i have a 84 se bird wanna know what can i get out of it i with a better carb/ and or intake?lookn to make cheap power, what can i do

 

From the FAQ forum: https://www.thirdgen.org/forums/faq-...5-engines.html

Changing the carb is expensive power. The stock carb is good up to more than the 305 can put out and still be considered streetable.

 

so any major gain by changing the intake?

 

No.

Not on some 20-odd year old LG4.

The way to speed IS NOT un-bolting and re-bolting the biggest things you can spy sitting right out there in the open where everybody can see them. Eye candy IS NOT the same as fast.

The way to make your car go faster is to identify THE ONE PART that is creating the most restriction or handicap to it being fast; and selecting an appropriate replacement, upgrade, or modification to THAT PART.

In the case of a 20-odd-year-old LG4, once you get through the process of repairing everything that's worn out and otherwise wrong with it (carb rebuild, tune-up, de-sludge the engine with ATF, complete fluid change from bumper to bumper, lube everything, brake job, de-rattle & -squeak, etc. etc. etc.) the first "upgrade" will be the exhaust. Next, the air cleaner (the L69 dual snorkel setup is the way to go... NOT a big shiny chrome one). After that, the rear gear. After that, the torque converter. Then, the cam.

Note that NONE of these things is big and shiny and sits right on top of the engine where 8-year-old kids can walk by in parking lots and oooooh and aaaah over all the square inches of chrome. "Chrome don't bring the money home" they say at the track.

 

I had a buddy who changed the carb on his ~85 el camino 305 as his first modification. He said the carb swap and putting full length headders on it were his biggest gains with that paticular motor. I'm not saying the quadrajet is a bad carb by any means, it would be my second choice to a holley on a chevrolet any day. The kid also noted one of the worst gains was switching the manifold.

My brother swapped a 305" into his 85 when he first got the car, with a good tune up, new bearings, edelbrock intake and carb, along with a 204°/214° .420/.443 cam and no cat he saw a big improvement over the way the motor was in the car he took it out of.

I've been working on a tech article about 305" performance, but it mainly entails and entire tear down and rebuild (also its about half way done), If you want i could send you as far as i am on it.

I do agree with sofa kingdom however that a major tuneup should be the first thing on the list. At least as a ways to set your standards.

Finally, what do you intend of doing with the car? That can give a better idea of what needs to be done to ensure satisfication with the car.

 

There is no replacement for displacement my friend. You may get small gains with little mods, like a bigger throttle body (carb), intake, cam and exhaust, but you'll be lucky to feel it with the seat of your pants (you may just be lying to yourself to justify the $$$$ you just dropped).

Your best bang for the buck is a used 350. Check out car-part.com and search your car or a 1990 suburban 1500 w/ 350 (will bring up more interchange then a third-gen). I just found one out of a 93 Caddy for $350!! Heard it run and checked good compression. You're probably scared right? Its okay, thirdgen.org will help you with every bolt and every connector if you really want to do it, its more time consuming labor of unscrewing bolts.

If that sounds to complicated, another way of increasing your displacement is well, a turbocharger (research a rear mount turbocharger, easyer to install).

 

"Camaro Performers" did an article on this exact issue. They were talking about how guys often get laughed at for wanting to hop up a 305, because for the most part, 305s were restrictive as hell and are really nothing special. But these guys (pro mechanics, keep in mind) went out and bought a low-end version of the 305 with the dished pistons and regular flat-tappet cam. With new heads, a new cam, a 650 cfm speed demon carb, and an edelbrock intake they got out 372hp at 6100 rpms / 350tq at 4500 rpms. These are all major mods, for starters do like listed above: exhaust, major tune up, and intake.

 

Pretty much old news.

The FAQ thread says as much as you need to know.

I almost doubled the stock output of my 305, with a 140k mile stock shortblock. Took a second off of the 1/4 mile ET.

The 350 shortblock took another second and a half off.

Oh, did I mention stock carb?

 

Of those two things, it was the headers that made the difference. The carb would have netted him no gain.

 

i have to agree on this, the problem is letting the engine breath so it will suck in more fuel in the first place. ive swapped pleny of mustang motors, i can do a motor swap in a day if i have all my parts and thats in my backyard too. ive worked at shops, so anyways im not interested in a 350. i could turbo or super charge a 305 and then that is replacement for displacement. like for ever bar of boost efectively doubles ur displacement i think so at 10 psi i think its like a 454,lol

 

How far into this motor are you wanting to go? Like a head swap, or cam swap? Or even pulling the entire thing out and rebuilding it?