hey guys, i got like $300-$350 to spend on something for my car. what is the best thing i could buy to get the most horsepower or torque with that amount of money, like cheap easy horsepower i can buy from a store and install quick? any comments?

 

Better cam. The 305 TPI cam is beyond horrible. You really can't get past this, anything else you add on will want a better cam anyway.

 

Start with the exhaust. I don't know what kind of mods you have on the car so far... but I put in a high flow 3" Cat and 3" mandrel bent aluminized exhaust tubing to a stainless steel Borla muffler 3" inlet, dual outs. This was the big gain even on the seat of the pants feel.
I also put in some K&N air filters and did the throttle body bypass that also helped. Do some searches for performance modifications and look through the FAQS, theres a lot in there.
Oddly enough, the car actually got "faster" when i upgraded the rear suspension, specifically the lower control arms, since it was better able to launch better. It was a side effect of better handling.
Anyway, good luck

 

A nice cam profile will complement the engine more
than a exhaust mod would without a aftermarket cam.

I wouldnt advise dropping $400 on one cam, shop
around and grab the best deal for the profile you decide
on, you might even be able to do more than just a cam ..

Other than that, my only other advise would be to
start saving up for a 350 block or LT/LS powerplant
and build that up.

No matter how much money you sink in a
305, if you spend the same amount on a SBC 350+
it will move faster, guranteed ..

Im NOT saying you cant make the 305 fast tho

 

ok guys thanks for all the info, it helped alot.

 

I agree and disagree. I have a 305 in my 87. The 1st thing I did was headers and a nice exhaust. While your changing that stuff....get rid of all that bull**** on your motor. Smog pump, all the lines, ect. That will clean up the motor compartment alot! Then I saved for a SLP cold air induction set up. Now Im doing Edelbrock high flow intake, Edelbrock high flow runners, I bought a ported and polished Plenum off Ebay, Holley Adjustable fuel pressure regulator. I bought a crane cam, new springs to match, a high performance roller timing chain and gear. While i was doing that I took out my A/C and all the lines. Keep in mind....all the stuff I bought WILL swap over to a 350. Thats my next step. But I want my 305 running the best it can. Take it from a guy whos got a 305 and had to take it 1 step at a time. Your motor needs air, it needs to breath. Thats the 1st step. Happy modding!

 

except dont buy the slp cai you have a camaro so your intake is good only people who should get the slp ones are firebird owners.

 

When I do a car, especially a street car

I tend to wanna start internally then work my
way outward. This all depends if the car is your
daily driver .. I wouldnt advise diving into a cam
swap, or anything of that magnitude, then have
to drive it to school the next day

I think the last thing I did to my L98 was my
Hedman shorties. I concentrated on building a
nice powerplant before anything else, after you
have that established, it is very easy to decide
on what parts to throw at it ..

But then again, what do I know

 

Why would you start on the inside??? Have you ever seen the air cleaner assy. for a 3rd gen. Trans Am? I would think you would want the motor to breath befor you start doing internals. Stock cars are starving for air. Now you want to toss a cam in it? Its going to make it even worse. Headers and exhaust are the 1st thing I would start with. Then work your way up. Dont matter how much you build the motor, if it cant get air....your screwed.

 

The motor has the peanut cam in it, so it's gotta go eventually. IMO his decision should TOTALLY depend on his level of experience and if it's a DD. If he's a newb to wrenching the catback and/or headers will be enough of a job, and he sould see some decent gains from em.

If you're experienced, I'd buy a ZZ3 pull cam, the LT-1 cam or an L98 cam on ebay (they go for ~$60) and re-use the old roller lifters. The other thing is don't forget the valve springs! Besides that, I'd get the hardware to tune the engines ECM and start working on that to make the most of the cam. While he's in there he can port the intake fully, since he'll have it off.

 

All that stuff you mentioned can be removed within minutes ..

You think after spending $1600+ on internal engine parts, I
want to **** around with removing stock OEM air cleaners
and exhaust ??

You do have a good point, but exhaust/intake bolt-ons are only one part of the equation ..

..It all depends on the the person building as well

I can tell you right now, all of us seasoned guys start at
the engine, Then we worry about simple bolt-ons later.



Good luck

 

LOL...you think you can just slap some headers on and call it good? LOL....NO! Trus me, Ive done it twice. My 87 Trans am and My buddies 89 GTA. Headers are a pain in the butt! Unless you have a couple days to work on it, all day long.....plan on spending some time with it. Not to mention getting rid of all the smog crap. Then having to reroute the belt if its a serp. style belt. Good thing we have a hoist! This is funny.....he wants to add power to his car, not pull the motor out and totally rebuild it. Read his 1st post, hes got 300-350 to spend. and I say go with headers and an exhaust!
Make sure you get the headers without the air adapters and with the o2 plug. BTW you will need to extend the o2 wire. And watch the wires on the starter, you will have to drop that down too.

 

Well ..

It Doesnt take us seasoned guys an entire weekend to
install some "shortie" headers on a F-body

An Earlier post said it earlier, Base your decisions around
the exprience you have, and confidently move foward.

The main reason why I dont do exhaust first is rather simple,

Why fab up an exhaust to a motor that you
arent going to use, build-up or reinforce

What Im basically tryin to say is .. Why do things twice??

 

What I'm saying is hes got 300-350 to spend. Thats why I said headers. You know I did alot of stuff to my little 305. And EVERYTHING can be swapped to a 350. So no its not a total waste at all. And when you work 2 jobs It takes you a little longer to do things. You try working 8am - 6pm at 1 job then go and work 7pm -11pm at the 2nd job, Then go work on your stuff and get it done in a timely manner. You dont know me so dont judge me! We have a 69 Vette, and a 72 formula, and the 87 Trans am, plus a 85 Jeep wrangler, and many other toys. Does that make me a "seasoned" guy too? We do body work and everything else. And did you know its pretty hard to fab headers? You put them on and your done. Why would you want to fab them? Headers are headers. Did you know Header for a 305 will also fit a 400 block? Whats there to fab? Your NOT reading the whole picture. Your a seasoned guy....read his 1st post! Have you ever seen a Tuned Port motor? When you put headers on you can take off all the air tubes and the air pump and clean things up alot. Dont listen to TPI hes
Stick with the headers Iroc-man, you will love them. Its one of the best things I did.....O and it was the 1st thing I did. Then Air cleaner assy. Then Richmond 3.73 gear. Now im doing a cam and my intake system. And everything can be swapped to a 350 when i start to build one.

 

Fine, get some headers.. and some cheap slip-fit connections & call it a day, walk away a proud man

The way I do my exhaust, actually takes some fabrication!!

So yea, I dont know anything about TPI cars, I forgot

 

Roger Clemens sucks. He should of stayed retired! Why waste Ur money on a cam! You will kill your low end torque and + You have slow reving 2.73's. Do You really wanna kill Your drivability and disturb the balance that makes your car somewhat fun to drive? It's not worth spending all Your money on a cam when U have ****ty gears, restrictive heads, and an intake that is only capable of supporting a relatively small cam anyways. Dont be stupid now, save up a couple more dollars and put together a complete package if U wanna go seriously faster!

 

Oh yeah, A cam swap will cost more than 300 dollars. After you buy the cam... U will also have to buy new valve springs, retainers, possibly lifters (depending on condition) a whole new gasket and bolt set, timing chain, and then after about 4-10 hours of labor(depending on wrenching expertise) U will have to spend another $100 dollars or so on a custom chip. And then u might have to still deal with idle and driveability issues(Depending on how big a cam u choose) In my opinion its just not worth the 20 horses or so. Especially when U lose all your bottom end torque! It would be just plain stupid without heads, intake, gears, full exhaust, and 45 more cubic inches. Does anybody feel me?

 

.. Dont hate on Clemens!!
I think he did great for the 1st start

Secondly, Rik89GTA has a good point !!!
also the 45ci wouldnt hurt , but you could go
either way with it, dont limit yourself

Im not trying to shoot down peoples idea's, everyone of
the posts on this thread have all been fantastic ideas!!

All I can say is I took my time and money and invested
it into something worthwhile ..

I commonly see 2 types of people on these forums ..

people who insist on making their 305's fast, or..
people who realize they are that much better with a 350

If you want to keep the 305, I suggest keeping the cash,
do research on cam/head selections then save up for it !!
Also decide if youd like to go carb or stay EFI

Everyone is gettin all jumpy ..

Everybody has their own procedures when doing a car ..
Generally, When a car is being built by me, I make sure that
I dont have to rely on it for transportation..

So I can give it maximum time/effort ..

Tenpin .. cool, Im not sayin your a begginer.. but obviously
we have our differences when making horsepower

Lets leave it at that..
We have all put in great input on the subject

 

Sorry, but Im a huge Cubs fan and Im sick of the Astros taking the wild card. Oh well, at least I have my White Sox!

 

HAHAHAHAHA! Please dont take it personally when i laugh AT you and ur attempt at installing headers. Its just that it took me about 5 hrs of work and a little bit of knowledge to get my headers on and remove all of the smog crap. Oh and BTW, im 15. HaHAHAHAHAHAHA

 

GO CUBS, lol!!

Id love to see the cubs take the wildcard, just because they
are the Chicago Cubs ..they need to win sometime !!

and Zonda is correct, It shouldnt take a weekend to
install headers on your car

 

LOL I hate to see what your headers look like. My car is show quality. I bought chrome ceramic coated headers and a Y pipe to match. When I take things off.....I clean everything before I put things back. So yeah if you have the time to do a quick swap sure go for it. I would have been able to do it in a couple hours. But when you take things off, soak them, and repaint everything to show like condition.....It take awhile. So be for you open your moth...I suggest you know the whole story. O and I just read your profile and it says your 20! Isnt that funny???
And TPI no harm bro. I didnt mean anything bad eigther. We do have different ways of doing things. Yeah my roller cam was $280.00 Springs were $100.00, Double roller timing gear set, $76.00, Polished aluminum timing chain cover $45.00, New oil pan gasket $35.00, New high volume oil pump $50.00, Polished and ported plumem $75.00, Edelbrock high flow intake and runners $595.00, Holley Adgustable fuel presure regulator $90.00, chrome ceramic coated valve covers $65.00. Thats just some of the things I'm doing right now to give you an idea. But this was after my headers, SLP air intake, and my Richmond 3.73 gear swap.
Things arent cheap. But cars are fun...and are made to me modded! Have fun with what your doing.

 

Right on man, Sounds like you got quite a package

Whoever created this thread, got some good input from us all.
So nevermind all the drama, Im sure you have a clean car that
you can feel proud of