Chevy 305 engine

[FB85C10]

I have a stock chevy 305 out of a 85 c10 and trans from my donor truck I got recently got and I wanna rebuild it to use in my project truck for now till I get my other motor built.

I wanna know what can you do to this motor to get some horsepower out of these things, wat is the biggest and most loopest cam I use for that motor plus other things!

thanks

[Stepper86]

Check this article out if you have´nt all ready:
http://www.carcraft.com/techarticles..._engine_build/

[streetstar]

A big cam will be useless unless you have a well matched set of heads , exhaust and intake----- i'd look into vortec heads for it, flat top pistons as opposed to the dished ones it has stock, and a good manifold.
You can also stroke it out to a 334.
But doing all that work is a little like putting lipstick on a pig, it costs just as much money to do all this as it would for a 350 ---- seems it would be far better just to keep the 305 fresh and enjoy it for what it is, a torquey, reliable little motor with good fuel mileage

[Tx Firefighter]

I used to play with 305's because back in the 80's there were a lot of them out there that I could get for free. It's completely true that a 350 costs the same to modify as a 305, and the end results are better.

But, when I could score a 305 for free pretty often, I'd run an Edelbrock Performer cam, Edelbrock Performer intake, and dual 2 inch exhaust. It would wake up the 305 pretty noticeably. The Performer cam I mentioned is targeted at the 350 crowd, but when installed in a 305, it acts "bigger". That is, it has a more noticeable lope than it does in a 350. It's about as far as I would go on a stock piston, stock head 305. After that you start to lose ground on performance.

Cam...

http://www.summitracing.com/parts/edl-2102

Intake...

http://www.summitracing.com/parts/edl-2101/overview/

You can get a Summit house brand cam with the same specs for much cheaper if you don't care about it being an Edelbrock branded item, and the Performer intakes are available used on every Craigslist and swap meet coast to coast.

[rfmaster]

Like TX Firefighter mentioned EDL-2102 can be had without paying Edelbrock mark-up. The cam is made by SpeedPro CS1014R and is available as a 'white box' cam from summit SUM-1102. Just use quality lifters such as HT817 and you can have the whole thing under $100. Keep in mind that a proper break in procedure must be followed! This is well known and proven cam for 305/350 builds with basically stock internals.

//RF

[mrolds88]

Also when yu run the "biggest lopiest" cam you can find you will not like but one of the results. It will sound great when it is setting there. It will impress your friends. But when you pull out it won't get out of its own way. This somewhat happened to me with my 72. I had to swap the cam out because of lobe issues. Cam was a little over .500 lift which isn't uncommon with BBC cams including RV type cams. I didn't know the duration of it and that's where the problem arose. Before that thing would pull a house off the foundation. Afterwards it was noticeably weaker. Even had a slight lope to it.

[Zane M]

Would the money and time you would be putting into the 305 be better served toward the goal of "till I get my other motor built"?

I'm not knocking a 305 by any means with my question. I'm just throwing out that if your goal is to put a motor in to get the project rolling under its own power, then by all means, use the 305 so you can at least drive the thing and get some enjoyment out of it.
But if your ultimate goal is to put something else in, every dollar you spend on the temporary solution is a dollar you have taken away from reaching your final goal.

[Security guy]

Definitely some good info here... I just picked up an '86 with a 305 in it as well. It will be my daughters truck, so I'm looking for the 'sound' more than the 'go'.

[cedens]

My 82 has the 305 in it already ... has since the day she arrived back in sept 82 so i'd juice up that motor before putting out cash for a new crate engine... plus it still purrs like a kitten

[MikeB]

As a point of reference, the 1985 Z-28 had the hottest factory 305 ever made, and the cam had 202/206 duration and .403"/.415" lift -- big relative to a 305 truck cam and even most 350 cams. So, I wouldn't go too much bigger than 202/206. Isky makes a 208/208 cam on a 108 LSA, which should lope a little in a 305 without hurting cylinder pressure and torque too much.

Like the guys said above, using a too-big cam with stock 305 heads, exhaust, and axle ratio will kill power.

[Jake Wade]

The Isky 256 supercam is nice choice for a 305 also.

[MylilBowTie]

Sum-k1102 would be fine as well its 204/214.

[Redcap]

I wouldn't waste any money on a 305.

[Rich84]

Originally Posted by MikeB

As a point of reference, the 1985 Z-28 had the hottest factory 305 ever made, and the cam had 202/206 duration and .403"/.415" lift -- big relative to a 305 truck cam and even most 350 cams. So, I wouldn't go too much bigger than 202/206. Isky makes a 208/208 cam on a 108 LSA, which should lope a little in a 305 without hurting cylinder pressure and torque too much.

Like the guys said above, using a too-big cam with stock 305 heads, exhaust, and axle ratio will kill power.

I have a 1985 z28 TPI 305 in my truck. I also have the CS1014R cam in it. Tons of torque and good gas mileage. Very happy.

[MikeB]

Originally Posted by Redcap

I wouldn't waste any money on a 305.

I wouldn't say a stock rebuild with a mild cam would be a waste of money, but I certainly wouldn't use it as a base for a performance engine.

Even a stock $1,500 GM Goodwrench 350 will make more TQ and HP right out of the crate compared to a 305 that you put $2,000 into.

[nekkidhillbilly]

Originally Posted by Redcap

I wouldn't waste any money on a 305.

me either