I'm only rebuilding the 305 because its the stock motor and I'd liek to freshen it up. she's only got 72k on her. this will the first time ever rebuilding an engine.

Here's the plan I have. Gonna pull her out.
I'm looking to get 300 horses.
Things I'd like to replace:
all the gaskets and seals.
water pump ( stock or the edelbrock jr)
pistons ( high compression, on budget but whats a good brand?)
change the stock heads for zz4 heads ( hope i have it right)
I am not sure what cam to use.
Not sure if I should replace the rods.
I need an opinion.


Only 19 so this will be quite an experience.

 

Get a 350.

 

You're going to be paying more money rebuilding a 305 than you would to buy and rebuild a 350, by the way.

 

1st, welcome aboard.

Now, what year is this engine/car? Most likely, with 72k miles and any sort of regular oil changes, it isn't going to need any kind of a rebuild. Ditto pistons etc., depending upon the model year.

Depending upon the year and induction type, the heads may be a good upgrade, or, they may be useless unless combined with other upgrades. Need more info.

Ditto on the cam. Need to know more about your engine and what else it has/you have planned.

Big unknown: Exhaust.

 

do it up if you want.

go with better then stock for everything, there are cheap rotating kits for 305, they can actually turn them into a 335 or something like it, if your real serious about it, PM me and i will do a little research on it for you.

~Nick~

 

Don't get us started on the "335 kit". It's a total waste of money.

I still need to be convinced this 305 needs a "rebuild". The bolt-on upgrades suggested can be justified, but a "rebuild" has yet to be.

 

Ok. the reason i want to rebuild is because i am swapping in a manual tranny. so I'd like to freshen it up. I'm really gonna push this engine on street and track.

i know i can get a 350 but i want the car to retain its stock value. thats why.

the engine is a lb9 from an 86 iroc.

I'm looking to spend only about 600-700 on the rebuild. Mm, I have no idea what a machine shop is looking for to bore the engine, or how much a port and polish job would be on the intake. Could anyone share that with me?

(My other sn had its privileges taken away for no reason so this is my new one. )

The exhaust will be stock single pipe cat setup just so i can pass inspection after that I'll do that last.

Why does it cost more to rebuild a 305 than a 350????

 

but, only you would know it is a 350. any type of moddifications to any car/eng. combo is what kills the "value". now with the right parts and right buyer yes you can get more than the cars"value" but, with a 305 that is pretty hard to find the right buyer. besides these are thirdgen f-bodys the value for a 86 iroc, 86 T/A ect. is oh what a dime a dozen? so unless you have a mint super low mile car I can't see it happening.


now why am i so hard pressed for you to use a 350 well the parts are cheaper. (pistions) heads are easy to find (ones that flow well and clear the 4" bore)

 

Save the money on the "rebuild" for things that will make a difference.

The bottom end, i.e. block, pistons, crank, bearings, rods, should all be fine. You don't need to do anything to them to make the engine run better.

Spend the money you aren't going to use on the rebuild for exhaust. Headers is Step #1, and you can't do better than the Hooker 2055, which are taylor made for your application. You can spend more, but you won't get any more benefit by doing so - kind of like the rebuild question. Those headers are completely emissions legal, so there's no problem there.

Your car basically doesn't have any value for being "stock". If it did, you'd kill that by putting in a manual tranny and aluminum heads, anyway. So, get over that.

If you're keeping the TPI, that restricts your cam choices. The '86 engine is flat tappet (non-roller lifter), so look for that type of cam - good thing, they're cheaper. Comp makes computer-compatible cams, a XE262 would probably be all you'd want. Other companies make similar.

305 parts, for whatever reason, tend to be higher priced than 350 parts. Primarily, that means pistons and rings. But, since I've talked you out of that, no problem there.

Again, spend your money where it will count. Get over your pre-conceived notions and plan properly. At least you came to the right place to get information.

 

Nobody is going to pay you extra for your car because your car still has that pig LG4 in it, just because that's what came in it. You can believe that. That "decrease the car's value" is a bunch of bull. Nobody wants that 305. That's why everybody that sells one of these cars tries to tell the buyer that it has a 350 in it, even if it doesn't..... it's not because the 305 is worth more.

The money that you spend in a rebuild, is all in parts and machine work. The core (the wore-out piece you're rebuilding) is usually less than 10% of the total price, often less than 5%. I guarantee, by the time you actually execute a rebuild, you will have about $2500 tied up in stuff besides the "core"; the "kit" you see on Summit's web page is just the barest beginning. You'll be paying for boring, honing, cleanup, head work, cam & valve train, carb rebuils, new plugs and wires and hoses and maybe a couple of sensors, engine mounts, and on and on and on. The $100 or whatever price of a "core" 350 block to build, will be insignificant compared to all that. Only an idiot would deliberately settle for 86% of his money's value. Yet, that's exactly what rebuilding a 305 core instead of spending the same money on a 350 core, is doing.

Think of it this way: you can build what you've got for $2500 and when you're done you'll have the same slug-slow thing you started out with; or, you can buy a 350 core and build that instead for the same $2500, and get a whole lot more bang for your bucks. Now, what's the smart way to go?

 

Only exception I can see is some autocross class that has limitations on upgrades. Whether aluminum heads or 350, you're still dead in that case.

 

Emulate this "lame" LG4 cam/head/intake buildup and you will be rewarded with 372 horsepower @ 6100 rpm. Too high of rev? How about the same build...300 hp @ 4500 rpm and continuing to build all the way to 6100 rpm. I'm going to build this 350 killer using my "lame" LG4 also. Good luck.




http://www.popularhotrodding.com/eng...cks/index.html

 

Would you quit with the "372 horse 305" stuff already? You're spreading it all over the Board. It's nothing new, it's nothing special, and they blow up. Make it so it can withstand the revs, and you'll spend more money than you would putting in a 350, which will make more power for less money more reliably.

And, you ain't gunna build a 6100 RPM TPI 305.

 

Dude why gotta be rude? Because you are a moderator with 20k plus posts, it's ok? I agree that apples to apples a 350 is better than a 305. But when you consider there were thousands of LG4's produced for Camaros and thousands of people have these engines who are either unable to or aren't willing to swap them. Therefore, it's best to inform and educate them rather than belittle them and make them feel stupid for working with what they got. The kid posting the question is only 19 fer crying out loud! Also, you obviously didn't read the article so you are speaking either from ignorance or you have vast experience with the LG4. Either way, the bottom end of the engine wasn't touched other than a mild cam. Everything remained the same so longevity isn't going to be an issue. The writer of the article admits they should have gone with beehive valve springs for higher rpm potential and durability but that's what people need to know...not that their engine is a dog and should be discarded immediately. By the way, the engine is topped by a Edelbrock AirGap w/ 650 cfm carb. I'm getting off my soapbox now.

 

I think you've already discovered your best bet here; performance mods to your current engine.
71k is just broken in, I'd forget about the bottom end. You can do a leak down test to be sure that the bottom end is fine, if it passes, go to town on the top end.

sofakingdom has posted his "top 10 ways to get your 3rd gen funner" list a handful of times, look at that. Motor mods barely make the list, the car is faster with things besides motor mods eh?

After the exhaust that your car desperately needs (seriously all the magazine "buildups" of 305's start with dyno'ing it with open exhaust, they get those 150hp LG4's showing 200HP. That's exhaust mods for you right there.) ..... err, right, after the exhaust, you can look at a cam, or some head porting, chip tuning etc.


celtic - word on the street is that five7 had a fast 305 once upon a time. I'm pretty sure he agrees that his 4" bore kit was his best bang/buck mod so far

 

Don't want to be. Nothing else seems to be getting through.

The last post to this thread was almost 4 months ago. The originator hadn't come back for more advice. I'm certainly willing to continue the discussion for him, but only if it stays on track.

Yes, I did read your article. And the next step, not covered in that article, is when the stock shortblock let loose on the dyno. As Sonix says, I've done the 305 thing (mine had X rods in it from the factory - maybe his does too). I do appreciate the limitations of a 19-year-old. No TPI to carb swap was mentioned. All that is more reason not to go the route you are proposing.

You want to make a 305 faster? Be my guest. I started a thread about it on the FAQ forum. However, touch the shortblock, and you're throwing good money after bad - and that's where the originator was going. The rest of what he wanted to do? Fine. A bit overkill (read: ZZ4 heads - I'd just port the stockers), but fine. Still, 372 HP 305 is not going to happen with TPI, and not for $700.

Original or restored value? Maybe in 2107, but not in the next 10-30 years. More power? Fine, just spend the money where it will make a difference. Rear gears makes more sense with a conversion to manual than doing anything to the engine.

 

350 blocks are not as cheap to get as everyone says, the cheapest i can find around here are like $300-$400, personally i'd rather just rebuild my 305 and then when i have a bit more money and experience build a 350 later on, who knows how long i'm even gonna own the car. just my $.02

 

Again (and again, and again, and again), wasted money. Even if the 350 is $400 (which is probably a longblock, when all you really need is a shortblock), that's money better spent than rebuilding a 305 shortblock.

And, the originator (who hasn't been back for 8 months) doesn't need to rebuild the 305 to accomplish his stated goals. Wasted money.

I'm not opposed to building a 305. I am opposed to rebuilding one.