92 Camaro Z28 Auto

I can't afford a 350 or my T5 right now, so what would you do to give it some extra power...

It has some new exhaust, I don't know what it is yet...Bought it from a dealer....

^^ I mean the car, he didn't know what kind it was...

-Thanks

P.S. I'm probably going to have the 305 for a long time...T5 would come before the 350....

 

First, Id take a good look at the exhaust. Is it cat back? Is it 3"? Also does it have headers? If you say no to any of these, I'd purchase a full header back exhaust. You can do it for under $1000 and it will be full bolt on with no mods. Theres alot you can do to wake up that TPI system as well. Check the TPI section of the forum about porting and what not. Im a TBI guy, so I dont know too much about it. The ability to burn your own PROM chips will be fairly vital. Tuning the ECM for the mods you do will help greatly. Im going to skip the chip burning and get an emulator from Moates.

Later on you want to think about head work and a cam. You can do the head work yourself if you have the tools and a little knowledge or you can have a shop do it. Another option is to buy aftermarket heads.

I have a $2000 build planned for my 305 and a few folks have estimated me to get to 310 RWHP w/ my TBI. This is all with just bolt ons that will transpose to a 350 block later for even more potential.

 

This is the key, if you will eventually swap a 350 in there, make sure that the upgrades that you do can swap over to your 350 block and you really won't "loose" any money on your 305.

A lower gear in the rear like a 3.73 will give it a little more jump off of the line and will also benefit the future 350 plans.

 

Many have done it (me included) - few are not disappointed. It's been said by many - and given that I have a built up 305 AND a 350, I have to agree .... there really is no replacement for displacement.

I also spent about $2300 on my 1990 , with LT1 cam, ported/polished #416 heads, 1.6:1 rollertip rockers, larger valves, new intake, headers, exhaust, posi rear, and months of chip tuning for the TBI - and all it does is run, and not very well. Needless to say I don't have emissions here, and the TBI is getting replaced with a carb as well.

$2000 would easily get a 350. I got a 350 for $800, pan to carb, for my 1992. Had my tranny rebuilt for $500, another $400 for misc parts to make it work (like FPR for carb, TC lockup, etc.). I'm into the 1992 for about $4500 so far - that includes 350 carbed motor and all goodies to make it work, rebuilt tranny, 4th gen rear posi 3.42, coated headers, exhaust, poly mounts/bushings all around, Eibach Pro Kit all around, Bilstein shocks/struts all around, adjustable panhard bar, 4th gen seats, and glass t-tops to replace the Lexan jobs.

Let me say I'm very very pleased with the 350, and I know there is no way the 305 would ever touch it.

There are many parts that can be later transferred to the 350 - SBC is SBC - but, the initial investment in the 350 will produce much happier results much quicker, and allow your wallet to extend into suspension, etc.

Also, a T-5 won't hold up to a 350 from what I read - you'll need a T56 (4th gen 6-speed) to go with it if you remain manual - about $1200 used.

Good luck!

 

Thats another thing, just when you think that you can't afford a 350, take a look at some of the auctions for 350 crate engines. I think that I linked one for another guy a couple of days ago with 332 hp for about $1700. All that was needed to get it runnin was a carb.

Kinda makes you think about saving some change for a while huh?

 

Cool....I want to get a 350 first, before I switch....

 

Well the 305 vs 350 question is always a loaded one. And usually I am the one that jumps in and waves the 305 flag. I dont think anyone will deny that a 350 has more power potential but there is always more to the story. There are many reasons to build a 305, and we must also remember that a 305 is a small block chevy too and they respond well to the right modifications just like other small blocks. It all comes down to how much power you want to make. If you are looking to make in the neighborhood of 300hp and you dont have a 350 already rebuilt and ready to drop in (few of us do) then a 305 is certainly a great way to go and it is a cheaper solution. On a TPI 305 all you need is a cam and AL L98 'vette heads and a good exhaust to get there. You can do a head and cam swap on a 305 way cheaper than you can build a 350. You can do similar to a TBI 305 but you will also need an intake, throttle body, and a custom chip, still cheaper than a 350. A few years back I rebuilt my 305. My dad had a 350 on the floor but it needed rebuilt too. My 305 did not need pistons or anything, and the heads on the 350 were junk smog castings. I was on a shoestring budget at the time, and given that the 350 needed pistons and cylinder heads it was way cheaper to build the 305. I had $500 in rebuilding my 305, I later swapped on the aluminum heads on for a total cost of about $700. So for around $1200 bucks I had a stout 305. The only way you can come close to that is if you buy a 350, rebuild it with stock heads(maybe vortecs if you are lucky) and run a carb. It is not a must, but you really should swap injectors and a chip to swap to a 350.

I guess I just would like to hear people ask what a member's power goals are before they tell someone they are a jackass for building a 305. Not that anyone in this post is being rude, but I just dont think telling someone to swap to a 350 is always the best advice. The fact is, there are many folks who have built a 305 on a budget that make great power, deliver excellent gas mileage, and are reliable performers for years. With all that being said, Z2EIGHT what are your power goals? What performance are you looking to achieve?

PS it should also be noted that I am currently swapping my 305 out, for the reasons I note above, its time for tire-shredding that my 305 just wont be able to do without a power adder. Kinda hate to see it go actually...

 

I thought you could get 350 short blocks very cheap at the junkyards

 

I wouldn't swap in a 350 unless it's a roller block (87 up center bolt style heads). And I sure wouldn't swap out a running 305. If you want to make your car powerful you need to take out the restrictions from the bottom up. If you have some money and time, my plan of attack would be to pull the top end heads and all, get the heads ported, 1.94 back cut valves installed, slightly larger roller cam, ported base, siamesed and ported plenum, and siamesed stock runners. You can find out how to do all of this on here just search. Bump the base timing up to 8 or 10 degrees, get an adjustable fuel regulator and turn it up to 48psi off vacuum (or you can get a chip tuned, the above approach is a sort of band aid approach). You should also look into headers and at least a 3in exhaust, take out your air boxes and gut the bottoms, or just install a cold air cone style intake. After that I'de run that little 305 to death. When you start getting alot of blowby and the motor looses power, buy a 350 roller block, pull your 305 apart, reuse the cam and lifters, heads and exhaust.

 

My goals...

you know I want a decent, FAST camaro...

Something that even 05 Mustang GT's have a hard time to deal with...

I look at Camaros as Fast Cars....but its slow so it aggrevates me...

I want in the ball park of over 300HP and I am HAPPY!!

 

You can make 300hp fairly easy with a 305. Do a search and you will find tons of info. Do a search for guys like mw66nova, TunedPort335, Tim Burgess, Willie, and I cant remember the rest but there are more.

 

Before you make any plans, you'd better know for sure what you've got. Being a '92 TPI 305, it is very likely you have the extremely-restrictive 2.25" single cat exhaust on it. An absolute power killer. The "new" exhaust is most likely a cat-back, which may be 3", but more than likely it's no more than 2.5" and retained all of the restrictive 2.25" factory equipment through the cat.

So, before any grand performance plans are made, you have to fix that. First. Numero uno. Before you spend a dime on anything else. Start with exhaust from the exhaust ports of the heads and going all the way to the rear bumper that is for the '86-'90 TPI single cat application - no, it isn't what you have, but that's the "good" stuff. 3" from the point the two banks come together all the way to the muffler.

Now, for the dose of reality - anything you do to make a 305 faster would have to be done to make a 350 perform any better than the 305. That exhaust above is #1. Then you're talking TPI base, runners, ported plenum, TB, and the real biggie - PROM tuning. '92 is speed density, so any change to the assumptions made in the PROM parameters is going to require modifying the PROM tables. Starting with that exhaust, continuing right through to the 350 installation. After that is head porting and cam, and once again, doesn't matter if you're talking 305 or 350, you'd do it to either one.

So, before you get 350 cubic inches dancing before your eyes, know what you've got to work with, and understand what makes a difference and what doesn't, and what changes require other changes.

 

Extremely well spoken. I remember reading once that the only way to make a fast car is to start from the back tires up. This would mean you start with your muffler and move foward into the engine. On a TPI it's a tad different since we know what the restrictions are, and you have a wealth of information on how to make it perform on here. I think you would be happy with headers; y pipe, full 3in exhaust (classic chambered makes a 3in through muffler now), gutted air box, and upped fuel pressure for now. The next thing you should do is to take the entire top end of the engine off and port from the heads up.

 

I see what your saying...I'm getting some G-Forces or what ever your call them this summer...

I see how the exhaust could be a problem...I have some aftermarker exhaust, I have a pipe on each side...and right now my CATS are OFF...I have to put them on for inspection, then do you think it's ok (for the car) to keep them off?

So would gears be next? I have stock from what I believe, props to Devastator for helping me with gears... I want 3.43 gears, it's a daily driver to school and errands.

After that would a shift kit be acceptable? B&M stage 2, thanks to Devastator,

When does a computer chip and tuning come into play? Any good ones you guys recommend?

RANDOM Q - if my 305 has more HP will it eat more gas, will it stay the same or get better? My local friends are saying a chip will improve...Though I can't complain right now...

Then there is always the bigger stuff you guys mentioned above...for now thought lets say,(which I think) the exhaust is perfect...and were ready to move on....

-Thanks

 

305's suck...

 

Yeah...who would want to build up a 305?! what a waste of effort!

...(sarcastic)...

On a serious note, I love the work you've done, mw66nova.