Man that brought me back! I especially like the part about turning the AC off.. ha ha! I used to put the temp control to “Hot” because we used to think it kept the motor cool too. I had an encounter with a Formula 350. My car was not bone stock but was an 87 G92 5-speed. The guy was in the military and his black Formula 350 was also not bone stock. It was newer too, 88 or 89. He wanted to race on an airstrip after messing around on the street a bit, which I thought was cool. I thought I was going to get trounced, but thought, hey, what the heck...

First race I beat him bad off the line and pulled the whole race. Beat him more than a car length.

He said, “no way that’s a 305... let’s go again”

Second race he was better off the line but I still just walked away from his car...

He complimented me and wanted to check out the car... we popped our hoods and checked out each-other’s cars... It was a mint, black Formula 350 with maybe a pulley, exhaust and chip. I had a few more bolt-ons and a little more money into the motor, but he wanted definitive proof it was a 305... The guy was really down on his car for losing to a 305...

I told him, you gotta watch out for the 305 5-speeds... Not all 305s are slow!

I had a few instances where guys got beat and got mad about it. A 3000 GT VR4 owner didn’t not take it well one time, and my friend who had a Porsche and always proclaimed IROCs are slow got beat by my “wimpy” 305 and went out and bought a 1996 Camaro SS to beat me!

I almost never lost to a 350 IROC or Firebird. Got beat by plenty of Fox bodies and Grand Nationals though!

This was the 90s though and I think a lot of guys with the 350 motor kept them pretty stock.

TPI was built for a 305 and it worked really good in them. I had lots of people get fighting mad with me when I beat them with mine and swear I had a 350. I guess their previous experience with 305s had been L03s and LG4s.Different cars altogether. Even my cammed full exhaust LG4 Formula was a tick slower than my pretty much stock 91 LB9 car.

Go to 1:53 for the money shot. It was an '89 with an N10 and 3.45s. Virtually identical to my car.

Thanks for digging up that video!

13.9 for the 5-speed 305 (Chaz’s clone)




below is a 1987 5.7 with 3.27 axle and A/C delete:

Do you see a tree and timing equipment? Kinda looks like they're running on a road course and likely calculating/estimating the performance rather than taking a true controlled measurement.

I just do not believe any STOCK 305 car ever tripped 13 sec 1/4 times. 14.5s were about the best ive ever seen and that was pretty quick for the times. Most 350 cars I seen ran 14.4s-14.5s if we are talking stock cars here. I agree with Drew the 13.9 sec run was probably on a stopwatch or something and complete bull$#it.

To run a 13.9 sec 1/4 mile, you would need to run an 8.95 in the 1/8th mile (approximately)

I had a NON G92, 1992 Z28, TPI 305, 5 speed that ran a 9.6 1/8th mile. I don't know what rear gears it did have. Is it possible for a G92 car to run .65 seconds quicker in the 1/8th than a non G92 car?

A tenth of a second is probably a car length.....

It takes a lot to gain a half second....

I'm using the 1/8th mile reference because that is what my local track is...and where I will be running my car

It does seem fast, especially since the LT1 Z28s supposedly ran a 14.1 according to Car and Driver.

Motorweek tests a 1993 6-speed Z28 and gets 14.9! They do say it was a very hot day and got a much better time earlier when it was cooler. I mean that’s a 305 Auto time...

Most of the time their times seem in line with the claims... I wonder how they’re getting their 0-60 times...

I just assumed they had some kind of measurement system that was more accurate that some guy with a stopwatch... Especially to be able to broadcast the claims...

I've been following this for great entertainment..........it blows my mind to see you guys talk about 1/4 mile times and
how fast a 3rd gen TPI is with G92 or without.......REALLY? Are we STILL there?

How many times has this horse been beat dead ????

By today's standard, these cars are SLOW no matter what, even with some mods.....SLOW.....unless you build a full tilt drag car 3rd gen or an LS swap.
Compare them, as often is done here, to the modern day mini van that will smoke any stock third gen.....including the G92 cars

So why carry on and on and on about how fast a third gen is ???

I think most of us (if not all) dont own these cars because they are fast......right ????

I've never claimed to have a fast car, lol. I am however betting that I will eat up that 5.7 car

And, yes, a G92 car WILL be quicker than a non G92

Yeah, that was a shocking time. I remember watching that episode on TV and thinking WTF! But, there it is 30 years later, for all of us to share.

Yeah, if you are going to enjoy these cars, you need to accept them for what they are.

Just my opinion.....I know we are all "in this" for different reasons

I found this video of a 1990, G92 5 speed. I'm sure it's the same car I've seen in a different video that runs a 14.74 1/4 mile at a dragstrip

Well thats the point! I think it’s hilarious when people bag on 305s because “All the cars were SLOW back then!”

If you like these cars stock I think condition matters more than 10-25hp... A similar myth that happened with the 1LE cars also happened with the magical 5.7L which is why some guys with 350s back in the day got so mad when they got beat by a 305 or a fox body... They’re sitting there thinking “But, But, But the salesman at the dealership said I’d beat everything on the street with the 5.7 motor!”

They’re all just variations of slow... they look awesome, they sound awesome, the TPI motors all look awesome when you pop the hood... just enjoy them...

Theres a lot of build up to this race now!

Yeah I'm gonna feel like a douche if he does beat me, lol.

I'd like to put a driver in my Corvette and run against that, too. I know my Vette will smoke the IROC, but it'd be fun to see how the IROC would hold up, anyways. My Vette has some bolt ons, but nothing major

The 6-speed LT1 Vettes are quick... They all had the performance axle and a little more torque starting in 1993. be interesting to see how much it beats the IROCs...

My Vette is a slushbox, and no performance rear end

I feel like the IROC will dig it outta the hole, but that will be pretty short lived.

I REALLY want to get my brother to go there the same day with his 53k mile, 1987 GTA, with the 305 TPI, 5 speed, and 3.45 rear. I've driven that car a lot, and have to say my IROC feels waaayyyy stronger. His car feels like the power really falls off after 5,000 rpms. But ya never know till they're lined up! It costs like $30 to run at the strip. Pretty cheap fun!

More likely it was some variety of accelerometer, estimating the performance. Think G-tech the size of a Ghetto-Blaster, that chunked out numbers just as realistic as a G-tech.

Had a dude on corvetteforum tell me about his old 1989 G92 5 speed, and what it would run.....

That's all talk unless he can back it up with some actual time slips.....personally, I think its the typical drinking buddy BS....."my car ran 14 flat all day long"......prove it

I hear ya. He sent me a PM and said he installed underdrive pulleys, dynomax exhaust, and 1.6 roller rockers and got a 13.8 out of it right at 100mph. Hmmmm. I'd like to see time slips, too. I wonder what the car would have to run in the 1/8th mile to run a 14 sec quarter??

High 8 or low 9's ?

I just checked into it. You'd have to run a 9 FLAT in the 1/8th mile to run a 14.05 quarter mile. Can it be done with a stock 305??? I've ran a 9.60 in a stock 5 speed 1992 Z28.....Non G92, and non N10.

.6 tenths of a second is a LOT.

I will have to get mine to the track. I will do everything in my power to get every tenth I can get out of it. I just don't see it running THAT quick.

Come on spring!

EDIT....I had checked into the time earlier in the thread lol. Oops

I have seen a G92 5-speed 305 run a 13.9 and the owner said it was stock other than timing and fuel pressure changes to get the best ETs. Ran bumper to bumper with my Titan. I got him on R/T and beat him by 0.06s.