I have a 90 formula with a 305 tpi w/t5. It has 95,000 miles. I just noticed the other day that it smokes a little bit on start up. I'm thinking of doing a overhaul on the engine and tranny. Whats the most output hp I can get on a 305 tpi and tranny t5 with a little mods but still keeping it stock?Don't want to mess up the ecm to much.

 

If you don't wanna mess with the ECU, don't mess with the engine.

 

yea if you are going to go with aftermarket heads, cam or intake its going to need some tuning to make it all be worth your time and money. just getting a prom burned after all that will help get every thing working smooth.

 

so if i tuned the ecm then what kind horse power can i get out of a 305 tpi. can i get at least 320hp with a$2500 budget?

 

if you played your cards right and did cam, heads and intake or intake porting yea id say you could maby be around 300. you wont have the torque a 350 would have i dont think.
i have a crap ton of bolt ons every thing besides fpr. with 373s and a 2500 stall i hope im around low 13s but il just have to find out for sure

 

The "Chevy puff" is pretty normal. Its something many SBC motors do. Most of them will do it eventually. It comes from the slightest bit of oil getting on the valve seals and burning off. If you get a single puff of blue'ish smoke and that's it I wouldn't worry about it. As for the power you can make from a 305, well your best bet would be to stroke it to a 335 and then add a cam and new heads to it. I'd recommend the AFR 305 specific heads. Though you'll have to do some digging to find some as they aren't made anymore. Then you need to port your plenum, runners and intake. Of course you may need slightly larger injectors and an adjustable fuel pressure regulator. Next, supercharge that sucker. I'd recommend the ATI Procharger. Bolt that on and go to town. When all is said and done you'll probably end up slightly north of 400HP. By the time you add up the machining, the stroker kit, the supercharger, and all the other work and parts you'll probably have $7,000+ in it.

Or you could just buy one of these:

Mast Motorsports LY7 480HP 6.0L LSx engine

LS3 436HP/428TQ

Chevy Small Block ZZ383

GMPP LS376 480HP/475TQ

These are just a few examples of how you can make much more power for the same money. In other words, get a 350. The saying is old but if you are going to pull the engine out of the car anyway to have it worked on you might as well replace it. You might as well make your money go further and faster. If you don't want to spend that kind of money you can get a moderately priced 350 and add a cam and heads to it, reuse your stock TPI and go with an HSR or Mini-Ram later on for more power. You also still have the option to supercharge it later if you wanted for even more power just as you do now. The difference is that when all is said and done you'll be making more power out of the 350 for the same money.

Unless you just absolutely want to keep everything original on your car hoping it will add to collectors value in the future, there is no reason to keep the 305.

 

Some umbrella seals would fix that start up smoke. I had to put a set on the 350 in my old '89 Van at only 90K.

 

What if I went with the 360 HP TPI Vortec Custom High Performance Series Street and Strip Engine from Scoggin Dickey Parts Centers. Then i port my plenum, get some runners and supercharge it. That would push me to 400hp right? Then i just need to tune my ecm and rebuild my t5. The engine sales for under $5,000...

 

Well any crate engine will do. I just went there to show you what the same money COULD get you vs. building up a 305. If you went with the 360HP engine and then bought a ATI Procharger you'd be into it for about $9,000+. The Procharger can easily add 100+ HP to a stock engine. So yeah, 400HP is easy with that combination. I'd estimate 490HP at the crank. And yes, the ECM will need tuning to make that work. Also no matter what you do you'll need to do more than just rebuild that T5. You'll probably need replace it. The two most common choices are the TKO 500/600 and the T56. Though you'll need the version of the T56 that can handle more than 450HP. The World Class T5 (1990+I believe) is only rated for 300lbs. of torque. Earlier models were rated for less.

 

A T56 tranny is that from a 4th gen fbody? Is it a direct bolt on to a 3rd gen?

 

The T56 transmissions have been used in many vehicles. The Corvettes used them, the 4th generation Camaro and Firebirds used them, and you'll find them in 2005-2006 GTOs and even 5th generation Camaros. Is it a direct swap? The answer is a definite no. You'll need to cut the transmission tunnel as the shifter isn't located in exactly the same place.

You'll need the following list of parts:

The T56 transmission itself. This varies in price depending on where you get it from and what version of the transmission it is.

Shifter - $219
http://www.mgwltd.com/camaro_short_throw_shifter.shtml

Crossmember (Hawks for long headers) - $130
http://www.hawksthirdgenparts.com/tr...t566speed.aspx

Torque arm, relocation bracket, shaft loop (spohn) - $418.23
http://www.spohn.net/shop/1982-1992-...GM-F-Body.html

Upper shifter boot (ebay) - $31
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...fvi%3D1&_rdc=1

Harness (ebay) - $27
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...fvi%3D1&_rdc=1

Shifter **** (hurst 1632006, ebay) - $15.69
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...fvi%3D1&_rdc=1

Clutch disk (McLeod, Byunspeed w/ shipping) $172.89
http://www.byunspeed.com/product_inf...ducts_id=12415

Clutch PP, pilot bushing, alighment tool (LT4, Drualast, Autozone) - $176.39
http://www.autozone.com/autozone/cat...dName=Duralast

Clutch PP bolts (Ace hardware, 2" long, 3/8", 16 threads per inch, grade 8) - 6 @ $.69 = $4.14

Starter (LT1 Jegs mini) - $139
http://www.jegs.com/i/JEGS/555/10001/10002/-1

Flywheel (Centerforce 700107, TGO classifieds) - $258
http://www.summitracing.com/parts/CTF-700107/

Flywheel bolts (APR, summit) - $11.95
http://www.summitracing.com/parts/ARP-200-2802/

Dakota SGI-5 rev C (from Dakota) - $79.95

You don't have to get this exact list of parts. I took this from the T56 swap thread sticky.

 

t56 out of a 93-97 f body car will bolt up to your lb9. all you need is the t56 clutch, flywheel, bell housing, starter, slave cylinder and a new tranny cross member

 

good luck