im thinking about spending a little money on my lo3. i wanna keep it as stock looking as possible without spending tons of money. headers and y are on the way shortly, lt1 cam also. then comes intake and go from there. i was reading the tech article options noting there was a link to porting 305 heads but i could not access the link? any info?

 

do a search sitting bull did a great thread on it in here but not for L03 heads... but same principals will apply... he had pics too

 

thanks a butt load!! any other info from anyone??

 

You're asking an incredibly wide question. What exactly do you want to know?
Do a bunch of searches, sitting bulls thread is by far the most comprehensive, but there are lots more as well. Just don't bother with the L03 heads.
Once you have your feet wet with info, come back and ask some specific questions. Some people here get really tired of typing out the same info, again and again, especially when most people don't even have the follow through to do anything with that new found info.

 

Man you got that right! Some people think if they just type enough questions the car in the garage will fix itself. Like this:
Me> Do a vacuum test and post the readings and we can tell you what's wrong.
Them> Anybody else know what could be wrong with my car?
Me> Have you tried replacing the EGR valve?
Them> No, it's too hard to get to. I guess I'll have to find another site that knows something about these cars...
Me> (unposted comment) The problem with your car is it's owned by a lazy person .
{end rant}

 

sorry for the lack of information but the thing is is if i leave out my details, someone will fill them eventually and by that i will LEARN and know what i need to know. if you dont follow this theory i am sorry. my problem is is that i keep fricken hearing about swirl port heads suckin ***, someone said go with tpi 305 heads, someone then told me no dont do that because they lag on exhaust but improve on intake. so i thought...buy junkyard tpi heads, replace seals springs retainers ect, PORT exhaust ports to match or compensate for lag of swirl ports, and put them on. im not sure what my real question is because everytime i ask a question i get an obsolete answer or something irrelivent. SO ILL TRY AGAIN. WOULD IT BE BETTER TO PORT LO3 HEADS OR BUY JUNKYARD TPI HEADS, PORT THE EXHAUST SIDE TO COMPENSATE, OR JUST PUT TPI HEADS ON IT? i dont want to search for alluminum corvette heads because those cars are all spoken for around here, and aftermarket heads on my 17 year old 305 is POINTLESS because of the price. sorry that it took so long just trying to explain myself. if you dont like my questions PLEASE give me your adress and i will come to your house and personally sit down and talk to you about this. its easier to answer all things at once then post wait reply post wait reply. THANKS

 

No, I really don't get what you mean here?
haha, hey, if you were in Calgary i'd invite you over for a few beers to chat about your goals with the car, and what i'd recommend you do with it. But it's a bit of a drive...

Yea, i'd grab some junkyard TPI heads, or the 416 or 601 casting number heads. Then port the snot out of them. Exhaust and intake. That helps minimize the downtime with your car too eh? Throw in a decent roller cam and you're laughing. You'd have to modify intake bolt holes if you use 416 or 601 heads, but it's no big deal. You'll have to get comfortable tuning the computer for these changes as well.
I'd recommend modifying your exhaust first, if you haven't already. Nice thing is, with a manual tranny that's one less PITA to worry about when going to ported heads / bigger cam. ie, no need for a bigger torque convertor.
Rattle off a bunch more questions when you're ready then.

 

idc if calgary is that far away hell i'll bring the beer! ok so now you have answered my question that tpi heads are better than the stock lo3's if i port them. and buy the way, i read DYI porting...i think i'll take it to a shop. ill go with tpi's because i dont want to modify intake bolts, im going to start searching for the best cheapest intake soon. like i said, my hedmens and y pipe will be ordered friday. im gonna find used lt1 cam to put in there. dont want alot of lump or power just better than recent. so my next question is...can i tune my stocker now for better performance? i have half of the ultimate tbi mods. what should i do to get a feel for tuning before i purchase my parts? aldl cable ordered soon as well. then hopefully a burner...suggestions?

 

I know nothing about tuning TBI, just that I know you'll need to. The TBI board will be your best bud when it comes to specifics - but I think you've got a good headstart on that.
Once you get a price quote on getting someone else to port your heads, you'll choke. And realize that aftermarket heads are actually pretty cheap. That's why you gotta do 'em yourself. If you screw up, you're only out $40 for JY heads anyway. Stock 305 heads are CHEEEP. I used a harbor freight style die grinder, roughly $60, and a ceiling fan type of resistor (dimmer switch, but without extra jazz that causes them to burn up faster), to regulate the speed of the grinder. A few burrs from carbidebur.com and a few sanding drums and arbor from mcmaster-carr. It's a cinch.
Everything you mentioned in your last post sounds good though, headers, LT1 cam, tuning bits etc. You're on the right track.

 

im just waiting on paycheck to paycheck ya know. thats what i told my fiance anyway that all i wanna do is get my car done and then ill save all the god damn money she wants! so thats the deal. its gonna be about a 2 month project starting next weekend. i hope i can find all the guys like you to help me and not get too irritated lol.

 

yep do it while she's a girlfriend, next is wife and you thought you had budget problems. When you hit fatherhood your more likely to start paying alley-money than get permission for hot rods. It's always easier to ask for forgiveness than to ask permission. Maybe that's just my twisted life and I'm venting. But yeah sounds like your headed in the right direction. I'm still debating of an lo3 build up because I think it would be neat to pull away from lt1's and they see 305tbi under the hood. Looking like someone put him on a hidden reallity show. The other is a gmpp crate engine. Can't decide. Good luck though, I know your pain of prioritizing responsibilities.

 

yes yes your theory is true forgiveness is easier!! and also i would love to keep this a sleeping lo3. EVERYONE wants to go 350 cheap or 400 or 383 big big big. i wanna keep it small but dangerous. my pa has a porche 944 and found an ls6 swap kit for it and hes plannin on turning that into a sleeper. just imagine what a 2000 pound center balanced perfect weight distribution car can do with that much sleeping power under the hood??!! i wanna see fat tires in the back and skinnies in the air off the launch!!