I'm building up my LO3 in my 92 firebird. TBI and bored .30 over. I have the stock heads cast #187 and my neighbor says he has a set cast #434. He says that they are 202 heads. If he's telling the truth, can i put a .202 on a 305? Is it worth it to get the other heads from him or should i just pay to have the stock ones Port and polished? Also what kind of cam would be good for this? I'm going to keep the TBI but i am going to upgrade it. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

 

Port and polish your stock heads and install 1.94 intake valves with the stem back-cut. Leave the 1.5 exhaust. Alternative, lookin into the World S/R Torquer 305 heads with angle plugs. I've heard good things of the Lunati 60101 and 60102 Cams.

The 202 heads will be too large and the valves will probably run into the pistons which isn't good.

 

Yeah I read that somewhere but I wanted to double check about the .202 valves not working on this engine. I'm not trying to spend a lot here so i guess ill just P&P the stock ones. Had to pull the motor out to take off the stock manifolds so i figured I might as well do the heads and cam since I have it out. Also I somewhere that these engines have a roller cam? Is that true?

 

Yes, after 86 it should be a roller cam, that said, the 60101 and 102 are not viable, they are flat tappet. If you replace the cam, you will also need to replace the valve springs, so you might as well get roller rockers while you're at it. See how I did that? Snuck that right in there! haha

 

Yeah I saw that one coming LOL. I figured someone was going to say it. Guess i'll just have to bite the bullet and get'em done while they're in the shop for the P&P. Ok so no voodoo in your opinion huh? So what do you suggest for a cam?

 

And since the motor is out....new Edelbrock TPI runners, Hooker Headers..... tee hee....

 

Aww now that's a low blow with the TPI jab lol. But I do have a nice set of tuned chrome long tube headers. That was the main reason I pulled the motor.

 

Well, I have a lunati 60121 in my 355, it may be a bit large for a 305, but I'd ask some of the CAM guys because it's not really my area of expertise.

I know that had I not gone with a 355, I would have tried to find a 305 roller block and would have built that. I wasn't looking for anything fancy, just a cruiser that was "fun" to drive. Meaning when I put my foot down, it went somewhere. haha

 

That's exactly what i'm wanting to do too! I'm not trying to race it but I want to get pushed back into the seat a bit when i mash the skinny pedal next to the fat one lol

 

Check this out. It's a little different, because it's for an older 305, but it's almost 300hp.

CarCraft 300hp 305

 

Wow! Not bad. That's pretty much what I had in mind. Just called the shop. They quoted me $350 to P&P the stock heads. Is that good? bad? fair? Or am I just better off buying a new set? If so, any suggestions?

 

Basically, since its bored .30 over and is pretty much new on the inside now, i have upgraded the fuel pressure, injectors, air flow, and have the tbi performer intake manifold, and have the new headers now, was just wondering what kind of cam and heads would work well for this configuration that won't break the bank.

 

That's about right if they know what they're doing. Like I said, make sure you go with the 1.94 in take valves that are back cut. If they are any good, they'll know what that means.

MWNOVA66 runs port and polished stock 305 heads with those valves and, until his LS swap, was pushing 330hp out of his 305 if I remember correctly.

 

IIRC, 2.02 valves will clear the cylinders if the combustion chamber is small & the valve lift is too high. But the problem is that just barely clear so the flow is severely shrouded by being so close to the cylinder wall that they flow less than a 1.94 can.

 

Ok I guess I will just go with a head job for them. Anyone has have suggestions on a cam for this setup?

 

Decided to scrap this project. I got a whole L31 350 from the junkyard for $200 bucks, so I'm going to build a 355.