what the easiest way to determine if it's a 305 HO or a 305?

 

i would imagine the easiest way is to run the rpo code.

 

Ballancers. HO ballancers are thinner. Non Ho ballancers are 3in thick where HO ones are about 2in thick.

 

I can't run the check the RPO code 'cause it's a swapped engine, I'm only going on the guys word. But I can check the balancer. Would the 2 parts have different numbers on them, or is it just the thickness?

 

Ive never seen a part number stamped on one. If you have seen a non HO you can tell right of the bat what an HO one is. Of course someone could have replaced it.

 

Everybodies 305 is automatically an "H.O. "

Just ask 'em! Especially if they're selling YOU the car.

Eric

 

just drive it, if its sluggish and the power feels kinda flat and runs out about 4.7k, you got an lg4, if starts to wake up around 3k and pulls past 5k, you got an l69. Other than that not much you can do. The ho's did have a higher volume oil pump, so if your pushing 40-60psi, theres a better chance its an ho, but you cant be positive just from that.

 

Look on a pad in front of the passenger side cylinder head - there'll be some numbers and letters stamped into it. Find a 3-letter code, and check it here http://www.chevymania.com/partsid/ by clicking on suffix codes - small block from the left side. Find that code in the drop-down list and it'll tell you most of what you need to know.

 

We are talking about 20 year old cars in varying degrees of condition and the arbitrary decision of someone's a*s. I think I'd go with the tape measure, or maybe the head casting no.s?

 

i agree with red devil, i was just giving him a subjective method to judge by

 

If I remember correctly, the stock 305's, the tach only goes to 6K and in the HO's the tach goes to 8K. So look at the dash and there ya go.

 

hes talking a swapped motor though, so most of the tell tale signs dont go here

 

The head castings are the same between L69 and LG4; usually 416, although there are reports of 601.

The balancers are the same. They're both ordinary 305 balancers.

You can check the block stamping in front of the right front head, and see if the car's VIN is on the block. If the car is a HO car, and the stamping matches, then it's a pretty good bet that the block started out as a L69. If the car is a LG4 car and the VIN matches, then I think you can figure out what that tells you. If the block doesn't match the VIN, then it's anybody's guess; since the motor then has a very high likelihood of having been rebuilt, and not merely swapped over, that being the more normal thing that happens.

There's no real way to tell from outside. The only real internal differences are the cam, and the pistons in some years (flat-top vs dish). The other things that make them different are on the outside, or are part of the car such as exhaust, gears, etc.

To be honest with you, it hardly matters what the motor started out life as, as long as the pistons that are in it now are flat-tops. You can always change the cam, and the L69 cam isn't that marvelous of a piece anyway.... it only seems like it in comparison to the LG4/L03 "peanut" cam.

 

The heads are center-bolt 14101081's, which other posts said were for TPI 305's. I dunno though, it seems like this engine has more ***** than the 305 in my other camaro.

 

My 305 has a lot more guts than the LG4 did 2-1/2 years ago.

The block stampings you'd find today would still lead you back to "LG4", though.

 

Oh, 081 heads were also used on '87 LG4's.

Certainly not "HO", but it wasn't the heads holding it back.

 

Can you verify that?

Ive got a smaller one from an 85 TPI 305 well almost have it, the thing stripped two pullers its on that tight. Anyway its smaller then the LG4 ballancers I have and I have seen L69 cars with this type of ballancer.

 

I'm sure he can, he has an HO... and my HO balancer didn't look any different than the one I replaced it with, which came from a normal 305.

 

Well I dug up the ballancer from my old 85 L69 camaro. Its also a thinner ballancer. Maybe its an 85 thing.

 

Hey, thanks for the web site- I checked the codes off both my 305's and it all makes sense now. The old engine in my first camaro is coded DDH, which comes out to a 155hp LG4. The new engine in my donor car is a ATF (Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms) which codes out to a 230hp LB9. I think the 75 horses explains the more *****. cool. Anything else anyone can tell me about the LB9's?