Need a engine rebuild job done in my 92 305 TPI Trans Am. I saw various catalogs for engine parts. Anybody who has done a engine rebuild, could you please let me know where to find cheap price and good quality engine rebuild kit with connecting rods and crank shaft. I have tried Summit Racing, Northern Auto Parts, Jegs, etc and have found every catalog to have different price/quality. Can anybody suggest me where to shop for my rebuild kit.

 

IMPO go with Summit. They have always been fair with me and have lots of tech help available. No problems with returns either !

 

It'd be a shame to leave a 305 in a car that looks like that.Build a 350 or a 383 for it. You'll be much happier.

 

I got my kit from PAW. They're the only ones I found that even sold a kit with a crank.
They don't have an online catalog and you have to buy their book if you want to know what all they have.
But you can find their ad in most car magazines. It's usually about 2 pages and has the kits you're looking for.

 

I am looking for a good rebuild kit, the PAW magazine gave me a total of $150 more than Power House (enginekits.com). I was wondering if anybody had purchased from powerhouse and would know their quality. The stock roller cam with lifters are only $180 whereas its $450 at summitracing or jegs. Since Power House is so cheap, i am just curios if its good quailty or not. Also was wondering if forged pistons are really gonna help me or not. The difference between cast and forged is about $200. Should I go forged???? Thankyou.

 

Don't go forged unless you making serious hp or you plan to spray it. However flat top pistons would be nice.

 

Why not go with forged? Sure there more expensive, but even if you don't make serious horsepower, I want to buy a whole forged rotating assembly one day for a 350 to build, just for extra insurance.....(oh yea I might Turbo it though... )

 

He said hes trying to go as cheap as possible, therefor forged is out. However if you have the extra $200 burning a hole in your wallet you might as well go forged

 

i 2nd that..... i had to learn the hard way .

 

I see...I don't got 200 yet for exhaust, so I know how it feels, but either way I'm gettin strong internals because I want this to be a bad motor.

 

only want it will be a bad motor is with a big shot of NOS

 

Thats great to know about forged pistons, but does anyone know or have heard about power house, thier web-site is www.enginekits.com

 

Yea, Ive heard of them but really an engine kit is going to be fairly similar kit to kit. I'd just do what most people including myself do and talk to a machine shop. They need the pistons so they can bore the block to match and if other components are good you dont get charged for them. If this is a stock or mild rebuild any piston will do. Forged pistons by themselfs arent going to make any HP difference but the price you pay extra for them and any 305 rebuild kit really is going to close to the price of finding a 350 builder and using it.

Just had to use the color font too.

 

Powerhouse has good stuff I ahve bought from them and I beat the pi$$ out of my 305. Cant kill it

 

To get a "strong" engine on a budget, go with a set of KB Hyper pistons, Scat cast STEEL crank, Summit stage I rods and a good machine shop/builder Those rotating parts should be good for up to 500 HP or so.
Add to that a good cam grind, good timing chain set, Chrome-molly roller rockers (alum is not durable enough for daily driving IMHO), ported heads (ported 'Vette alum heads would be even better) Prom burner and laptop computer...you're on your way.

 

I would save up for a bit, find a 350 block for $100!!

350 kits are most likely cheaper than 305 kits anyways!!

Go bigger, you wont be dissapointed...

 

I was thinking about a 350 block too, but can i just slide in a 350 block on a existing 305 car. What modification do I have to do, I might even have to buy a new computer for my car. If this is true, changing to 350 would be real costly. Also my gas mileage would go down.

 

305, 350, all the same on the outside the TPI will bolt right up. You'll need a knock sensor for a 350 ($25), prom chop (memcal) for a 350 TPI (or custom burn) and I would strongly reccommend subframe connectors.

 

how much power can a stock 350 block hold? How much does this change if its bored out to a 383?

 

you can't bore it out to a 383.... you can only stroke it like you stroke your meat at night :-X

 

Okay then im losing my mind i was under the impression when you stroke the engine that the cylinder walls need to be bored down a bit and the whole block needs to be clearanced so basically more boreing.

 

you can stroke without boring over but you wont have a 383 you are correct you have to bore the block to .060 and then stroke it it to get a 383 this would be in a 350 block of course. Most stroker kits for 383 require block clearanceing

 

Okay thats exactly what i thought. By then you stroke it you just mean put in the larger internals right? Anyways due to this boreing i would assume it weakens the block a bit. How much power could a stock 350 bored over to 383 hold? And how much can just a stock 350 block hold?

 

for a 383 you can sue the stock bore i believe i could be wrong but all you need to do is put in a 400 crank and make clearance for the crank right?

 

If you are concerned about the block you could always have it sonic tested before boring over a stroker changes the stroke of the engine by replacing the the 350 crank with one of a 400 engine essentialy changing the stroke length when doing that it usually requires you to change pistons or connecting rods or in some cases both. Powerhouse has a nice deal on a 383 stroker kit. I am contemplating getting one myself.

 

you wont have any problems boring a 350 block .030 over, dont even think twice!! a 350 block can be taken .060 over safely, but dont bore directly to .060 over thinking the ci you add will help. Your just waisting the block. Go .030 over run the motor for 100k miles then bore it .060 and give it another life. Boring too far all at once waists the block....

Just dont go .060 over on a factory 400 block