Planning on putting the 305 thats in my 89 into my 87 because it was rebuilt 4 years ago and the 305 currently in the 87 has 91,000 miles on it and needs valve seals and all sorts of other work. But before I do that I want to try and do some work to the "new" engine. I plan on taking out the computer and all that so I know I need a non CC Carb and distributer. Also want to change heads and cam so I can get a little bit out of the engine, maybe so the car can get out of its own way haha. Any suggestions on a good setup?

 

Well I hate to be the new guy and rub you the wrong way, but just drop in a 350. Heres my experience.....I took my 305 and added a intake and carb. huhhhh, not huge. Did headers, well that woke it up some. But it was still a 305 and it was still slow....

To power up a 305 you are going to need to go all out with your heads, pistons and cam selection. Even a base 350 will perform on par with a worke 305. A 350 will give you the results you want, cheaper and will take less time.

You may want to think about going to lower rear end gears. A 305/350 swap still didnt give me the 'launch' that a set of 3.73's did......

 

iv heard of guys putting out tons of hp with 305s. granted there an under dog for me its about proving them wrong, the engine swap board might be of better source of info for yah also.

 

Oh, it can be done. A 305 can be made to put out gob of horsepower but its going to cost you a ton of money. I like the underdog idea myself but not if its going to put me in the poorhouse and there are plenty of donor 350's available. An engine swap isnt that hard, especially seeing how you are willing to pull heads and such......

 

A 350 swap is the best way to start, but I'm willing to bet you won't go that route as most people have to do a 305 a few times before they learn their lesson. That being said, raise the compression as much as you can (mill the ehads, thin head gasket), an RPM intake, a 264Mega cam, port the heads, tune the fuel/ignition, and headers. It'll still be slow, but it will be faster than it was.

 

Friends don't let friends build 305's.

 

Wow this gets the big FAIL stamp.

 

That's kinda harsh, but the kind of money it takes to get the 305 to the power level I sense you are intersted in out weighs the flexibility you get with a 350. A 350 is more responsive to small upgrades than the 305. When my 305 in my '87 Formula hit 145k one of the crank journals started knocking. Insted of rebuilding it I found a 350 short block and built it from there. Nothing serious, heads, cam, intake, and exhaust. Still has all emission controls, and cc-q-jet and distro, but what a huge difference over the 305. Besides that, for a nice daily street ride, what you really want is torque. The 305 can never match the 350 in torque. Don't forget these are all only opinions, and you should always do what you want. Also you can't put 2.02/1.60 heads on a 305 without serious mods to the cylinder. Here's what I did to mine:

Goodwrench 350
Lunati 204/214 @ .050 .420/.442 Hydraulic Cam/Lifters
Edelbrock Double Roller Chain
Comp Cams 1.6 Roller Tip Rockers (which gives .448/.472 valve lift)
Crane Chrome Moly Push Rods
Melling HV55 Oil Pump
World Products S/R Torquer Heads 2.02/1.60 170 cc runners
Edelbrock Performer EGR Intake
Modified cc q-jet
Accell Billetech 60109 Distributor
Accel Coil
MSD 6A and 8.8 Wires
Edelbrock Victor Water Pump
Edelbrock Tubular Exhaust
Hi-Flo Cat
Dynomax Cat Back
Hypertech Low Temp Fan Switch
Hypertech Thermomaster Chip
160 Thermostat

As I said nothing serious, just a fun, reliable, legal, high torque daily driven 22 year old Formula.

 

you can put in a zz4 cam 100.00 - and put in some good valves and springs - later you can use them in a different engine.

then a set of headers - if you dont already have them - about 250.00 and a good cat and chambered exhaust - 200.00 and install 150.00.

you are now up to about 225 - 250 hp.

get a tpi system - later you can put it on a 350 if you want - or not.

you now have a pretty peppy little street machine.

just make sure what ever you buy has dual use, so that the money does not go to waste.
if your heads are good - dont worry about it.
your swirl port heads can only handle about .470 and the zz4 is .474 on the intake and .510 on exhaust so you can put on a different set of springs. but those things can be used on a different engine - 350 or 305.
i want to keep the numbers matching on mine so im keeping it but i have looked more than once at a 350. i will make up my mind when i have to. but i already have the 081 heads and the some of the pieces as well as the tpi so no harm no foul.

if you like your 305 then use it. its your car, its your choice and if it is lowmileage then its a good choice.
ss valves