I'm getting my engine rebuilt and was wondering what I should have done to it performance wise. It's an 84 305, and I think I'm going to get it bored, not sure how far, ported, and getting a better cam. What should I do after that? I don't want extreme performance, just some good street performance out of it.

 

dont bother with it, get yourself a 350, it will be cheaper to built not to mention make ALOT more power

 

here we go again with the 305/350 debate. keep the 305 and go for a cam, either port and polish your heads or get a new ones like off of an L98, new pistons perhaps and full exhaust if you have not already.

ps. just my 2cents

 

if i were you i would keep the 305. if you want some ideas for hopping up your 305 look back at previous posts by zepher he has a n excellent example of a true hi performance 305

 

no **** im sick of people dissing the 305,so it isn't the greatest engine in the world and of course the 350 will better but every time someone asks about rebuilding their 305 everyone just says get a 350 get a 350.Stay with the 305 that's what im gonna do.Plus i'd rather tell someone i smoked em with a 305 then a 350

 

So..any specific ideas? I saw Zepher's and I might go with a few things that he has. Anything you can think of that'd give me around 250 hp and 300 torque? Something around there. I want to at least be able to kick my friend's 1996 Mustang GT's *** (4.6 w/ 215 hp and 225 torque). He's getting annoying with his "my car and beat yours" crap. Anyway, any help is appreciated.

 

A quick question: the guy I'm rebuilding the engine with (who knows much more about cars than I do) said that he would just rebuild the engine with the current block that I have instead of buying a new one. Another friend of mine said not to rebuild with my current block because it has been rebuilt before (about 7 years ago was when the rebuild engine got dropped into the car). I'm not sure if I should find a junk yard block, keep this block, or what. Any suggestions?

 

The cylinder walls on the 305 are thicker and will take a larger overbore than a 350... I've heard of .80 overbore being used in race applications. Chances are that the block was only machined .20 or .30 over the last time. If you can read the top of the piston it sometimes will have a .30 ect... on it which indicates the size of the overbore. Just bore it a bit larger and get the proper pistons and rings. It doesn't matter that it was bored before. Use your block unless it's cracked or your friend won't stop whining.

Since it's an 84 I'm assuming you don't have a TPI setup on it? Remember as you do the rebuild that cylinder heads are the most important part of a small block chevy. I don't care if you put $5000 in the short block... if you add a crap set of heads the car will be a dog.

 

My friend was saying that it was a bad idea because of the area where the bearings are gaining wear and not being as tight as it should be. I'm using the original heads on my engine (LG4), but I was going to port them. Anything else I could do to the heads? I don't have a ton of money to spend, but I can see what I can do. Sleeper, no it doesn't have TPI.

 

if you can go to a junkyard, find a set of L98 heads off a camaro or a corvette. they will flow much better than the LG4 heads. remember, porting and polishing a set of heads costs about $250-$300(last time i checked). for $80-$100, you might as well pick up a good set of used heads and use those.

 

So, is my friend right about the wear around where the bearings are in the block? If so, is there any way to repair that...or would it be a better idea to try to dig up a new block somewhere? Also, are the L98 heads the only you'd suggest, or are there any others (wider search)?

 

I'm not sure what your friend is worried about with the bearings. If the crank/rod bearing is worn the rods can be resized and a larger bearing used... I've done this before. The same can be done to the crank bearings.

If you're on a budget here's my suggestions:

Keep the block... bore it out to .40 over if required... the cylinder walls may still be ok... and get the block machined to a 0" deck height

get some flat top pistons... cast are fine unless you plan on running NOS

find a set of 305 HO heads... there's an ad in the classifieds for a rebuilt set for $200... they have 1.84/1.50 valves (the largest you can go in a 305 is a 1.94/1.50). Any head made after 86 is a center bolt pattern and will not work with a pre 87 intake (this means the L98/LB9 heads won't fit without a new intake). Porting LG4 heads seems like a waste of time unless you don't have anything better to do.

I can't recommend a cam because I don't know what the trans or diff gears are.

I've had lots of luck with the Edelbrock carbs so I'd go with one of those.

If you don't want to get into machine work and other bs then find yourself a 305/350 long block (from a LB9 stick shift or L98) that you've seen running. Buy an intake meant for center bolt style heads with carb setup and drop the whole engine in as one piece... swap the cam and you'll get your 250hp wish. This seems to be the easiest way to go, depending on the price of the used engine.

 

oh... in case you weren't certain...

a LB9 is a 305
a L98 is a 350

...it doesn't matter if the 305 was a stick or an auto if you replace the cam

 

My friend said to put LO6 heads on it, would those be any good? He said that I wouldn't have to replace the intake to put them on, so I'm not sure if I should just grab the LO6 heads, or go for an LB9 intake and heads.