Is it worth building up a 305 V8 in my 92 Camaro RS? I don't really have the time or money to buy or build a new 350, so I figured putting some good performance parts on my 305 could give it a little more kick; things like a new comp cam, distributor, maybe even cylinder heads etc. What do you think, and if so, what would be some good parts to put on there?

Note: exclude turbos, superchargers, nos, stuff like that. Not into those "go fast" parts, all they do is break your engine; I want a straight up high performance 305. Well, what you could get out of a 305 at least. Thanks!

 

Most everyone will tell you it's not worth it.

Do a search, though. There are a few people who have put the effort into the 305.

I think I remember one of the biggest issues being the restrictive TBI unit and intake manifold. So you might want to start your search there.

 

If you want your car to go faster, ANY car, pay less attention to "bling" that sits up on top where everybody can see it, and more on WHAT'S ACTUALLY MAKING THE CAR SLOW.

THink in terms of finding THE ONE THING that's most limiting the CAR'S performance at any given moment, with "performance" being a somewhat open-ended concept (note also carefully that I said "car", and NOT "engine"; that's because the engine is FAR FROM the only thing that makes a CAR slow) and address it in a logical, sensible way, consistent with the rest of the parts around it, and with your goals.

In the case of a TBI 305 car, yeah sure a 350 will make more power; but there's AHELLUVALOT you can do in the meantime, that will make that 350 EVEN MORE of a bang when you drop it in. In fact, some of these things, you'd have to do ANYWAY; they're STRANGLING your 305, and will do even worse to a 350.

First hting to do is catch up on all the overdue maintenance. Change the rear end fluid, brake job on all 4, good tires (not just the cheeeeeeeeeeepest thing you can find that's round black and has squiggly lines cut into it), battery, clean it up, de-rattle and de-squeeeek the interior, clean the windows, clean the carpet, clean the underneath with the quarter car wash, clean the engine bay, clean clean clean clean, fix the air conditioner since no self-respecting female will soil herself getting into a BO-stench-laden stink trap without one of those.

And don't forget, get rid of any dirt or contamination you find.

In an approximate order of improtance:

Gears
Tuning
Torque converter
Tuning
Exhaust (EVERY PIECE, from the heads to the rear bumper)
Tuning
Air cleaner that picks up cold air (NOT an open element)
Tuning
Heads
Tuning
Cam
Tuning

Gears should be 3.23 or 3.42. Converter should have about a 2400 RPM stall. Exhaust should be a chassis-specific setup, NOT "universal"; but also, ABSOLUTELY NOT for a TBI 305. Instead, take every piece off and throw it in the trash - manifolds, Y-pipe, cat, I-pipe, muffler, and tail pipes. Replace it with parts SPECIFICALLY FOR a 82-92 Camaro/Firebird of some sort. I'd suggest the whole shebang for about a 88 350 TPI.

And don't forget about tuning... in the old carb world, you'd be adjusting the idle, changing jets, toying around with distributor curve kits, and so forth. But in EFI world, you do that with fuel pressure and PROM programming. Learn that skill. It will make EVERYTHING ELSE you do, that much more effective.

Note that AT NO TIME did I say anything about converting to carb, expensive ignition systems, intake manifolds, valve covers, chrome, or aftermarket wheels.

There are plenty of things you can do to the rest of the car that will also make it AHELLUVALOT more fun to drive.

Refresh all your wore-out suspension bushings, ball joints, and tie rod ends
Springs
Shocks
Sway bar bushings & end links
Posi

Still, no intake manifold, no TB, no carb, no chrome, no valve covers, no ignition systems, no "hot rod" spark plug wires, no "gimmick" plugs. Those things are a total waste of money, because THEY'RE NOT THE BOTTLENECK. (or, they're just a waste of money, period)

 

Sofakingdom has a pretty good post for you there.

Not worth building that thing, although there are some mods you can do to the TBI that will make it faster, and later you can put the TBI on a 350. It's never gonna be a race car with the L03 in it, just put some bolt-ons on it to learn about working on your ride and what does what and have fun with it.