I have an '88 305 that's been sitting in the garage since I took it out of another car. It just needs valve guides. I was thinking of throwing it in my '71 C10 pickup and was wondering if there is a cam, intake/carb setup anyone could suggest, just for a little pep and better sound out the dual exhaust? It's only an old patina'd shop truck, so I don't want to go too crazy or $$$$$. Thanks
Pretty much any small block chevy mild performance parts will do ok. the 305 is hampered by the cruddy airflow due to small bores and small valves needed to fit. Other than that- it's just another sbc- the smaller the mill, the more affect a cam swap has on its behavior (good and bad). Check with the major cam companies for their recommendations. An RV grind will help things along. Maybe a little more gear in the axle for some pep (depending on intended usage). Edelbrock probably has a carb, intake, cam package just for your needs. -rick
Something in the .440-455 lift cam. Dual plane intake. If the head's need re-built, you may price a pair of Vortec or (mo'$) E-Tech's Eldelbrock.
If you don't want the lump of a hotter cam, I'd go with something in the 268 dur. and 450 lift range. The Edelbrock Performer intake is a good dual plane design that works well. Add to that a hotter than stock ignition and a 500 Edelbrock carb and you should see a big differance in the 305
You need to keep the duration on a 305 under 260 degrees. I use a Comp Extreme Energy series and when I get back to my shop I'll post the grind # that I use. And make sure the cylinder heads are the 4-barrell truck heads, they have bigger intake valves. Last but not least, If the engine needs bored install a set of Monte Carlo SS pistons. These are flat tops and will make more compression for cheap >>>>.
I would like the lump of a hotter cam, if I could just get it without going into the engine and heads. I'd like to just add a cam(roller type), do the valve guides so it doesn't smoke on startup, headers, intake and carb. This was a roller cam, computer-engine, I won't be using any computer. Like I said, I just want it reliable, with a little more pep and a good sound...for a shop truck. Can I use a 274 cam? Is that a roller cam? Thanks
Which roller cam 305, a TBI or TPI? They have differnet heads with the TPI heads being preferred for mild performance use. The ZZ4 roller cam gives the 305 a nice "thump" but may be a bit lumpy for a truck. The Ramjet 350 cam will give it a nice performance boost with a healthy exhaust note but not much lope to speak of. Try doing a search @ http://www.thirdgen.org/techboard/, they do a lot with the roller cam 305's and pretty well know what works and what doesn't.
So you have Vortec head's already? You are limited to around .470 lift w/ stock vortec head's. A .454 lift has a nice sound to it and will still have some low end get-away power. Esp for a heavy truck. Are your stock roller lifter's good? If so you may save $.
Sorry for inability to clarify about anything made past 1975....I don't know if these are called Vortec heads or not. It is a 1988 305 Camaro TBI engine that I took out of my son's Camaro a few years ago. It ran fine but it must need valve seals because it smoked on startup. It ran fine otherwise. I'd like a cheap way to get a good sound and a little more performance, I don't have a manifold or carb. I was thinking small Holley, headers and Smithy's..no longer Computer-controlled. I think the rollers should be good, if so can I use them and do I have to get another distributor. I have good access to a junkyard. Thanks for your suggestions.
No, he has the '187 Swirl Port heads. The Ramjet cam works great with those but won't have a "lumpy" idle although some people say it has a slight lope in the 305. It will have a nice sound though, throw a 4 Bbl. and headers on it and you'll have a decent driver that should get decent mileage. If you really need a lopey idle stay conservative on lift and duration and run an LSA of 106 to 108 degrees. The Summit 1103 flat tappet hydraulic does have a pretty good lope in a 305. The L98 350 TPI cam might give a 305 some lope, the ZZ4 will for sure.
Don't forget the distributor gear when putting in another distributor. I am a big fan of GM's "Melonized" distributor gear for roller cam applications. If you keep the stock cam, remember, there is no lobe on it to drive a mechanical fuel pump.
Definately needs one of them "Thumper" cams. I think that Hack published a 305 formula way back when. Just do a search for Fat Hack using 305 as a key word.
He did the 307 "Perfume on a Pig" thread... http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=45615
I did use a 274 dur, with 450 lift Crane in a HO 305 (not a roller). Plenty of lump and good bottom end power. Some probably won't want to believe it but that little 305 in mostly stock form has seen very close to 7000 rpms more than once with no valve float or other things going wrong. They're still a SBC so they can be made to run decent fairly cheap. Using a 500 cfm carb will keep your tuning alot easier too. IMO
Hell guys I went back and read the whole damn thread and that kat cracked his block and bent 2 rods !! lol
<TABLE cl***=SpecCard width=760><TBODY><TR><TD cl***=RedHeading>Specifications</TD><TD> </TD><TD cl***=style21> </TD><TD cl***="SpecLabel Intake">Intake</TD><TD cl***="SpecLabel Exhaust">Exhaust</TD></TR><TR><TD cl***=SpecLabel>RPM Range:</TD><TD cl***=Spec><INPUT style="WIDTH: 135px" id=ctl00_ContentPlaceHolder1_CamSpecsDetails21_TBRPMRange cl***=SpecBox value="1000 to 5200" readOnly name=ctl00$ContentPlaceHolder1$CamSpecsDetails21$TBRPMRange> </TD><TD cl***=SpecLabel>Valve Lash:</TD><TD cl***="Spec Intake"><INPUT style="WIDTH: 135px" id=ctl00_ContentPlaceHolder1_CamSpecsDetails21_TBValveLashIntake cl***=SpecBox value=Hyd. readOnly name=ctl00$ContentPlaceHolder1$CamSpecsDetails21$TBValveLashIntake> </TD><TD cl***="Spec Exhaust"><INPUT style="WIDTH: 135px" id=ctl00_ContentPlaceHolder1_CamSpecsDetails21_TBValveLashExhaust cl***=SpecBox value=Hyd. readOnly name=ctl00$ContentPlaceHolder1$CamSpecsDetails21$TBValveLashExhaust> </TD></TR><TR><TD cl***=SpecLabel>Valve Timing:</TD><TD cl***=Spec><INPUT style="WIDTH: 135px" id=ctl00_ContentPlaceHolder1_CamSpecsDetails21_TBValveTiming cl***=SpecBox value=0.006 readOnly name=ctl00$ContentPlaceHolder1$CamSpecsDetails21$TBValveTiming> </TD><TD cl***=SpecLabel>Duration:</TD><TD cl***="Spec Intake"><INPUT style="WIDTH: 135px" id=ctl00_ContentPlaceHolder1_CamSpecsDetails21_TBDurationIntake cl***=SpecBox value=256 readOnly name=ctl00$ContentPlaceHolder1$CamSpecsDetails21$TBDurationIntake> </TD><TD cl***="Spec Exhaust"><INPUT style="WIDTH: 135px" id=ctl00_ContentPlaceHolder1_CamSpecsDetails21_TBDurationExhaust cl***=SpecBox value=268 readOnly name=ctl00$ContentPlaceHolder1$CamSpecsDetails21$TBDurationExhaust> </TD></TR><TR><TD cl***=SpecLabel noWrap>Lobe-Center Angle:</TD><TD cl***=Spec><INPUT style="WIDTH: 135px" id=ctl00_ContentPlaceHolder1_CamSpecsDetails21_TBLobeSeparationAngle cl***=SpecBox value=110 readOnly name=ctl00$ContentPlaceHolder1$CamSpecsDetails21$TBLobeSeparationAngle> </TD><TD cl***=SpecLabel>Duration @ .050" Lift:</TD><TD cl***="Spec Intake"><INPUT style="WIDTH: 135px" id=ctl00_ContentPlaceHolder1_CamSpecsDetails21_TBDuration050Intake cl***=SpecBox value=212 readOnly name=ctl00$ContentPlaceHolder1$CamSpecsDetails21$TBDuration050Intake> </TD><TD cl***="Spec Exhaust"><INPUT style="WIDTH: 135px" id=ctl00_ContentPlaceHolder1_CamSpecsDetails21_TBDuration050Exhaust cl***=SpecBox value=218 readOnly name=ctl00$ContentPlaceHolder1$CamSpecsDetails21$TBDuration050Exhaust> </TD></TR><TR><TD cl***=SpecLabel noWrap>Intake Centerline:</TD><TD cl***=Spec><INPUT style="WIDTH: 135px" id=ctl00_ContentPlaceHolder1_CamSpecsDetails21_TBIntakeCenterline cl***=SpecBox value=106 readOnly name=ctl00$ContentPlaceHolder1$CamSpecsDetails21$TBIntakeCenterline> </TD><TD cl***=SpecLabel>Valve Lift:</TD><TD cl***="Spec Intake"><INPUT style="WIDTH: 135px" id=ctl00_ContentPlaceHolder1_CamSpecsDetails21_TBValveLiftIntake cl***=SpecBox value=0.447 readOnly name=ctl00$ContentPlaceHolder1$CamSpecsDetails21$TBValveLiftIntake> </TD><TD cl***="Spec Exhaust"><INPUT style="WIDTH: 135px" id=ctl00_ContentPlaceHolder1_CamSpecsDetails21_TBValveLiftExhaust cl***=SpecBox value=0.454 readOnly name=ctl00$ContentPlaceHolder1$CamSpecsDetails21$TBValveLiftExhaust> </TD></TR><TR><TD cl***=SpecLabel> </TD><TD cl***=Spec> </TD><TD cl***=SpecLabel>Lobe Lift:</TD><TD cl***="Spec Intake"><INPUT style="WIDTH: 135px" id=ctl00_ContentPlaceHolder1_CamSpecsDetails21_TBLobeLiftIntake cl***=SpecBox value=0.299 readOnly name=ctl00$ContentPlaceHolder1$CamSpecsDetails21$TBLobeLiftIntake> </TD><TD cl***="Spec Exhaust"><INPUT style="WIDTH: 135px" id=ctl00_ContentPlaceHolder1_CamSpecsDetails21_TBLobeLiftExhaust cl***=SpecBox value=0.304 readOnly name=ctl00$ContentPlaceHolder1$CamSpecsDetails21$TBLobeLiftExhaust> </TD></TR><TR><TD cl***=ValveTimingHeading colSpan=2 noWrap>Valve Timing @ 0.006 Lift:</TD><TD cl***=style21> </TD><TD cl***=style31> </TD><TD cl***=style32> </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE> Comp cams told me to use an XE256H cam in my 305. A cam is all I have left to buy. How does this cam stack up to the other listed cams in this thread?
It's right there in the ball park! Daily driver friendly+stock converter+nice idle+mo' power= Home Run!
Theyn used the same roller cam in the '87 LG4 4 bbl. 305's which had a mechanical fuel pump so an '88 may well still have the pump lobe. The Ramjet and ZZ4 roller cams have a fuel pump lobe. The 1103 doesn't play well with the computer that's why they don't list it for an '88. Here's a 305 with the 1103 cam.... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V70PpbkwJJo I agree on not replacing a roller with a flat tappet though. Why take a step backward?
When I ran a 305 in my 37 pickup, I used a 350hp/327 cam (151), early 194 heads, and an LT1 intake w/AFB carb. The truck ran great, pulled hard, and sounded good. Vortec heads would help and there's undoubtedly a newer design cam that works too, but I liked what I had.
The 305/700R4 combo in my 51 Chevy coupe runs well with a Performer intake, 600 Edelbrock and MSD as only modifications. MSD was very noticeable improvement with cold starts. Gets decent mpg's (low 20's highway in OD) too. No screamer, but pretty fun, sounds good through gl***packs, and can do some good burnouts!
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