Doing a 2.8 to 305 TPI swap, does anyyone who has done this know if i can use the original fuel pump from the 2.8? and while i have the 305 out of the car anyone got any reccomendations on upgrades?

 

a 350? :P

 

i dont believe in the easy way out, i would much prefer to build a 305 that can smoke 350's all day long lol, so please, no one else flame me for the 305 or tell me to put a 350 in it lol, not tryin to be an ***, but my mind is set on the 305. at least for now

 

well, good mods for any motor are porting the intake pieces, porting the heads, a better cam, roller rockers, better ignition (msd etc.), hi-po water aluminum water pump, 160-180* thermostat, and an aluminum core radiator with electric fans. good mods depend on what you want and your budget.

too build a 305 that smokes a 350 all day is quite the chore. it would require building the short block pretty heavily and then a set of good heads, 180cc prolly. hi flow base manifold with some mild porting, hi flow runners with some more mild porting/polishing/siamesing, and a ported upper plenum. prolly go with 22 lb injectors and a 255lph fuel pump or equivalent, AFPR, custom tuned chip.... i could go on for hours with this. i dont want to further aggrevate you with the 350 bug, but its far easier to make power with them. but then again i have a 91 firebird w/ an LB9 305 and it puts out some decent power with only an intake kit, cam, roller rockers, msd ignition, headers, y pipe and a custom side exit exhaust with no cat just muff.

neway, just do the basics if you want a good street motor. intake, exhaust, ignition, maybe a fuel upgrade and then get a chip tuned for it. if you want a 350+ plus killer, might want to think about digging deep in those pockets for a miracle and some extra cash. good luck, might want to fire back with a plan and outlook for the car plus a budget so ppl can give you a better recommendation!

 

When it comes to building killer 305's, two names come to mind.
mw66nova and five7kid! (admin) Hopefully they chime in!

Personally, if going the TPI/FI route, Id want a sbc 350.

If your building a carbed setup, then the 305 has some potential there!

Modpog summed it up nicely, to get a TPI 305 to outrun a well versed 350
in the same areas is a huge chore. a LG4 based car has a greater chance
to outrun the bigger brother consistently with far less money and parts invested.

 

exactly, TPI hit it good. a carbed 305 has alot more power potential, mostly cuz (in my opinion) they are easier to tune, and you arent hindered nearly as much by the induction system that dies out at 4500-5000 rpm. get a decent performer rpm or air-gap manifold and a 600 carb and you can zing all the way to 6500 rpm, like my 84's first engine.

i never got it dyno'd with the 305, but i would gestimate it made around 300 at the wheels on 101 octane. then i stepped up to my 360 ci with massaged fuelie heads, an air gap and a 750 DP, and it dyno'd 398 hp and 415 tq, and made good power to 6200. id shift it around 6500...man i miss my 5 speed.

neway, all i say is if you got the money you can build a beasty 305, but on a budget for a street car, the basic upgrades usually never fail.

 

as of right now i just want a good street car that has the ***** there when i need it. i was going to do a set of headers and y pipe, a MSD Dizzy and blaster coil, MSD wires with autolite plugs. was looking at the 19 lb/hr Bosch type III mini injectors for it as well. i already have a 3.73 posi gear for it, and the R4 i have for it has a shift kit and corvette servo already installed. like i said just a good street car that can burn a rice burner or two when it needs to.

 

ok, so you want a good street car, perfect. the the upgrades you spoke of (im not too fond of autolite plugs, but its all preference) are good ones. i would suggest an intake upgrade, conical filter, CAI, etc. to make it breath easier, just make sure to block it off from heat. the MSD pieces are nice upgrades, the headers and y are good as well. not sure on bosch injectors, never used them. i know the ford 19lb injectors are good. the 3.73 should wake it up quite a bit too. id get a 180 thermostat, tb air foil, and maybe look into a chip upgrade if you can afford it. after all that stuff, it should be a pretty potent 305 for stock internals. good luck!

 

Sorry mate, didn't mean to flame.
Just seems like you'd have to do an fair bit of work to get a 305 to take on a stock 350, let alone a crate 350 or modified.
maybe you could turbo it? anyone?

 

same problem, a stock 305 would not hold up to the increased cylinder pressure of a turbo, or supercharger, unless restricted to 5 psi or less in which case youd only get maybe another 40-50 hp and would probably still result in premature engine failure.

to make it handle boost, you still have to build the motor, even more so than you with with an N/A build. forged pistons, boost freindly cam, better flowing intake pieces (otherwise you defeat your purpose of boosting the engine) and a higher flowing exhaust than normal, not too mention the big jump in fuel upgrades (BIG injectors, fuel pump, etc.)

u may be able to get away with a low boost build on stock parts, but it will die in a very short amount of time if not built correctly.

 

yea, smoking 350's was not my intention, just saying that if i wanted to, i would rather build a 305 and really have somthing to show than just bolt on fast lol. just wanted a good street V8, hell im happy with the 200hp/300 tq my cadillac puts out, so if i can get up to or above that im happy :P

 

^ ^That is alot different than smoken 350 cars on demand, what
you said is something you can expect to achieve! Alot of people
have done so past and present.

There are some extremely well built LB9 305 TPI cars on the
forums that run L98 times and faster. Get a plan, search, ask
and organize and you should have a respectable power maker.

You should be slightly @ 200hp/300tq in stock 305 TPI form.
Get some heads, a good cam and free up the exhaust with
a nice tune to go and you be well over that.

 

Yeah but again its all relative, yes his worked 305 could keep up with a stock 350tpi, and reaqlly worked could beat it and so on, but a slightly worked 350 will beat a mod worked 305 and so on.
If you've got a 305 already and thats what you've got to work with in your budget, then its more than enough power increase from your 2.8 for sure, but a 350 will always better a 305 if you're puring the same money into it.

 

Yea, I was going to say that in the post and decided he wanted
to hear more about the 305 even after our posts about the 350.

Im usually the dude who says "go with the 350" but, I figured..
might as well preach some 305 gospel for a change.

 

lol, well i have an 88 donor car with a new TBI 305 and a complete TPI setup sitting in the back seat for it with a messed up body, and i have my buddies 85 with a 2.8 and a blown trans, but perfect undercarriage and 8 out of 10 body. so i figured i would work with what i have. i mean my caddilac's 200hp/300tq is also put out on a 2.77 gear or is it 2.73? i forget. but its a front wheel drive car, but the thing still hauls a$$. i figure with my 3.73 posi gear, the TBI soon to be TPI 305 and my modded R4, it should haul ALOT more than the 4900 in my caddy does. but still my other question goes un answered lol, i get 45 PSI at the rail on this stock 2.8 fuel pump (brand new) will i be able to run the TPI 305 off of it? and also any suggestions on heads and a mild cam for it? I will be running MAF, which i hear is better for tuning due to the better air tolerance the MAF offers.

 

Id definitely would not try to run a TPI setup off that 2.8L pump.. it just makes
a helluva whole lot more sense buying the correct pump, drop the rear, ****** the
tank out from its little hole and install it.

MAF cars are good for that very reason, but ..they bottleneck airflow once
you decide to build a fire breathing dragon..

Which should not be too much a problem for a 305!

 

no i would assume not lol