Hey guys, my friend has an 86 Camaro with a carb'd 305, and he wants to add some power to it.

We were going to go with vortec heads and longtube headers, and we were wondering on a suggestion for a cam?

How much horsepower and torque would it make with that set up? And what would the estimated 1/4 mile time be?

This car is a 5 speed manual. Thanks!

 

To add power to it, add 45 cubic inches.

 

Ouch. But LOL

 

He will probably have to mill the heads to get compression up for any decent cam.

What carb?

Probably between 150 and 350hp depending on the cam

 

We don't know what size carb yet. We want to get the main stuff down first so we can choose a carb to go with it.

What carb would you recommend?

And also, he may purchase domed pistons if he decides to do a rebuild or not.

 

My opinion FWIW:
-Use a stock short block. Unless you have a set of "deep dish" slugs you're just fine with it. I've had a few engines and all the ones I can remember had flat tops save a 78 from a G-body.
-Head wise if you're looking for some high compression I'd be really tempted to dig a set of 53cc 305 heads up. They were made in the early 80s and had 53cc chambers. This would push you up around 10.1:1 with a set of flat tops, a .027 head gasket and pistons .025 in the hole You may also be able to mill yours down a bit and get close to 10:1. If you have dished pistons these would be closer to mandatory. I think the casting # is "601." You may be bucks ahead to pull your current heads and shave em a bit though. You get a nice flat surface to work with as a bonus.
-Long tubes are a good idea, and work with a 350 if you step up later. A full exhaust on top of that would be where my initial cash was spent.
-A Performer RPM, a ZZ crate motor intake or similar is inexpensive and will transfer over to a 350 later if you use the same kind of heads. (vortec vs non.) and is another good value.
-The Quadrajet isn't a bad carb, that's probably a CC one. You'll find mixed opinions on them but they are tunable. If you'd rather have a Holley or an AFB I'd stick to 650 or maybe even a bit smaller.
-Virtually ANY cam swap you make on this engine's going to be a winner. 86 was a bad year for these, they all god the peanut cam even the TPIs. Going from the L69 cam to the peanut cam was worth a 25hp hit by it's self. Definitely worth noting. It's likely a bastard child engine in that it's going to be flat tappet but have a 1pc rear main seal. If that's the case I'd probably be looking for something in the 215-220 range@.050.

 

Unless it's somehow damaged beyond repair, the one that's on it now. Seriously, the CC Q-jet will support more power than you'll ever make with a streetable 305.

Domed pistons + pump gas = a piece of junk for an engine. Stick with flattops. And please don't even think about rebuilding a 305, unless money is no object and you just want to be "different".
My advice is: Don't open up the motor at all. Give it a decent exhaust, a fresh air intake better than the soda straw that's on it, 3.73 gears with posi, have fun with it (money spent on these 3 mods will get you more bang than the same money spent on the engine) , and build a proper engine on the side as funds permit for a later swap.
That's the route I took and I wouldn't do it any other way.
See sig

 

Vortec heads require a Vortec specific dome piston due to the chamber shape.The 059 casting heads used on the L30/305 Vortec are a really good head to use.You will need a Vortec specific intake.They are 58 cc & should put you around 9.4:1 on a stock bore 305.

 

I swear I've seen 19 of these threads in the past month alone. Not to be "that guy" but this question has been asked a ridiculous amount of times on this forum and across many other forums and usually goes nowhere because people think they're going to re-invent the wheel by adding a cam and a set of headers.

You'll get nothing but severe disappointment and lost money by building a 305 in any way, shape, or form. I'm not saying you should do a 350 swap, but I AM saying - I'd pick anything else but a 305. It's a reliable motor and it gets OK gas mileage. Keep it that way and build something on the side.