Re: Why's everybody hatin' on the 305?
 

I certainly can't say I'm disappointed by the discussion on this thread. The sort of back-and-forth I'm seeing gives me an opportunity to see all the sides of the issue. It also makes me wonder if at some point down the road there will be plenty of spare 305s lying around in peoples' garages.

Re: Why's everybody hatin' on the 305?
 

I don't see any bashing, it all looks pretty civil to me with just opinions stated :shrug:

Re: Why's everybody hatin' on the 305?
 

The old phrase of "there is no replacement for displacement" carries a lot of weight with many people, and the fallacy of it seems to go unmentioned. Obviously, there is some truth to the phrase, but it's not always a night and day difference - like people may want to believe.

I guess people don't want to accept that 4 cylinder engines can be (and have been) built that chew up V8s and spit them out.

Re: Why's everybody hatin' on the 305?
 

The challenge there is everyone has a different view of the World and what's in it. If you can learn to share space with people who's opinions oppose yours, then life gets a lot easier. The problems usually begin when people are true believers = my view of the subject is the only legitimate truth. It can get worse when it goes from an argument between 2 people into a group monkey dance where Imaginary Status is on the line. Reality is there are many opinions, experiences, and truths for individual people.

305 is an awesome motor :metal:

305 is a piece of crap :haha:

Both statements are true depending on the individual.

Re: Why's everybody hatin' on the 305?
 

I get a kick out of these subtle implications. Once false information hits the internet it instantly becomes truth.

Yes bigger engine can make more power but that doesn't mean the smaller engines are junk or not worth building.

Re: Why's everybody hatin' on the 305?
 

I agree 100% you think like I do. I run 305's from 200$ Grand Prix and Parisienne cars in wasted rusty trucks in high school. I have a huge stash of "throwaway" "junk" engines. old 265's,283's to 305 and 307's to 250/292's. I like the integrated intake 250, and the 6.2. Sometimes 120 or 200 HP is all you need or want. Here anyway a lot of people are going back to the Inlines and putting 283's back in the cars they threw away years ago and searching and searching for correct parts. I suspect 305's will be the most valuable in many years to come. They are almost all thrown away

Re: Why's everybody hatin' on the 305?
 

I agree with you too!

Re: Why's everybody hatin' on the 305?
 

Makes the smaller engines cheaper, though. :metal:

I've had people offer to give me plenty of 305s, I just didn't have anything (at the time) I could do with them.

Re: Why's everybody hatin' on the 305?
 

I have a 305 I bought from my son, he was parting out an 86? 1/2 ton I think it was, the engine ran great, so I bought it and it is in my shop waiting to be put in my '70 jeep at a later date...

Re: Why's everybody hatin' on the 305?
 

Why the Hatin'?
Well, some people can live with a 305, towing, driving, cruising. The guy I bought my GMC from, he is that guy. He is Mr Slow and Steady. The 305 suits his driving style perfectly. These guys fall into the same catagory who feel that the straight 6 is a suitable truck engine (be it the Ford or GM guys). I admire their resolve and ability to be satisified with slow and steady...

Me? Not a chance. I drive it like I stole it. I prefer to get up to the speed limit promptly. When I pass somebody, I prefer to pass them yesterday. When I am towing, I like some grunt, and some in reserve just in case. I can't leave anything alone anyways and always end up modifying what I drive. In the case of a 305, you gain very little for your dollar, a 350 or bigger gives you more bang for your modification buck. Back in my stop light drag days, you had some guys who sunk money into their 305's. Well, they sunk money into them alright for very little gain. Put that same cash and or mods into a 350+ and you see more return for your dollar. We even had two glutons for punishment that decided to hot rod their slant 6's. Man, they spent crazy money and did not manage to do any better than a guy with a stock 350 with just a dual exhaust and maybe headers. What they got for their money was a level of performance that let them play with the v8's.

All that is said with respect to the previous era's engines. With todays engine management and manufacturers efforts to get every last drop of performance and fuel economy has put things on a whole other level. But in short, if you have a tendency to modify, and like things to be more zippy, a larger engine is the more economical choice long term.

Alex.

Re: Why's everybody hatin' on the 305?
 

I like almost all old chevy engines and mopar v8. I don't diesels and fords lol.I get alot of when ya gonna change it out when I talk about my 86 monte carlo ss with a 305 HO. Most reliable engine ive owned it's staying and 24 miles a gallon with the quadrajet and decent power great cruising car. All engines have there purpose.

Re: Why's everybody hatin' on the 305?
 

I had a few 305's. Pulled the 6 out of a 76 half ton 4 speed and dropped in a 305. With the low gears, it was a big improvement. My family car was an 84 Caprice Classic with a 305 4 BBL and a 700 R4. Great car..... hauled the family in comfort, and still pulled off 26 MPG. Bought an 87 Silverado Short box fleet
side brand new in Nov 86 with a 305 TBI and a 700R4. Again, great truck and very economical. The early 305's (and 350's in that era) used to eat cams. I can still hear that dreaded "pop, pop" coming out of the carb indicting a flat lobe on the cam. I believe it wasn't bad cams, but bad lifters. The lifter would wear down, making sharp edges. Those edges would "machine" down a cam lobe in no time. Every cam I changed had lifter edges that could cut your finger. Everyone is different. Some guys like big power, others like better mileage. There is no right answer.

Re: Why's everybody hatin' on the 305?
 

Correct, there are certainly reasonable replacements for displacement. Good heads and boost can help a lot. However, if you already picked your platform (for example, SBC) and how civilized you want it to be (DD vs street/strip vs track only), and have a budget, displacement tends to be very helpful for getting good power. If you start with no parts, $5k parts/machine shop budget, the 350 will pretty much always walk all over the 305... but a 383 will walk on the 350, and so on. The cost of extra displacement is relatively low vs amazing heads, and extra displacement helps get you more power without losing streetability. A 450hp 350 can be a reasonable DD, a 450hp 305 won't work as well there.

Of course, for plenty of people a 200hp 305 is all they need and they're happy with it, and get better mileage. Nothing wrong with that.

Re: Why's everybody hatin' on the 305?
 

Exactly, this.

The highest output 305 truck engine was the 220hp, 290 lb-ft L30 Vortec engine. Now, they weren't setting the world on fire with their performance, but they were strong engines in their own right. Were I building a cruiser, there would be nothing wrong with those numbers.

Were I building a "performance" vehicle, yes, I would definately replace it with something else - not because a 305 is "junk" - but because a 5.7 or a 5.3 is a better starting point in the realm of performance. It's the "baseline" to work from because years of engine building, hot-rodding and engineering have taught us all that the 350 or 325 Gen 3+ are capable of amazing performance without major modifications.

Now, if you want to fly against the majority and build a reliable 500+hp 305, you would not find me in the line of people waiting to tell you "I told you so!" when it blows up. If you want to do it, it's your project, go for it!

Just understanding that the 305 isn't the ideal starting point of a performance build doesn't disqualify it as a great engine.