothing serious.

Once again I do not understand bringing up a 350 into a L03 discussion. Bring on the L05? I am sure my friends L05/TPI combo can run over any bolt-on L03.

I myself will not give any advice about swapping in gen 1 Sbc. I have been bitten by the LTX/LSX bug. Nothing can be made to compare for the $. If you are gonna go through the hassle of swapping the engine, make it count.

In the end, research every upgrade you do. Read other peoples experiences and happyness from the product and go from there. Alot of things people hear the hype or take bad advice and buy it to get no gain but a butt dyno feeling gain which in reality means nothing.

 

i was going to go with hassle of swaping the motor if i had the money and place to do it then ill just upgrade to a lsx engine, look just now someone is selling a 5.3 vortec with wires and everything for 650 dollars. For what i want out of this car that is go to the tracks on weekends and have a little fun with it the 305 should work just fine, like u said the 305 with an lt1 cam and some ported 416 heads wich im gonna get soon, tuned with EBL should give me what im looking for, then just swap to a better posi rearend, upgrade the suspension a little bit and finally paint the car

Heres a little video i made when i installed my pipes and mufflers on the car, it was wet outside so i didnt floor it or anything.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jz3YtiqloRA

 

idk. If i would of kept my l03 i would of swapped in my sd tpi setup i had before i traded it. Kept the stock heads and swapped in a lt1/l98 cam and upgrade the wimpy tc. That would of been a fun 305 to drive. But who can pass up a 78k miles 97 ta lt1 for 625.

 

I can tell you right now that every third gen ive had (7) had bad vibration at hi speed 95-100 mph, the aluminum drive shaft cuts the vibration considerably..To me that is a must....You r 100 percent correct on the 305, it is a fun little motor, anything I have done to mine will swap over to the "real" motor that will end up in this one......I believe you should get your suspension lined out before you go for horsepower....There are lots of ways to go, and I have tried many..This time I concentrated on getting everything on the suspension in order first....In the end the numbers at the track are really cool, but I drive my car to work 6 days a week, and have for quite a few years now, and my "butt dyno" mean a lot to me, as I am on the road a lot more than the track....BTW, the bring on the L05 was a joke to what someone else said.. Truth be told tho, I have surprised several 350 TPI cars, they just could not believe it was a 305....

 

thats the same reason i bought mine had some vibrations at high speeds but then again those speeds are not a daily thing. Hell the fastest i drove the 305 was 95 according to my tach with 275s in the rear. I did get a good deal on it though 50 bucks

 

Yes sure that was a good deal..Ive had mine up to 140+, and it was no problem...Man with the old one 90 was scary as hell...