If you're wanting to say "Swap a 350" please don't comment, I'd rather not hear it.

I'd like to start making my newly bought Camaro into a nice street machine, but still maintain the luxury of a daily driver. It's a 1989 Chevy Camaro RS, 305 v8, 2.73 rearend (Guess it is stock), A4 trans.

I'm guessing the 305 came throttle body injected, that was replaced with an Edlebrock 600 CFM 4 barrel carb, Accel coil/distributor/plug wires added..

Now I'm not quite sure how to approach this, but I've set myself a 500$ budget for now until I see if I really love the car enough to put some more in it. I'm not quite sure of the RWHP/RWTQ but I kept up nicely with a 3.5L V6 Charger today in my 89' and I was quite happy with that.

What are some things to wake this car up? Intake manifold to match the carb? Cold air intake? idk.

I'm not looking for a 375-400 horsepower torque monster with slicks on the back, but having a mid-horsepower torquey street machine would be nice, while keeping the original motor with 67,000 miles on it.

With the mods stated above, do I already have a good start? Or did the carb swap actually kill power?

I'm sure that carb is better than a stock TBI setup.

If I were to suggest anything then it would probably be either a cam or exhaust upgrade depending on if either is stock. Depends on how much you want to dive into it.

Needs a better cam. What intake is on it? A good dual plane with that carb will wake things up.

Gears will help make it feel stronger as will torque converter. But cant do all this for 500$

Maybe a cam and lifters/ springs for less than 500 if flat tappet. If roller can cheaply upgrade to lt1 cam or buy a zz4 take out and throw in beehive spring to get it to clear, or alexs parts spring kit. Can reuse roller lifters. Shop around may do that for under 500$....

Ofcourse all that needs exhaust to work

I'd like torque more than horsepower, if that makes sense. Even in it's current state it'll chirp tires well through first gear if you stomp it, I'd just like maybe 280 RWHP, and like 300+ RWTQ, and then a rear gear swap will make it seem quick ;p

Is that too hard to accomplish with this setup?

Oh, and if you think the 305 could push 280+ RWHP/similiar torque... with what you've listed, I'd have no problem raising my budget.

Mid 200's is def achievable. 280 will be harder on stock heads. Would likely need a big cam which will kill streetability or need ported heads with midsized cam. It likely wont make huge torque numbers due to smaller cubes but could get near 300 wtq.

Its not gonna be overly cheap. Do it in stages over time.

If you can make bolt on L98 numbers it will run great. 250whp 315 wtq is a lower 13 second car with suspension.

Else go nitrous kit and hit it with 100-150 shot

250 RWHP, and 315 RWTQ would be a great goal! I know this 305 won't ever be a fire breathing dragster, but I know they're capable of something pretty great.

Are you serious those numbers are low 13 seconds?

My cars sitting on 215/75/19's in the front, and 265/75/19's in the back, BF goodwrinch T/A's..

Having a 2.73 gear ratio is going to hold you back with just about anything you put in it. You might make the car faster with engine up grades but it will never reach what potential a 305 has with those gears, especially when your looking for a fun street car. Only hi horse power hi torque engines with a decent stall can possibly have enough power to make them work. Even then they are crap. Sorry but until you address the gearing problem/posi. traction issue they are going to be a major thorn in your side.
I'm not trying to be negative here and I think making a 305 quick is a nice goal to have because that also is my goal. Doing the basic bolt-ons and changing my ratio from 2.73 to 3.42 and adding a Eaton Posi. made a "huge" difference in the way the car performs. Night and day difference. That's with out digging "into" the engine. Do what you can a little at a time the way most of us do but I would make changing out thous gears and adding a posi. a definite part of your goal. I wish you luck with your build and try to have fun while your doing it.I know I have.

I appreciate you guys not being negative at all, I thought about a 3.73 rearend, but I'll re-consider 3.42's. Do you think it would help with highway mileage at all, (65 MPH+)

Also, this may sound stupid but if I DO cam my engine, is there a way to make it sound like it isn't really cammed? Like, shorty headers to true duals back to a thrush turbo on each side and out the back? It may seem stupid but I honestly would hate to drive a car that sounds like a top fuel dragster every day of the week haha.

Ryan,3.42's is a smart move.It moves your 305 more into the torque curve so more ='s less peddle at cruise speeds.Well more can be additive LOL so smart driving does play a role.
I drove my street strip car from NY to Florida with headers and shorty mufflers.Swore I would never drive a car like that a long distance like that again.Every day I got very tired quickly.Not a very enjoyable drive for sure.Worst part was no A/C so the windows had to be down.

So 3.42's it is, I'll look into that part # tonight on Jegs or Summit or something after work.

I'm thinking of sticking with the carb it has (600 CFM 4 barrel edlebrock), and adding a nice intake manifold, shorty headers to true duals w/ a muffler on each side & no cat, 3.42 rearend, and I'm going to look into how much it would cost to put a bolt-on supercharger/pro charger on it.. If it's not like 3,000$+ I will save and invest if my internals can handle it.. Talk of high 11's on stock internals is intriguing, dang even mid to high 12's would be something to talk about.

Thank you everyone for not coming at me with the typical swap the boat anchor for a 350, because honestly everyone in my area has done that but one person I know with an 83' Monte Carlo, with a boosted 305.. he was saying the 305 allows for more boost when using forced induction because of the thicker cylinder walls, and his car is FAST.

I don't think TRUE duals is the best idea. At least not for a 305. TRUE duals might even hinder your performance from what I've read. Now if you had a big block or something massive throwing large power numbers then it makes sense. Shorties leading into a single pipe with a dual outlet muffler would be sufficient. Keep in mind true duals is more difficult to make work with our cars. Most are run right under everything which CAN result in clearance issues.

I was actually thinking about that, funny you mention that. The stock exhaust seems to have it's own little place where it sits into, if you deleted the cat, would that hurt performance too? Or is it better to just run a high flow? I live in Florida, we don't have inspections or emissions here.

Actually my car went 12.95 with 254/315 whp wtq. Bolt on L98 350. But if you could get a mild 305 there it would run fairly quick times if the car is 3400-3450 lbs with you in it. The whole combination needs to work. Gears, stall, suspension, drag tires, etc. Also good air. Higher altitude or warm air will hurt.

Probably will need a mild cam to get there and some intake bolt ons

Just cam it for torque you wont have a rumpity idle.
Be happy with whatever it runs, start chasing hp and reliabilty/longevity goes down and the costs go WAY up...quick.

Wish I could practice what I preach lol.

I just talked a friend who just had some aftermarket heads for the 305 freshly machined, he's offered to do all the work...

Intake manifold, camshaft (All i remember was 550 exhaust and something about a 3.8 lift) w/ rockers and rods, and installing the aftermarket heads, for 1,000$ cash.

Is it worth it? And could I expect to see some nice gains?

Not to sound like a dick, but that literally doesn't tell us anything. That's like me asking you if the car I picked is a good one because it is red and has Michelin tires. Need a whole lot more information than you've provided...

Sorry about that, and you weren't sounding like a dick if you need details to provide accurate information that's fine haha, I don't know as much obviously.

It's a performer RPM intake, too match my 600 CFM Edlebrock carb, A cam like this:

Xtreme Energy XR288 Hydraulic Roller Camshaft
Lift: .520''/.540''
Duration: 288°/294°


And ported freshly machined heads, all labor included 1,000$.

Is there something wrong with my setup? All input is welcome!

Ryan-that is a pretty big cam on a low compression small size engine.

Get specs on the cylinder heads.

Will do. Can someone recommend a cam for me that's not too radical but still provides nice torque/hp gains?

Need to know the cylinder heads first.

Running no cat might increase power, but it wouldn't even be noticeable. When I rebuilt the little v6 in my bird, I punched the combs out for the fun of it since I'll have a new engine in there soon anyway. The only thing I notice is a slight deeper tone and I can sometimes smell gas.

On the engine I'm putting in, I'm going to run a high flow cat. It didn't seem worth it. Just remember it's still illegal and I believe enforcement can still perform visual tests. I live in Florida as well and I and many other friends with even straight pipes never have problems, but to ME I don't think the negligible difference is worth both the extreme slight chance of a fine and sometimes smelling dirty exhaust. That's just me though.

I think you'll be more than good with what these guys are saying.

Appreciate the insight man, I've even gone as far as too look into electronic superchargers that mount into your aftermarket intake haha. 179.99$ seems pretty legit if it would add 30 HP but I know that's bs to the max.

Great way to get scammed right there and flush money down the drain..

I was bored and clicked the link, lmao. I know it's BS, it wouldn't even work in theory but it was funny to see someone put up an entire website dedicating it to this scam.

I doubt the heads he has will work with your 305. 99% of aftermarket aluminums have 2.02 or larger intake valves which wont work on the 305 bore

I would go with a rear end upgrade. 373 gears would seriously help acceleration. an exhaust would help but not a lot. if you could get some sportsman heads they would make a world of difference . the stock heads are really crappy on those engines

Yeah Orr.Honestly I don't know what is available in a small intake runner and say a 194 intake valve.Well,I've never had to look for one.Might be something out there.Chan-fer(sp) the bore and a 194 intake with say a 170 cc intake runner might work well given a decent SCR and quench of .040.Sure couldn't hurt given the 305 intake size.

The physic's never change.A smaller engines have peak outputs higher in the rpm range,so you have to spin them higher to get the needed output.The off idle and manners for street use goes away trying to achieve those higher outputs.The only real answer is a higher final gear ratio to spin it up.

i'd go with some 3.73's, and a mild nitrous shot.

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I agree with you Joe on the gear selection.That is a good all around ratio.

thanx Gary. its hard to beat a good gear change sometimes.

whatever you do,...if its just "bolt-ons", keep in mind stuff that will work on a 350 or bigger later. i know you didnt want to hear that. but i wouldnt buy some high dollar, small valve heads for a 305 and expect much out of them on a 350 later.
headers and a good exhaust system, intake swap, roller rockers, etc,...are all things that could work on a 350 later.
if you got the speed bug, chances are you'll keep wanting more power over time. ask any ole gearhead, lol.

Better off dropping that money into the suspension before you start messing with the 305. It's definitely not the platform to be working on for power; particularly if you're working on a small budget. Not that it can't be done, but you DO need to be realistic.. and spending money just to throw everything away later for something else is a massive waste.


I've said it before, buuuuuuut... I vote suspension.

Thank you moderator for clean up.

&, it wouldn't be a waste because I have no plans to pull the motor at a later date and install something of a larger displacement such as a 350.. A 305 can do pretty close to what a 350 can do with the same bolt ons.. Hence why they only came from the factory with about 10 more crank HP, I'm just saying I know in the LONG run for immaculate power a 350 would be smarter, but you can get over 3/4 of the way there with the 305.

I'm definitely going to be putting money in the suspension soon, after I do an exhaust job (Got my shorty headers, going to have a shop do a headers to Y pipe, and straight back to a borla muffler).

As far as the gears, I'm GUESSING there 2.73's.. that would have been the stock ratio, when I stomp on it from a dead stop, or a 5-10 MPH roll it'll light up the tires for a good 5 seconds before accelerating that's all I know. I'd like a ratio that could hold the road a little better ;p

Generally speaking the higher the rear gear ratio the harder it is to get a grip on the road from a stop or a roll and with enough torque you can spin both tires (with a posi/locker) on the go.(taking type of tires into consideration). Your description of your cars tendency to spin "them" from a stop/roll with out power breaking tends to point to a gear ratio other than 2.73. and when you say "tires" indicating two/both than your also indicating a posi/locker of some sort, another indication that a look inside would be in order.
If when you do look inside your differential and find a working posi./locker of some sort and a gear ratio of lets say 3.42 or higher than consider yourself lucky. You just saved yourself a expensive upgrade or at the very least a pain in the rear swap. Get it "pain in the rear"

RonUSMC just stole my thinder. Was thinking the same thing. Sounds like you have better ratios than 2.73's already. You might want to take your vin and throw it in one of the online "decipher-ers". See if the codes still exist on the door or inside the center console. You should be able to pinpoint the options list and see if the car has better ratios or even a factory posi.

But your BFGs are hard tires also. The compound in the rubber is harder than say Perelli's or a softer Toyo. You can probably pick up traction and get a better launch with a tire change. But the BFGs wear less and will last longer so you have trade offs there.

Don't bother with the cam for now. If you do find you have 2.73's then go for a 3.42 upgrade or even 3.55 depending upon how much highway you do. The gear ratio will put the engine in the sweet spot faster as others have stated, and your car will "fell" just as fast as if you threw a bunch of bolt-ons on the car.

I built up a handful of 305's in my past and got some decent power out of most even with stupid parts like a Rochester QJet and a performer intake. Find out what your car has first, I would go for the gears and maybe even tires first. Its the most efficient use of your money to start off with.