How about some 305 Love?

[98blackbeauty]

800 budget isn't much. First I would take it to machine shop have block dipped, check cyl walls and pistons, bearings and crank. Take heads in also, maybe new valve guilds and seals. Buy the gaskets, and rings to put it together. Depending on what engine builder finds, that could be your budget. If block, rotating asm and heads all ok then I would 1. put in new valve springs, and studs, at least then you would be ready for cam and roller rockers when you have more money. Set of lifter will run 100-120, I would not buy used unless I know miles and driving conditions. Headers on a stock engine will give you a nice boost in HP. those can be had for used for cheap.

[Gottork]

if you know the motor is good then I would swap in a cam, lifters and headers, if you know nothing about the engine then Larry hit it on the head..

[kammi10]

so what could be a good build ?

what would be a good way on a $800 budget to build a decent running motor to put into a roller, if you have either a 305 or 350 laying in your buddys garage ?

where would you spend your money?

i would hold off and wait til i could get some more money to build it better

[BAMF TA]

I've got some new parts from an old build that I lost interest in.

Im gonna put them up for sale today.

lifters, cam, pistons, rods, bearings.

Might help you, out, as the parts are new, but a bit cheaper

[Darren]

I've got some new parts from an old build that I lost interest in.

Im gonna put them up for sale today.

lifters, cam, pistons, rods, bearings.

Might help you, out, as the parts are new, but a bit cheaper

mhm I'll be watching for this for sale ad...

[1989Formula]

get headers and save up for a good rebuildwould be my advice. i put headers, good exhaust and 1.6 roller rockers and its "seat of the pants" quicker ...havn't had it back to the track though

[Turbo91Bird]

call it b.s. all you want. i did it IT WAS ME!!!! it was in a monte carlo, not a camaro. my monte is a shade over 3400lbs with me in it. its a street car. not a drag car. i have full interior. its a factory non air car. 3;73 locker. I have 3/4 lenght hooker headers 2.5inch duals x piped. with a cold air intake that i made. the motor has less then 3,000 miles on it. its a speed density tpi 305 out of a 90 firebird. remember peeps..you can have all the shit in the world done to your motor but if your tune is off, your not making all the power you could be. it was 14.06 @ 97.9. roughly 55 degrees, street tires. i was blown away as well.....ALL THROTTLE NO BOTTLE!

A tune, gears and exhaust shouldn't knock off that much time. You might possibly have the fastest 305 in a full weight car with the amount of modifications you've done. What did it run before this?

There's no reason a tune should be off when all you have is an exhaust and CAI.

[WMCC Doug]

This is an interesting thread on the much maligned little 305. I have one that I think runs pretty good in my '85 IROC-Z. I've owned this car since it was new and it now has 47,000 miles on it. Over the last 25 years, I've probably had it down the drag strip 40-50 times. It's a 305 TPI with the automatic transmission. It came with an open rear end (manufacturing problems with the posi at the time, so it came without a posi) and 3.42 gears. It would run right in the neighborhood of 15.8-15.9 @88-89mph in that form. I came across a new 3.73 posi rear end in around 1986-87 and installed that. It didn't really make as much difference as I expected, only gaining only about a tenth and one to two mph.

Around 2003-04 I hit it up with a few bolt-on mods. An SLP stainless hi-flo Y-pipe and GM Performance parts stainless cat-back (the two-on-the-left system built by SLP). I modified the air intake path, opening up a lot of room and added K & N filters. I also added a Hypertech chip. These gave the car a definate seat-of-the-pants improvement. I was very pleased the next time at the track as it turned in several passes in the 14.7 - 97 mph range. I had been having some driveability issues at that time, and after several attempts at fixing it (new 02 sensor, and a new set of injectors) I finally found the issue to be a bad IAC motor. With that exchanged it ran great and felt "happy" again. I was very happy with a just-over a second improvement. That's the same configuration in it today.

Just a note on the injectors. WMCC held a car show at the Delphi plant in Coopersville where they made the fuel injectors. After talking with one of the engineers and telling him of my driveability issues (it was not a huge problem, the car just didn't feel "right", like it wasn't "happy") he told me of a program for Delphi employees (I worked at the Delphi plant in Wyoming) where you could exchange your injectors for brand new ones, for free. Of course, you had to do all the work changing them out, but a free set of injectors sounded like a pretty good deal to me. It turns out, that my car was a pretty early production TPI from 1985 and my engine had the "first design" fuel injectors. I swapped them out for the latest version for that application that had a different spray tip. They really didn't make much of a change until I fixed the IAC motor, but I figure any time you can get a new set of revised injectors, that isn't a bad thing.

Anyway, the car has been in storage for about the last 3 years while we built the Project DZ74. It's now back home and I plan to drive it a lot more this year. So, watch out for another "monster 305" prowling the streets over here on the west side this year! LOL

[Curt_irocz]

Mine runs good now, It was having problems were it wouldn't idle when it wanted, and would just shut off, I replaced the Coolant temp sensor, and MAF sensor, but that wasn't it. It was the IAC motor. Now it runs good. Except now has a noisy intake leak. When I got the car it was bone stock, I put on a set of shorty headers with y pipe, and a Flowmaster. I also took off the A.I.R and the catalytic converter. Its still slow. But the TPI definitely makes it better.

[WMCC Doug]

Ya, the computers back then were no where near as sophisticated as they are today. If you got a code, it may, or may not be what was wrong. I remember I had a EGR code once, and it turned out to be the EGR Temp. Switch. Of course, the EGR valve, and the temp switch are under the plenum, so everything on top had to come off to get at it. I never did get any code for the IAC motor, but I think I talked to someone that suggested it, and once that was changed, my problems were gone.

[Curt_irocz]

Ya, the computers back then were no where near as sophisticated as they are today. If you got a code, it may, or may not be what was wrong. I remember I had a EGR code once, and it turned out to be the EGR Temp. Switch. Of course, the EGR valve, and the temp switch are under the plenum, so everything on top had to come off to get at it. I never did get any code for the IAC motor, but I think I talked to someone that suggested it, and once that was changed, my problems were gone.

Yeah Iv had my Check light go on a few times, But it always end up turning off before I can hook anything up. Other times it will go on, and when I shut it off, and restart it, it doesnt come back on.

[MP81]

I definitely think mine had lifter tick...or it just was really, really, really, really tired...

[tenpin842]

I definitely think mine had lifter tick...or it just was really, really, really, really tired...

LOL...then you take the vale cover off and tighten the rocker down HAHAHA!!

I love my little 305, If I had better heads, I think my car would really rock!

[phoenix_rising]

I would not doubt it ^. The 305 is definitely a motor that is got some hidden potential. Maybe I will stroke my 305 to a 327 and toss a blower on it in the future for a truck project (or Jeep) since my 355 will be carbed.