I'm interested in building a 355 from a 305 for my 92 camaro. In order to make 400whp n/a what parts would I need? I dont know much about them, but was interested in trying to do so as well further educate myself. Thanks!

 

First thing you'll need is a 350 block; a 305 block can't be turned into a 350.

Next thing you'll need is some decent heads. The "swirlies" on your TBI motor are about as HP-hostile as any ever created.

Read lots of the motor-building threads on here; learn what people have done THAT WORKS, and what doesn't.

Ignore magazine articles: there's too much in them that's either pure "entertainment" or pure product endorsement, with too few facts mixed accidentally in.

Likewise, ignore anyone that tells you about getting a stroker kit for your 305. Might seem like a viable option, until you realize that you'll spend more than twice as much money, and get less than half as much results, compared to getting a "bore kit" aka 350 block.

You've got a long way to go if you don't even know yet that you can't turn a 305 into a 350. Don't worry about specific parts or "combinations" or any of that just yet; start learning the basics of how these things work, instead.

 

Thank you! If I were to buy a 350 bare block and bore it to a 383, I'd need a 400 crank. What heads, pistons, and cam would be perfered in order to make it 400rwhp or a bit more? Im not exactly worried about budget. Also, what transmission would be a better set up since its auto?

 

I have a buddy who has a 400 bare block. I might try to buy it off him. Would that be better than a 383 stroker in a way?

 

You don't "bore a 350 block to a 383". That requires stroking it. Yes, a crank with the stroke of a 400 would be required; but a 400 crank is not the way to go about it these days.

Yes a 400 would be an easier platform for making more power, than any other motor with fewer cubic inches. Power comes from burning fuel; the more fuel you can burn per cylinder, the more power you get; the bigger the cylinders are, the more fuel fits into them. Not too complicated really.

Matters of greater concern would be (1) someone who doesn't know that a 305 can't be turned into a 350, wanting 400 RWHP (around 500 crank HP); and (2) the fact you're in an "enhanced" emissions control inspection area in California.

Frankly, given the laws you have to work with, I'd suggest looking at a LS1 swap instead of an older small block.

 

A swap would be a good option that you could probably handle with some help although as Sofa said you really need to get some experience and more knowledge to even begin building a stroker engine, or any engine for that matter let alone tuning it. I have been working with engine since I was 12 yrs old and at 35 I decided to build a stroker, it took 2 years of learning, even after I decided on what I wanted.
Still I had a reputable engine builder do the short block using my specifications, anything that he felt would not work we discussed long before I bought any parts. He was manily a race engine builder so he tended to want to go in that direction, but I wanted a street car so I had to stick my guns to keep from building something I couldn't drive on the street, although some race engines can be street driven these days, I really didn't want to be tied to gas stations.

Check out the swap forum, but don't let anyone pull you a direction you don't want to go, in the end it's your car, your money, and your loss if it doesn't work out like you planned.

 

A swap would be a good option that you could probably handle with some help although as Sofa said you really need to get some experience and more knowledge to even begin building a stroker engine, or any engine for that matter let alone tuning it. I have been working with engine since I was 12 yrs old and at 35 I decided to build a stroker, it took 2 years of learning, even after I decided on what I wanted.
Still I had a reputable engine builder do the short block using my specifications, anything that he felt would not work we discussed long before I bought any parts. He was manily a race engine builder so he tended to want to go in that direction, but I wanted a street car so I had to stick my guns to keep from building something I couldn't drive on the street, although some race engines can be street driven these days, I really didn't want to be tied to gas stations.

Check out the swap forum, but don't let anyone pull you a direction you don't want to go, in the end it's your car, your money, and your loss if it doesn't work out like you planned.

 

Yea I understand. I want to learn how to build a 383 stroker or 400 small block. I wanna do it on a budget without being cheap or too expensive. Im trying to save up but if I can find or if anyone is selling a 400 bare block, let me know.

 

400 horsepower to the wheels is not going to be a budget build. You may see a lot of people claim they make that power, but it's definitely not as easy as it sounds. It's a minority and making power is going to be the least of your concerns considering other things like the rear end+driveshaft ($2500 or more) will be your bigger fish to fry at that point.

 

im just fininshing up a 383 build all said and done ill have right around 11,000 in just parts and machine work, mind you that isnt including building the transmission or rear end to hold up to about 600 hp when its all said and done, and like sofakingdom said living with California's **** laws, it will be easier to conform to smog laws with a ls1 swap. good luck with your build!

and welcome to TGO

 

I guess double that is what I should have in the bank when I start building my motor :/ lol

 

I have a 305 engine out of a 1984 c10. Will heads with casting #416 work with my block. I know I will probably have to put a different intake on it but I have all new parts to put in motor. I just want to know will the heads work or is there a better set I can get to have reworked.

 

Rick:

If you haven't spent any money on your 305 block yet,

DON'T.

It will cost you EXACTLY the same amount of money to build a 350 instead; maybe even LESS. About the worst thing that can happen in this hobby (besides a new motor blowing up the first time you run it) is to spend ALL KINDS OF $$$ on something, and then discover you're not happy with it, but your money is now GONE. It's EVEN WORSE when all the stuff you just spent money on, has NO UPGRADE PATH, but instead, in order to fix your mistake, you have to THROW IT ALL IN THE TRASH and start over. Few things will ruin your experience faster than that.

But that's EXACTLY what will happen with a 305. That bore/stroke combo is crippled, by its relationship to the overall head design; there is NO RECOVERY from this. Problem of course is, once you discover this for yourself "the hard way", you then have to go all the way back to Square One with a different block; re-spend all your $$$ on machine work and other prep on it; re-buy $$pistons$$; and re-build it all.

Instead of learning this "The Hard Way", take advantage of what Algore made possible when he invented the Interwebz: you now have access to the experience of all the people who have come before you, so you don't HAVE TO learn it "The Hard Way" any more unless you're just one of those really stubborn hard-headed types. There's this "Much Easier Way" to learn things now. Use it wisely.

Go get yourself a fully prepped 350 block from a machine shop; buy 350 pistons with a shallow D-cup type of dish such as some one of these http://www.summitracing.com/search/d...-d-shaped-cup; return your 305 pistons to wherever you got them from if you already have them; and don't make The Mistake.

The crank and rods you have will work in a 350 block, with a little balancing. (which isn't an extra expense, as you no doubt would be getting that done anyway, as any sensible engine builder would) Your 416 heads will work fine on a 350, if you have 1.94" valves installed in them, and you then open up the throat of the port right behind them a little bit (just enough to smooth out all the weird angles and steps where the factory jammed their cutter down in there) and lay back the chamber on the intake side.



This is what the chamber will look like when you're done.

Since you didn't say what intake you have, I can't begin to guess whether you'd need to change it or not. Those are cheeeep though, not alot of need to get all worked up over that.

You don't say what kind of car you're working on; but it probably needs other work to be able to get the benefit of ANY motor you put in it. Most especially, exhaust. If it's one of these cars, that means, EVERY SINGLE PIECE, starting at the heads, and proceeding to the bumper. Get a set of GOOD-QUALITY headers that are SPECIFICALLY intended for a 3rd gen Camaro/Firebird (NOT "universal", or for ANY OTHER chassis) with the Y-pipe to hook them to a stock exhaust, BUT NOT to a LG4 or L03 stock exhaust; the cat, and cat-back of your choice. All those things for about a 88 350 TPI.

I suggest you start your own thread and tell us what you're REALLY doing so we can help you more effectively.