Why's everybody hatin' on the 305?

[Blessed66]

Originally Posted by slotard

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.

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.