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there's no need to replace the timing chain cover unless it's bent or has a hole in it. if the distributor needs rebuild repalce it.

 

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Why not put some platinum spark plugs in?? instead of the ACDelco ones..

 

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I've heard bad things about platinum plugs in our cars, so I put in the AC delcos and they're awesome. Some things I can add to your list is a coolant temp. sensor and EGR valve. Should run like a new car when you're done!!!!

 

why run platinum plugs when you can run regular old ac delcos? if you want to step up i'd go with ac delco rapid fires.

 

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Clean or replace the IAC valve if necessary... That's all I can think of. You're doing a pretty comprehensive tuneup! I don't even think tuneup is the right word for it anymore..... More like overhaul.

 

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Something I'd consider would be putting a new cam in, as long as you've got it torn down. It might not need one, but it would improve the performance.
Competition products has a vortec roller cam 202*/206*@.050 115 lsa and they're something like $50 new.
You wouldn't even have to change the lifters. That's if yours is a roller...
Take a peek at the ultimate TBI mods too, in the tech articles.
And a 1" spacer under the TBI can help too.
Check with Turbo City for TBI parts.
I did that to mine and it was a very noticable improvement.

 

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Well I'm not sure if there's a way to tell if the motor is blown or not...I'm sure there's an electrical test, but I'm terrible with electrical and have never tried it. You could see if the valve is physically stuck by trying to push down a little on the pintle I think....

You might be able to tell if the motor is still working by leaving the valve itself installed, but with the motor separated (by removing the two small screws on the back of the motor canister)... Leave the hookup connected and start the car and see if the motor does anything. Sure it's old school but hell, it should work.

As far as a distributor rebuild... The best bet is to replace the main parts of it... The pickup coil, the ICM module, and the distributor gear. Oh and the cap and rotor of course. The distributor cap adapter can be bought separately a lot of the time too if yours is cracked or something. I believe you can install the ICM yourself.... But the distributor gear might need to be pressed off by a shop. And you need to remove the distributor shaft to get the pickup coil swapped out. So if you don't have a mechanical press, you might as well a shop to swap the gear and pickup coil out for you. That's what I did.

 

Well, that's part of it... there's a bit more. You need to adjust the air gap between the reluctor and pole pieces so they're all the same distance apart. You also need to replace the pick-up coil ($12) and the spark module ($60). Top it off with a new cap & rotor and you've rebuilt the thing completely.

There's not much on it to clean... and if you want, you could lube the shaft a bit with some assembly lube, but there's not much to clean/lube in there.

 

The distributor gear will have a roll pin that keeps it attached to the shaft; knock the roll pin out with a hammer & punch, and the gear will slide off the shaft. That allows you to pull the shaft up and out of the distributor, from the top of the dist.

 

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I'll assume Tom's estimate is right, at $60.

 

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You shouldnt really need a new gear unless you have problems....I just consider it a "might as well" item while you've got the thing all apart anyways. Cause the last thing you want is the distributor gear to crap out. It'll tear the cam gear up with it. As unlikely as that is, it has happened.

As far as the pickup coil....I'd just use any OEM replacement you find. Spark module, that depends. Everybody makes one and everyone has different opinions of the different brands. I prefer MSD because that's the only ignition part I run besides OEM. I'm sure an OEM module will work fine as long as you remember to be liberal with the grease they give you for it. That keeps it from overheating and shutting off.

105,000 isn't a lot of miles, but I'm sure it would probably benefit from a distributor rebuild. You could probably go well over 200,000 though on the original stuff.

 

I rebuilt mine because the ignition module died. Remember these things don't like heat, so definately use the heat-conductive silicone grease (it'll come with a new module) between the bottom of the module and top of the dist plate.

Get prices on stuff by doing a lookup on your car at places like expressautoparts.com or partsamerica.com ... then, too, you'll have part #s to go by if the local idiot behind the parts counter gives you the wrong part #. I don't trust Pep Boys at all anymore.

 

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http://www.competitionproducts.com/page51.html
I'm not sure whether yours is a roller or not, but I'd bet that it is. Hopefully someone else will chime in and say.
Autocenter has a good deal on roller dist gears, but if you already have a roller, you don't really need to get one if you don't want to.

 

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You can look in the tech articles and tech data pages to find out what your engine was originally equipped with. A cam with a few more degrees of duration would add some HP.
The vortec cam is pretty mild on the lift so it won't need any other mods to make it work.
Some of the guys seem to think it might be a good upgrade for a 305. I used one in my 350 truck engine, it helped. it added about 10* duration.

 

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I'm not sure, but I think the LT1 cam is bigger. They're popular with the TBI guys. Also there are a few different LT1 grinds out there.
The vortec cam is similar if not identical to the '92 TPI cams.
With that cam, you'd have a much more potent passing gear.

 

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By "with that cam" I meant the vortec cam.
To switch to a flat tappet cam if you already have roller would be a step in the wrong direction.
A 305 TBI is severely limited on how much cam it will take, from what I gather.
I think to post those ??s on the TBI board would be a good bet. All you'll find there is other guys with 305 TBIs who are doing what you're doing.

 

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The big question right now is whether or not you already have roller or flat tappets.
You could possibly find out by using your engine#, or maybe someone else could tell you.
But if that doesn't work, a sure way to tell would be to remove the valve cover and take a pushrod and measure it. The flat tappet pushrods are about 7-7/8" long and the roller ones are about 7-3/16".
One of the cool things about rollers is that you can re-use your old lifters.
...Glad to help out when I can, good luck.

 

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You can port your heads, but of course you'd need to remove and disassemble them.
Yep... this is getting to be a pretty major tune up...
Decarbonizing is something that would be good to do with your "tune up" tho.
By the time you're done, your motor will have been wakened up quite a bit.
Intakes can be ported too but it's not as effective as the head work.

305 heads are something that I'm unfamiliar with, I have a 350 TBI in a truck. My car is a TPI.

Best to refer you back to the TBI boards.

 

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if you are truely rebuilding the distributor i think it would include new bushings not juts a few parts under the cap.

 

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i've bought positive seals for the exhause of a SBC and 4.3 v6. seal was differant from the intake but still positive seal. used them on differant sized springs from stock to 1.5. i never reuse the oil shields or rotators. shims are .060, .030, and .015

 

u never take it over 2 grand???????? that poor engine! why not mash on the go pad ever now and then so ya dont carbon the poor sucker up.... the only under 2 grand any of my cars ever see would be idle.. never did have an auto car with anything smaller then a 2500 stall

 

I hope he means the highest sustained! My friend has an old Ford truck that's a total hunk of junk and I always make fun of him for never breaking the 3000 rpm limit. Course it runs like hell, so I can't say I blame him...

You could get away without rebuilding the distributor I'm sure. I put 150,000 on my 5.0 and swapped out most of the distributor parts and BARELY saw a difference. Hardly seemed worth all the cash I paid for the pickup coil and gear....near $100 for the both of them. Never did get around to swapping the module out though.

So it's really your call.

 

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I assume you're talking about not passing 2 grand in SUSTAINED, ie cruising rpms. That's fine, that's all about gearing....and it sounds like you're geared fairly tall! But when you're accelerating, you let it pass 2 grand right?

 

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Considering your gears are tall as hell, I can see how you dont pass 2 grand if you're babying it. And at 70 with a 3.73 gear, you'd probably do closer to 2500.

I regularly romp on my cars so I see alllll kinds of crazy rpms. A beefier rear end will mean you'll see more rpms regularly also.

 

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Nixon you said you have to take the distributor in to get the gear off but actually its pretty easy to do yourself. You just have to knock out this little pin that runs through the shaft. It was one of the first things I did when I got my car...

 

Yeah, that's my fault for saying that. On my F*rd you have to have the gear pressed off (total pain in the ___).....but on the GM's, you can just do what you said.

 

joshwilson3, I am curious as to how the Hydroedge tires are performing?
I see a lot mix reviews from various sites and would like your option. As it be that you’re the first on this board to mention having them plus the first F-Body owner that I have read from the sites to have them.

 

To butt in.... Lol....the Hydroedge tires are designed for wet weather traction...I guess they're supposed to resist hydroplaning. They've got a pretty high tread count on them, which means....well, I'm sure you'll do good in the rain. On dry pavement though....well that's probably another story. They've got a lot of rain paths in em, unidirectional.