I'm thinkin that I need to start workin on squeezing some more power out of my existing engine since I can't afford a new engine yet.
What are some mods that can improve my 305's performance, and most importantly be used with a 350 or a 383 (not sure which I want yet) Right now it's a stock LG4 with a dual snorkle air cleaner and a 3" catback exhaust.

Some of my first ideas were headers and a high flow cat, then upgrade the gears, I think I have 2.73 right now. What gears should i use to get a decent improvement in performance without killing my gas mileage?

I'm also thinking of maybe a carb rebuild and a new edelbrock intake come spring.

Would a better cam be a good idea? I heard the LG4's cam sucks. Any cam recommendations?

any other ideas or suggestions would be appreciated.
Thanks
Rich

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1986 Camaro Sport Coupe
Stock 305 cid. LG4 engine
3" catback dual exit exhaust
Metallic Indigo Blue Paint
Gloss Black Interior
L69 dual snorkle intake

 

with those gears and a stock 305 very hard to score any kills, in my oppinion a 3:42 is a much better compromisse between acceleration and range.
let's see what our other brothers say about.
fernando.

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third gen muscle power is the only thing that can match the power of flight...

 

Stock Lg4, Mid - High 16 seconds/

3" Catback
Performer RPM Intake
Comp XE262H
3.42 LSD
Non Computer Quadrajet
Recurved, Non Computer, Distributor.
essentially Stock Otherwise, Including stock Manifolds and Y Pipe...

Looking for a 14.5 or lower Next time out.
That should put a Hurt on your Foriegn friend.

Oh yeah, 23 MPG highway.

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60 Ranchero - Project ( Money Hole )
85 Sport Coupe LG4 - Daily Driver 14.82 @ 91.1 (faster than Ed)
Reader's ride -> My Ride

Just another Hot Rod kid, or thats what they all tell me.
Livin' the Stereotype

 

Was the dual snorkle original? Then you may have a L69 and not a LG4... a better starting block I guess. Simple things like 1.6 roller rockers are a good way to gain a little something. Headers and full exhaust are a great thing to do also. I would suggest 3.42 or 3.27 gears at the very least along with a cheap posi (you have 26 spling axels I believe), and most definately would do the intake and a higher stall converter (if automatic tranny).

Stick with the electronic Q-jet. Ed Maher's article is a good place to start with some simple and cheap mods for it. They work really well if you know what you are doing... like any of us do! Weiland dual plane manifold is a great manifold if you don't have to worry about the EGR stuff.

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1984 z28 w/ a 357 cu in. monster engine which is looking like the posterchild for Edelbrock with the exception of the Holley 750vac... all the suspension stuff... 9-bolt posi disk is in...

-=ICON Motorsports=-

 

I agree with Bort62, keep the Quadrojet carb, just mod it and you will be fine. Work on that exhaust. Eliminate the CAT or modify(hi-flo, Gut) it. Put the 3" pipes all the way if you have not. Changing the gears is a great idea. Do you have a 2nd stage chip after you do the other mods? You can increase your Hp's with the edlebrock intake. By how much I am not sure. I have thesame '86 but I get my share of kills, just pick the right fights(lol).

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86 Camaro Black SS Coupe, T Tops, Flowmaster, Custom Paint, Dunlop Road Kings S/R tires, Wheel Country Directional Chrome Wheels,new charcoal & gray interior including seats and door panels, new carpet and headliner, complete front end suspension rebuild, new Valve seals, and more mods to come
http://www.angelfire.com/sports/niterider/86camaro.html
Morgan_Andre@hotmail.com

 

There are three steps u need to take:

1. Headers with a 3" cat and 3" exhaust. When u buy your headers, get the tpi headers, the y pipe is larger than on LG4/LO3 headers.

2. Gears either 3.73's or 3.42's will get u out of the hole. A shift kit for the trans. is also a good idea, one that lets u adjust the governor so u can match it to the gears.

3. Intake and cam. Any of the Crane compu-cams are good, the 2030 cam is a good starting point. The cam I have is slightly hotter than a L69 cam, which is also a good cam. Be careful, we don't run a lot of compression and it is a small engine. The intake from edelbrock, the ZZ3 intake from GM are good choices if u keep the ECM as they have provisions for everything including EGR. Plus if u paint it black (like I did), it will look "stock". Use the board's article on tuning the Q-Jet, u will need to richen the secondaries, a five minute process of R & R.

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86 SC, 305 LG4, TH700R4, SLP headers, 3" cat and exhaust. Mild cam 204/214, .423/.442. SLP shift kit, richmond 3.73's w/limited slip. Suspension Techniques Sway Bars, Globel West Wonderbar, Poly everything bushings, Metco LCA's, Lakewood Panhad Rod. 16" ROH, with Toyo 245's. For autocross, 16" IROC's w/bfg R1's... Nothing easy can be fun...

 

Check out the latest 4 issues of Chevy High Performance. They are doing a couple mods every month on a Camaro with an LG4, and are reporting the times each month as the mods get done. It's interesting. I think they bought the car for like $230 at an auction, and it was in the 17's when purchased. Currently it's running high 14's, and getting better.

 

OKay, I'm gonna toss a dose of reality into the conversation

---What are some mods that can improve my 305's performance, and most importantly be used with a 350 or a 383 (not sure which I want yet)----

Since you're mentioning a 383 or 350, I'd assume it could be a mild-ish 383 or a hotter 350, that said, very few parts that will help a 305 will work correctly on a bigger cubed engine.

I think I'd limit my bolt-ons to a decent catback, ignition system and dual-plane intake, with priority on the intake and catback.

Gears I'd leave alone until I have a new engine and see what it's built for.

Forget about the cam change as well. Nothing that worked well in the 305 would work as good or have as much potential in a 350 or 383.

I'm not trying to pick apart folks suggestions of what to do with your 305, just trying to keep the suggestion limited to your original question.

 

The dual snorkle is not original, I picked it up from a yard for $35 in June. Question though, is that article online? If so, where?

 

thanks to everyone who's responded, you've given me some helpful advice. I think I'm gonna go with headers/3"cat first followed quickly by a performer RPM intake (baby's gotta breathe) this spring when I get some more spending money.

I'll see how well that works then I'll think about the stall converter and rear gearing (might try to find 4thgen rear setup with disks).

I think I'll wait and see how far in the future an engine looks before I go with a new cam, if it's a couple of years, I'll pass, if longer I might go with it

thanks again. anyone else have more suggestions?

 

Before you do the intake, you might want to look at RB83L69's Dyno Run. He made some pretty good power without changing the intake.

That said, the biggest bottlenecks are exhaust, cam, and heads; and only the exhaust will transfer over to a bigger motor. The next question: How wild is your bigger motor going to be? Headers that are good on a stockish 305 will strangle the power potential of a 383. If you're planning on end up with a moderate 350, you can buy some 1 5/8" headers now. A hot 383 really would want 1 3/4" shorties or even long tubes for max performance.

That said, your safest bet is a high flow cat (or N10 factory dual cat setup) and a good catback. Anything else is going to be an issue.

You may want to experiment with the secondary rods and hangars though. The last LG4 I saw in the yard had DD rods and a T hanger. Might as well not even have secondaries--those DD's were thick as a telephone pole! You can grab a decent upgrade (for a stock LG4) by grabbing rods and hangers out of a mid-sized or larger car, or a truck/Van. You can usually score an N-ish hangar and some rods that are better than DD.

 

I would go with gears first, those 2.xx are killing your performance. Definetly read all the articles on this site about tuning the carb. RB83L69's engine is very impressive and he is probably the guy to talk to (very passionate about carbs ). The factory cam is definetly something to be changed if you wanna move, its pretty small. With a cam, gears, and exhaust your car will drive like a different (and much faster) car!
good luck