I'm running a SBC 305. Does anyone know of simple power upgrades for it? Looking to get a little more boost out of it.
the normal 305 needs alot of help but if you have the HO 305 they have decent heads with 1.94 valves so they breathe ok. intake carb headers and cam will help big time. Carb wise try to stay with 500 cfm. A 600 is too much unless you like the burning in your eyes from being too rich
Check out the June 2008 issue of Popular Hot Rodding. 305 dynoed at 364 ft lb of torque at 5000 rpm and 394 hp. at 6300 rpm. Cool thing is, the owner, David Kauffung did it with store bought parts, and just plain smarts to the tune of $2500. bucks. A lot of good ideas in the build. And as a side note, this guys a jeweller, you should see the engine rings he makes. Bought one myself, s/b chevy with dual quad Edelbrocks and headers, sterling engine with brass valve covers. Sniper
There's nothing wrong with the HO 305. I have one in my 55 with a 278 Crane, Super Comp headers and of all things a dual 4 bbl tunnelram along with a pertronix ignition. Tuned properly they run justas good and sometimes better than the 350. Unless mine is a total freak and I don't hink so mine will smoke the shit outta the tires and still give 14 mpg on a steady run of 2500 r's. running BOTH carbs all the time. Mine ie set up with a M-22 Muncie with 3:73 rears
Do you guys run headers or stock manifolds on them. Right now with starting my own business I can't afford many upgrades to I'm still running manifolds with two smithy glasspacks.
I'm running the larger tube Hooker Super Comps headers. Headers tend to lean out the carbs but they let the engine breathe better than manifolds
It's not necessary to transpose anything. The engine I'm refering to was a backyard build, that was entered into the Engine Masters Challenge. Going against some big buck heavy hitters, this guy won one of 10 spots on the dyno. He's proved what he's got. Check it out yourself.
Here you go man, I asked about this a while back and heres what someone gave me. Hope this helps? http://jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1494
Personally I am a fan of the manifolds - less noise, potential for leaks, etc. Especially if it is mostly stock. I have taken headers off a truck and replaced them with stock manifolds and noticed zero difference other that they didn't leak anymore. When I put the headers on the new zip difference was gone after a few miles. It felt the same. Shit load of work to bolt them up too
Post your whole combo, engine, trans, rearend gear, tire height, and vehicle weight. And your budget.
Headers help everything. And if they don't help the 305 much, they'll help the eventual 350 even more. Honestly to get more boost out of a 305 one of the easiest ways is to put boost into it. About 5psi, used parts of course. Gear the car high to take advantage of blower torque cause 305s shroud the valves and don't respond horsepower-wise to boost (or head & cam upgrades) like a 302 ford does. good luck
i think that article was balogna.. didnt he use aluminum heads, that he had "laying" around and they didnt put that price in the build? plus thats like 3 dyno pulls.. not alot of everyday driving and such.... for a 305 to make that power it had to have a good amount of compression
Spendy but if you want a torque engine drop a 400 crank into a 305. I've done 2 engines. You get 334cid. I built one for a full time 4x4 suburban. It had every bit as much power, and was getting 15mpg with 3.40 gears and a carb, no overdrive. A 305 will cost money to build power. If money is limited, do bolt on stuff. Do it in steps- headers and exhaust- save money- Intake, carb, and cam- save lots more money-go through heads putting 1.94 valve in, unshroud the chambers and angle mill .065 and install flat top pistons. You get the idea. They are good little engines. The 1970's blocks had lifter bore alignment issues for a while though.
I had a 305 before... and it was a gutless bastard that was suitable for a boat anchor! Never again for me. Hell, I'd take a 4.3 over a 305 anyday!
Well I got this setup out of an old caprice. SBC 305 with a 2004r Trans. All retrofitted into a 89 doge dakota frame, with PS, and wheel sizes of 205/70r15 I have an HEI and a Edelbrock topping it off right now. I know enough about engines to tune them up but barely. So I have a couple friends who help.
I have a 305 matted to a 700r4 with an 8" rear end in my 1949 Ford clubcoupe. I have 2 1/2 " headers, a edelbrock manifold, edelbrock 600 carb, and an HEI. I haven't had it dynoed or anything but it runs fine for my needs. Get's about 20 miles to the gallon on the road. May not be the big horsepower or anything like that but not bad for $400 bucks at the junkyard for both.
A cam swap will do wonders for a 305 and it doesn't have to be anything radical. I've had 3 myself and rebuilt one for a friend. With a mild cam, a good 4 bbl., dual exhaust and about a 3.42 or 3.55 gear they can be a lot of fun in a 3400 Lb. and under car. If you want to go fast get a 350 but if you want a nice cheap cruiser and you already have a good solid 305 just do the usual hop up stuff. Exhaust, gear, intake, ignition and cam, if not all at once then do the gears first, those will get you the most noticable improvement, then dual exhaust, an ignition recurve and then a cam and intake swap. If it needs an overhaul though you'd be money ahead to find a 350. Just my $0.02.
I think you should reread Fat Hacks post, if you ever did read it. It has a wealth of info in it & saying a 305 is worthless is like saying 6 cylinders & flatheads can't be made to go fast...joe
Start with headers, and not shorties if you can fit longer ones, maybe even Clipsters like Patriot sells. Go up to 2 1/4" on the exhaust with a crossover. 2 1/2" if you are going to add compression and cam. Smithy's now makes 2 1/4 and 2 1/2" although Speedway doesn't list them yet, they are available.
Pick up a set of heads and do some porting and port matching on them(just don't go crazy), and a good valve job. Also grind out the cast in bosses inside of the exhaust manafolds, where is makes the turn down from the port. Add a towing cam if you aren't boosting the compression. Cheap stuff can make a difference. The stock induction system and HEI are fine for daily use.
yea i read it, and it went in one ear and out the other, you can do the same with a 350 and get more out of it... besides i didnt say anything about his article.. and someone please build a 305 that will put out 400hp for $2500 bucks and let me see it and see you drive it around town or cruise it to a car show and such and see how long it lasts..then do the same with a 350.. yea you can build a 6 to go fast, but you can build 8 for the same price and go faster... a 305 can be made to run decent, but you cant even compare it to a 350 i had a 305 when i was younger..put a set of small valve 327 heads on it,600 holley,holley contender intake,.458 lift cam, headers,rocker arms, 3.73 gears.. it wouldnt run anywhere close to the 350 in the same car with nearly identicle add-ons on it.. basicly same stuff because the 305 slung a rod and piston out of the oilpan.. and i built a 350 with what i had leftover... so tell me something i dont know, and i never said a 305 was worthless, i just think it would be dumb to spend that money on a 305 when you could get get a salvage yard 350 that runs decent and tweak on it.. plus if it was going in a heavy car the 350 would fair better anyways...
well it seems that you were talking about "June 2008 issue of Popular Hot Rodding" and I thought you were talking about Fat Hack's tech tip. What a shame to have a closed mind when it comes to certain mtrs. But then again I know people that would call me a liar if I told them a street driven aircooled VW Beetle did a 9.947 ET @ 139.98 MPH Like it has been said before "Everybody has a 350" & "Who wants to have what everyone else has." Anybody can build a 350, but can they build it w/MPG in mind????. And to quote "Fat Hack" To each his own, but then I like more MPG & being able to tell the "know it all's" Nope, that's a 305 (or 307) not a 350.... Dare to be Different....joe
If all ya need is 230- 250 hp,then a 305 with a mild cam,headers intake and 9-1 compression will do the job. If you're going to rebuld a small block from the ground up,a 327 or 350 is probably money better spent for street use.99 percent of people looking at a smallblock have no clue what displacement it is anyways.
What's it going into, a 1800 lb T Bucket or a 4000 lb 3/4 ton truck. Makes a big difference. 250 hp is fine for a T or an A but if the weight is great, you will need more juice.
Super basic: Headers, advance timing and then run 93 pump gas. I'd run something like a Hooker 1.75 long tube and 2.5 duals. A bit more: Headers, mild cam, new springs, small 4 bbl carb and intake. I'd still run the duals. Even more: 350ci, 750 dbl pumper, dual plane, mid sized cam, new springs. Making big power with a 305ci and 87 pump would be hard, in that case I would just do headers and call it a day. Heck some gear would be cheaper to do. With a 200R4 you can do a 4.10 and you'll have a deep first gear and overdrive for the highway.
Throwing headers on a stock 305 will result in maybe 5 HP and little to no seat of the pants improvements. Ask me how I know. It is also a large PITA. A cam/intake change would be your best bang for the buck. Then do the headers.
so bring a turbo and nitrous and a chromoly chassis vw into it, it doesnt impress me. lets see a smallblock 350 a turbo and nitrous in a 27 roadster chassis and tell me which would win? and the smallblock would probably be cheaper to build than the vw engine..
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