Mildly Build 305 or Switch to other SBC

['72customdeluxe]

Forget the stroke, in stock form (even net vs. net) 327's put out more torque than 305's in trucks

[67chevy1series]

well i would get the 350 or a 327

[Hubscrub]

Originally Posted by silverstreak

These little motors don't have the same reputation for power as the 350's but they last a long time and do what they were designed to do very well.

i'm proud to see some support for the 305s, don't get me wrong i like power the same as the next guy but, sometime i like to be different lol, just like my love for the straight 6 they are soooo cool fixed up even if they ain't monsters

[culp7]

Originally Posted by JRBECK64

I once bought a 60 Chev pickup for parts and it had a 305 in the bed. Its all there and I think I am going to put it in my (Bastard Child) 50 Willeys Pickup just to be different. I have run the numbers on it and it has 4 barrel intake manifold on it which peaked my curiosity. This thing has 58cc Heads 170/150 valves on it which is pretty darn tight. A friend of mine recently restored an El Camino with a 305 in it and all the numbers match what he had in it. Let me tell you that thing hauled butt bigtime. I didn't think much of 305's till I drove this thing and It made me a rethink the 305 bashing I had heard in the past. Now that being said if I had the choice between a 350 and a 305 I would probably take the 350. I am about to have the bottom end of a 350 redone with a new set of heads I purchase a long time ago and I will probably have about $950 to $1K invested in it. You can find Edlebrock manifolds and HEI's on Craigslist or even at the junkyard if you keep your eyes peeled. Find an old CARTER AFB and rebuild it and once its tuned you will never have to touch it again. Put a little grease on your face when you go to the junkyard and tell them your a starving student and maybe they will help you out. If you need a carb I have an Edlebrock 1407 that I would donate to your cause if you pay the shipping, I will even send the rebuild kit that goes with it (Let Me Know). Good Luck with your Project.

JRBECK64

man, that would be great! i'll be sending you a PM... once again, this is another reason why i love this forum

['72customdeluxe]

For headers I would recommend summit (reboxed flowtechs). Around $200 for ceramic coated ones, fit great, don't leak. The 1.5" primary should help with scavenging at low rpm with that baby motor. I have them on mine

[austinleonhardt307]

Don't waste your time on a 305. I'm also in highschool and i'm so much happier i went to a 350. You'll be better off in the long run cause they are more reliable.

[nikwho]

I think that you should do the absolute minimun to the 305 and just get it running. Only buy parts that will later work on a 350, HEI, intake good carb/intake etc. I wouldn't even put a cam in it. Save that money and start saving up for a used 350 that you can freshen up and then throw a cam in it and some double hump or vortec heads. I would just get that 305 running and enjoy driving your ride around a little. Dont waste money trying to polish a terd if your trying to get a lot of hp. Dont get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with a 305, I have one in my '83 truck. I just would not try to build a 305 to get a lot of hp. dollar for dollar you'll get much more out of a 350. And it won't have to work as hard as the 305 to do the same thing.

['72customdeluxe]

Originally Posted by austinleonhardt307

Don't waste your time on a 305. I'm also in highschool and i'm so much happier i went to a 350. You'll be better off in the long run cause they are more reliable.

How do you figure a 350 is more reliable??

[nikwho]

If you can practice saving some money you can find really good deals out there! I just bought a fresh 350 that was built by a very reputable local machine shop. It has a balanced Eagle rotating assembly, 9.4:1 compression hyperutectic pistons, Comp xtreme energy cam, rebuilt double hump heads with new valves, springs seats and some pocket porting, new intake and 600 cfm carb all for $1000. And its complete, ready to drop in to my '59 pickup. I got over $3000 in parts reciepts along with a reciept from the machine shop for about $1400 worth of labor put into it. The guy got laid off and was hurting for money. If you save some money and keep some feelers out there, you can find great deals! You would spend $1000 just trying to put headers, intake carb and a cam into the 305 that your thinking about building up.

[ewoody625]

This is a tough choice to make. If it were me I would want to get my truck goin so I can drive it, and save up for a better motor. At the same time though I'm the kinda guy that says "if it aint broke dont fix it", so my better motor may never come to be lol. I actually did that with my truck, I did what I had to do to get it on the road. It ran and looked ok but needed a few odds and ends, well I ended up wrecking it and now its pretty much getting a full resto. Bulid your 305 so it runs and get your truck on the road, your in highschool your doin good as long as you can get from point a to point b and back again lol, atleast thats all i wanted when i was in highschool. thats just my .02 good luck!

[austinleonhardt307]

because they are alot better built motor. 350's are a more solid block. this is just my opinion though, i haven't had a good 305 yet...

['72customdeluxe]

All the bolt ons (carb, headers, intake manifold, ignition) will all transfer over to a bigger motor later..

[austinleonhardt307]

i do realize that it's the way you build it though...

[292farmer]

i had a 1977 2dr impala with the 305 i loved it i had headers, weiand intake and a rebuilt quadrajet. headers, HEI and a mild cam lunati voodoo was only 250* i think cant remember. it was really quick, their was a kid in my school with a camaro he was saving up for a bbc in stead of getting his sbc running, he got more crap from people then i ever did for my 305, what good is 350 if u aint driving it yet waiting to afford it? my 305 was 100 times faster then a 700hp bbc waiting to be built. i say build it and upgrade later. just my 2 cents id rather drive a 305 on the road then drive a 350 in a dream...

[culp7]

Unless i can score a great deal on a 350, i think i'll just build a 305 w/ all performance parts that i could use at a later time on a 350

[geemcee]

My father has a 305 in his 56 Chevy 1300, its been in there for about 20 years, no problems at all, not a power house but still does go.

[ewoody625]

Originally Posted by culp7

Unless i can score a great deal on a 350, i think i'll just build a 305 w/ all performance parts that i could use at a later time on a 350

I think thats a good idea

[oldgold70c10]

I had a 305 for nearly 5 years in my 1/2 ton. You could not kill it. It was from a 77 Monte Carlo and had a lot of miles on it. I ran it for a few years with the crappy 2bbl on it then I put a R/V cam in it, wieland Stealth manifold, and an AFB on it and it was plenty fun to drive. Was not the "couldn't get out of its own way" you've heard the others say! It was running pretty strong when pulled, even though it had been in need of a valve job for a couple years. And I still got good gas milage too. Keep the 305, play around, find out what works. You won't really know until you can get it on the road!

[68GMCCustom]

a previous employer had a '70 el camino (he had a '70 350, '71 SS/402, '72/454 big block and a '76/350 that used to be my mom's but thats another story) that for a few years back in the 80's was my work truck...then it got handed down to others. When I had it the body was nicely restored and the interior while original except the seat bottom cover, was still in good shape. It was a 275hp 350 2bbl as I recall...with over 250,000 miles when I got it and it puffed on startup. There were oil foulers on a couple of the spark plugs and it used a quart every 400-500 miles. I took care of it.
Fast forward about 10 years and several other employees later and when I saw it...it was smoking full time now with a black oil stripe up the left side of the tailgate and a lighter one on the right side. The body looked like someone had played ice autocross and wound up being more like a pinball bouncing off the cemented light posts rather then a car tracking through the course. I asked and it had well over 300k miles then...but let me tell you...that truck was on its last life.

point being....sbc's are bad mofo's and will last almost forever unless you really abuse them...and even then they'll last for a while....

[ivanuf2]

Look at my solution to this dilema
http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...88#post3947288