Motor was given to me.

Castings on block: GM 460777 L22-78 T17
This shows it to be a 78-79 2 bolt main, manufactured on December 22 of 1978

Casting on head: 14014416:
This shows the heads to be 1980-1986, with 1.84 intake and 1.5 exhaust valves, and 58cc chambers.

Upon further inspection, pistons are flat top, with 040 stamped on the top. I assume this to be .040 over? I don't have a caliper to measure the bore for sure.

Oil pan and Carburetor were both full of water, and the water outlet housing was full of ants (haha, that was some horror movie stuff there).

Motor has been stripped to short block now, cylinders need honed but there is no major rust, all bearings are wonderful, lifters and push rods looked new, but I pitched them anyways. Cam looks almost brand new, and there is no damage/play to the lower end. Motor rolls over with almost no resistance. What I can't believe is that there is NO RIDGE WHATSOEVER on the cylinder walls? I figured it to be a recent work over, but the motor appears 100% factory sealed. It even has little washers tack-welded to the heads saying "Warranty Void if removed" on them, and the entire long block is factory chevy blue.


So gentlemen, the question here is:

Do I have a boat anchor or a possible v6-v8 swap, I'm so tired of my doggy 180k mile 3.1l and gas prices are down


Also, what kind of cu. in. is a .040 over 305?

And what kind of hp/torque am I looking at with a quadrajet and edelbrock performer intake?

The valves are 1.84, and 1.5. Would I be able to have 2.02's and 1.75's machined in instead?

Whats the general opinion fellas??



I can get pictures if anyone would like to see anything!

 

The stock bore of a 305 is 3.736". You can do the math for .040"-over from there.

Cam and lifters should stay together. If you pitched the lifters, you just pitched the cam, too.

1.94"/1.60" valves are as big as you need/want.

Without knowing exactly what the cam is/was, it's impossible to make a HP estimate. But, you'll be getting a new cam now, anyway. With the right cam, proper head work, and decent exhaust, a 250 HP 305 is easily possible.

It's a viable V6 to V8 swap candidate, but you'll need a lot more than just the engine.

 

I'm aware of what entails a v6-v8 swap, I just was wondering if this was anything special to start with.

And upon further study, it appears that boring a 305 0.040 over changes it to a 312.

 

"It even has little washers tack-welded to the heads saying "Warranty Void if removed" on them, and the entire long block is factory chevy blue."

Sounds like a store bought re-build. If you haven't pulled the pistons out you may be able to run it as-is. Why pitch the push rods?

 

There was too much water in the block. The carburetor was corroded shut and the stock intake was corroded inside. I pitched the lifters and push rods because of all of the water in the system. Even on a good rebuild i would still replace the push rods, just to be safe.

 

Never had an issue running new lifters on an old cam. If you want to use it, cant see anything wrong with that.

 

That's what I thought. I built a Dodge 400 with a used RV cam and new lifters and she still runs, and does 5 seconds in the speed pit at the local mud bogs.

I'm not even for sure if the cam is stock or not, is there any way to tell with it installed? I'd really like to not have to install new cam bearings just yet.

 

You don't need to install new cam bearings if you pull the cam out.

 

get rid of the cam and get a new cam lifter kit...hydraulic flat tappet lifters break in with the cam and wear together, if u go swapping one part u need to swap all the rest dont be a cheap ***.........if u are going to be a back woods ******* and go that route just grow a mull et and get it over with...people like that keep the bad name of our cars goin...id pitch the 305 in favor of a good 350 any day...if ur gonna go through the swap hastle at least do it for a motor thats worth it. its like if u were gonna cheat on your wife and ur choices were miss usa and Rosie odonnell and ur choosing rosie. if ur gonna do it make it worth it by choosing miss usa(350 CID or bigger)

 

So I guess all those places replacing single failed lifters for the past 60+ years are stupid?

Too many old wives tales floating around.

 

It wouldn't matter how different they wear in when you replace all of the lifters at one time, now wouldn't it? Now, it's a free motor, I don't have anything in it. I wouldn't have any hard feelings if it did blow up. I happen to have a radical 327 for when I want to make it a show car. Right now it's a daily driver. Now if I had a 350 given to me, I'd use it. I don't want to hear any of your biased "Holier than thou" BS. I made this thread looking for advice and assistance, not criticism. I also recommend you double check the background before you go throwing insults around like "mull et" and "Backwoods redne ck", I happen to be from West-By-God-Virginia, and here, mull ets and redne cks are accepted. There is no harm in using Rosie O'donnell as a stepping stone to get to Miss Usa.

Now if you don't have anything informative or proven, don't even bother.

 

why dont you go sell your camaro and get a mustang, that way you can get on a mustang board and talk crap, if you not going to post anything that is helpfull than dont post at all....i know it can be upsetting that he is choosing Rosie since she is your wife but we know she will never leave you so it will be ok.... it dont feel so good when someone talks crap to you now does it



ok sorry about that, people like that on here are worthless, you are looking for advise not a insult or slap in the face

so take your cam to a machine shop they can tell you the specs on it

my advice, is to get the heads rebuilt, clean up the block, get a rebuild kit, a cheap but better than stock intake, a 600 CFM carb, and a vac advance dizzy.....if your cam has good specs use it, if not look for a nice low RMP cam like an idle to 4600 or a 1600 to 5000 cam, it will probably be an RV/towing cam, but they seem to work good for D.D.'s, of course get a new water pump, and oil pump, run the high PSI spring in the oil pump, and since the oil pan was full of water you may want a new/used one. also have your crank checked out.....maybe some 1:6 stamped steel roller rockers (since they are cheaper)

im sure i may have left out some other good parts to add to it, but someone else will catch it and tell you.... but go for it, the 305 is better than the 6cyl, and a very fast 305 can be built if you want to go all out, and then the best part of that is telling the 350 boys they been beat be a tree-o-five

 

You tossed the lifters and don't know what cam is in it. You can get a cam/lifter kit for dirt cheap, and you're already buying lifters, anyway. Might as well get a known cam so you can have a better idea what to expect, and it's less likely to fail on you (regardless of how many lifters have been put on old cams, the odds of failure are still increased).

Even if the engine was free, might as well do it right once rather than having to do it all over again. After going through all of the work of the V6 to V8 swap, it would be cheap insurance against pulling the engine again.

And, you'd have a known cam.

 

It certainly is gratifying beating up 350 boys with a well planned and executed 305. What was more fun is taking them in a 305 powered fullsize van.

 

Thank you 89rs for backing me up, and five7 for the added advice. I'll keep all this in mind when I do the build.

 

draco, i like your avitar pic, do you have a file for it???

i want that logo for our local 3rd gen clubs t-shirts??

if you got the file or can tell me where you got it PM me and i will give you my email so you can send the file to me

 

Water got in enough to ruin the pushrods and lifters but the cylinders are fine? This 'free' motor is sounding more expensive with each post.

 

fiveseven gave the same "advice" i did just did it nicer. my advice was sound u do not mix new lifters with old cams on flat tappet cams....period. if u have to replace one lifter u have to replace them all and the cam! they are a matched set once the engine has broke in. you can only get away with this on a roller lifter. and let me change the ******* comment to one of u can piece together a 305 have it run 15.7s and further soil the camaro name or u can put a good motor in. if u do want to run a 305 i would at least build it right. find out all your specs and match a good cam with your compression and heads.......but no your just pissing in the wind throwing away good money into an ex boat anchor or at least thats what im assuming its last job was considering it has so much water in it. good advice would be to put your "radical" 327 in it if u are going through the trouble of a v8 swap and sell that 305 for some beer money. happy....

 

and now on to you....really no my gf is no miss USA, how ever she is a very cute blonde far from a rosie but well i checked out your myspace buddy and well you cant quite say the same wakein up to that thing every mornin now can ya....i can get quite childish it really doesnt bother me, and on the mustang crack u do realize those are very good cars, i do prefer my camaros haveing had 6 f bodies now and 2 mustangs i can safely say for third gen models stock for stock the fox will hand u your ***...pull up with that lil baby rs next to one and run that mouth of yours and be prepared to see tail lights...its not till the 4th gens that camaro controlled the streets....alas the mustang boards as well as the rest of the internet is full of oxygen wasters like yourselves...seems these days if u can fog a mirror you become a resident expert on everything. I myself nope no expert here plenty of things i dont know....but what i do know is logic. logic dictates u dont throw money at an engine block already bored .040 over thats been full of water, and u dont just replace lifters on a flat tappet cam. but i am not giving sound advice so i guess it shall end here........

 

Factory service manuals allow and recommend replacement of single or multiple failed lifters. At least 2 of the big 3 make specific tools to replace just the lifter without intake removal. Obviously they're totally wrong in their advice of repairing their own product, you said so.

 

on a hydraulic flat tappet cam? yeah show me that.....

 

im just curious how you could get a lifter out with the intake on?

is the tool a huge drill bit?


as for the OP, ive run a similar 305 (out in the rain for a year or two) started right up after an oil change heh. used it as a temporary motor in my 70 GTO, in my opinion, id throw that 327 in, unless you wanted to have some motor-blowing fun. In anycase, goodluck on the car.

 

BOTH GM and FORD allow it for factory repairs.

 

ok just because it is allowable by factory repair manuals (and im still skeptical) it is not a good idea and you both know it, specially on an unknown cam. cam and lifters are so inexpensive u might as well do the swap... and noroxus, u can pull the distributor and loosen the rocker arm and remove the pushrod off of the lifter and with a very strong magnetic tool fish down into the valley through the distributor hole and assuming there are no build up of deposits and the lifter is not mushroomed pull it out and replace it. i still would no do so on a flat tappet cam u should replace it all....

 

Then again, I know it and I also know with the Zinc gone from modern motor oils, I WOULD NOT TOUCH a FLAT-TAPPET camshaft. The failure rate is VERY high on flat-tappets without ZZP.

 

yes very good point nothing but rollers here on out....flat tappet has gone the way of the dodo bird........

 

thats a hell of a method heh. id like to see someone do that to the front cylinders (not saying its impossible). learn something new everyday.

 

yeah i would be a pain but i read that method in a book never tried it myself....

 

ohh great here we go, someone who talks bad over the internet just what i love to see when i get off work...someone who has all day to sit at his computer and puke out crap. for your wonderful insight on life love and the free world....oh yea i can beat a 5.0 fox, again, but im not all stock also

 

Go look. You're confusing the well known advice of not reusing old lifters with not reusing the cam.

As far as replacing lifters with the intake on, some v engines have clearance through/next to the head to do that.