Is a 305 any good?
 

I have a carb'd 305 in my 83 camaro and was wondering if those engines are any good. I remember way back someone telling me they would rather have a 307 over a 305. Is there a decent selection of aftermarket heads for the 305? I'm not looking to build a hotrod but I'm wanting something with a little pep to it and my car feels about as quick as my diesel burb. I'm going to give it a tune up and I know I have to tune the carb...the PO kinda messed that up.

My girlfriend had one in a 76 camaro a few years back and she loved it. She and her dad installed a new cam and lifters and did some minor stuff to it and it performed pretty well by her standards. Any thoughts will be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

Re: Is a 305 any good?
 

yes it is a good motor..had a nice lil cam..intake...rebuild ths Q-jet or get a eddy 1405 or 1406..had header & drive tha wheels off it.

Re: Is a 305 any good?
 

I my opinion, I'd agree that the 307 is a better motor. But you have a 305 and it's not worth swapping for a 307 even if you could find one. If you're thinking of swapping, just put a 350 in.

There are tons of aftermarket SBC heads that fit, from around $700/pr (GM Performance Vortecs and Summitt brand regular and Vortecs, see the Summitt catalog) on up to "your pocketbook's the limit". Do you want to spend that kind of money on a 305? If you do, get the Vortecs even though you'll have to change the intake manifold.

Re: Is a 305 any good?
 

When swapping heads on a 305 you have to be careful. Even though any small block head will physically bolt to the 305 block, that doesn't mean it is a good idea to use just any head. Unless you are completely rebuilding the engine, you need a head with a 58cc combustion chamber or maybe a little smaller. Also, a head with 1.94 and 1.5 valves aren't going to be the best. A set of the HO 305 heads will have the 58cc chambers and 1.84 intake and 1.5 exhaust valves. You could also go with the Vortec 305 heads, or any aftermarket head designed specifically for a 305

Re: Is a 305 any good?
 

a 305 can make decent power if you just want to get a little more get up. 305 vortec heads would be great. i had a 305 with headers an edelbrock intake and 1406 600 cfm carb in a 75 lwb. it would fry the tire and jump when i floored it. If your going to swap id definately go to a 350 though.

Re: Is a 305 any good?
 

305 is a good motor.. it is a torque maker.. and the ones with TPI made nice torque..
they are timing limited when running 87 fuel..
they like to ping..
it cost nothing more to build a 350.. and that IS the reason no one likes the 305..
the 350 is aval. and easier to make power with..
I'd just run the 305, and if you're looking for more pep.. free flowing exhaust, and headers or iron manafolds off a f body that had the dual converters,
as they are 2.5" exit and flow better..
these cars gave up a ton from the exhaust lack of breathing..
add an intake, and if you reaaly want to wake it up. add a TPI WITH megasquirt ecu..
these engines are all done at 4500-5000 anyways.. but the torque will move you out nicely..
then you'll have to get it to hook..
before I did anything.. it's see how "healthy" the engine is with a compression test and leak down test..
if it's tired no point of hop'n it up..
and then just reach for a 350

Re: Is a 305 any good?
 

I've owned several 305's, a swap to an "RV" cam will do wonders for them. They especially like the Performer cam or any of it's numerous clones like the Summit 1102.
Down the road I'm building a 305 Vortec with flat tops and a ZZ4 roller cam, not sure what I'll put it in but it will be light with 4.11's.

Re: Is a 305 any good?
 

Thanks for all the info it really helped. I don't know the condition of the engine yet but I plan on doing a compression test at least very soon. I'm not so sure I want to do a 350 swap with that car just yet. I heard the T-5 in it can't handle all that much so I'm hoping to make it a good fun driver while I get some of my other toys running....I need to get my 72 ventura and 67 burb somewhat drivable this year.

For now I'm going to fix the clutch linkage and give it a good tune-up/clean up and go from there. I'm hoping the engine is in good enough shape (when the time comes) to go thru and install an rv cam, vortec heads maybe, headers and an intake...and then drive the wheels off it.