Judging from these comments it doesn't appear that the opinion of the 305 has changed much. To those of you saying why build a 305 if you can build a 350; why build a 350 when you can build an LS? Why go N/A when you can go turbo? You see where this line of thinking gets us? Yet here we are, wondering why everyone goes turbo LS.
Exactly. It can keep going to, skip the 350, go 400. Go 415, 434. I think the reason so many still go with a 350 is the total factors of, all over the place, cheapest rebuilder parts, good power when built right. Sure a 400 is quite a bit larger, but aren't found around every corner and not as cheap. Still, I have a thing about the underdog engines, especially the 307.
I don't wonder .. I don't build everything as Max/Effort. Only 16 yr olds think a battle of 4100lb pickups is cool. I like driving .. cruising .. having V8 power to tow or romp down on is great. You don't need max effort/engines for that. A 302 or 305 in a 1/2 ton is a great instrument.. Good Power/Good MPG.. great everyday package.
no shit. everyones focused on fitting the "fad" but tbh. 305s are so spit on you could prob buy one running for 100 bucks. will probly last your lifetime. nt the biggest powerhouse but better the them footerollies or firin up your chevrolegs
Because at the end of the day a 305 will always be a disappointment engines are nothing more than air pumps, and you can’t park nowhere with those little baby pistons
I really like the Vortec 305. My friend gave me a 1996 version and I converted it to a carburetor with a no name Edelbrock copy intake from Ebay. My truck is an 86 GMC, so I used the original non-electric Qjet and a set of 1 5/8" headers with 2 1/2" exhaust. Runs better than the 350 I removed.
According to some people in Europe the "ideal" cylinder is .5L and "slightly above square". That being the case with the right head a 305 would theoretically be more efficient than a 350 or even a Ford 5.0L because of the large bore. Supposedly the .5L slightly above square design is ideal for flame travel hence the reason why everything now has center mounted spark plugs (or 2 plugs per cylinder if a large bore engine). Would be nice to see some type of comparison between a 305, a 350 and a 302 with an identical setup with EFI.
I wanna say a 307 was the reverse of the combo used to get the 302. 302 was a 327 block with a 283 crank, 307 was a 283 block with a 327 crank. 307 vs a 305 would be interesting comparison I agree.
The RaceSaver Series used spec 305s in open wheel sprint cars. Injected on alcohol, they made about 435 hp or so. Brodix and AllPro make 305 specific heads.
305 boosted. First car I owned was a 1978 Caprice Classic. I lived in FL when I bought it in 1991, it was garage kept and only had 27k miles on it. I paid $1k for it. Since it spent its entire life in FL, garage kept and owned by an elderly couple it was in emasculate condition. The husband had passed away and I knew the widow as I had done yard work for her. Since none of her kids or grand kids wanted the car she finally sold it to me. Fortunately my cousin won a lawsuit at that time and fronted the cash for me. It had the 305 in it. I bought it in August of 91 and then moved to MI in December. In my mind the car was a POS, but I had to have to something to drive. I had no idea what engine was in it until someone told me. Here in MI I had lots of guys, particularly from Detroit that asked me how much I would sell it for. I told them it was a POS and wasn't worth nothing. They laughed and said you don't know what you got there. Then other people would ask if I had modified it and started making suggestions on modifications I could to make more power. Cam swap, different carburetor setup and so forth. Also to swap a 350 or a chevy big block. I wasn't interested and I didn't take care of the car the way I should've of. By 1994 it really did look like crap and I ended up buying a Hyundai and giving the Caprice to my cousin that loaned me the money. The point of this story, it was a mistake not to take care of that car and I should've added some performance to it.
I sold my brother in law the tpi 305 out of my wrecked 90 trans am. Come to find out it was bored .060. He put an lt1 hot cam, world castings sportsman 2 heads with oversized valves, edelbrock performer dual plane intake and an edelbrock 600 electric choke carb on it. Ran that through a turbo 350 trans with a manual valve body and the stock rear end. Welded the axle tubes and added 3.42 gears with posi in a 94 s10. It might not have been the fastest in town but it sure as hell was a fun truck. I had plenty of people not believe me it was just a 305.
I love how ridiculously quick a properly preped 305 revs. You can make awesome power with almost any smaller bore motor ie: 267, 283, 307, 305.. I just have to build them to rev higher. I have a good running 305.. Bored to 314 Dart iron eagle heads 2.02 in 160 ex 10:9:1 compression. Solid lifter cam 518/536 lift, 244/254 duration @050. Low tension rings and a crankcase evacuation system and hooker supercomp headers 1 7/8 primaries and 3 1/2 collectors.Topped with a 650 holley d.p. and weiand xterminator single plane intake. 3800 stall converter and 4:88 gears. Motor is a beast pulls from 3,500 rpm well past 7,000 rpms. Built with help from a sprint car engine builder.
What impresses me is that the LT-1 you tested stock made ~362hp and ~390 ft pounds which was close to a modified 305 with big cam and trick flow heads. The 2nd gen LT-1 was a big step in the end....
@@dannycalley7777 305's have the lightest piston and a heavy crank comparatively so. id imagine once the crank gets to a certain rpm, its more likely to want to spin rather than slow down.
It's also too bad they didn't keep producing the 400 SB for trucks, or at least a 383. A 383 with Vortec heads and roller cam would've been a great truck engine. But it might've outshined the 454!
Not being a 305 hater here, there is lots of potential in building a 305 and it has been improperly maligned for years. But since one can get a good used complete running or rebuildable 350 for literally $100-150, probably the 350 is the way to go for a if you are looking for a best bang for the buck.
As someone who has run through his fair share of 350s, yes you can find one that RUNS for a few hundred, that's not to say it doesn't come with issues. The one 305 I had was a hell of a runner compared to every 350 I've had. That's part of what helped me decide to get a 305 for my boat.
Loved this video for several reasons: 1) The 305 is the Chevrolet camps Mopar 318. Both can produce awesome power with a little bit of effort if one uses their noggin. 2) Now you’ve done it Richard!! I feel you’ve now opened up the other SBC debate... 377 (400 block-350 crank) or 383 (350 block 400 crank) Great comparison!
@@donellmuniz590 IMHO they pretty weak with the steamhole etc. I will give up 17 cu-in to have a stronger block......granted 350's are getting hard to find now as well.
@@milojanis4901 its just an air pump......at one time the 283 and 273 were top dogs. 305 is even more cubes, not my 1st choice but not my last one either.
I would love to see a max effort (but still streetable, not race engine) build on a 305. Obviously not the most cost effective or smartest way to go, but it would be cool to see. 335 stroker kit, etc.
Had an 86 Z28 with the 305HO and a T5. Put in a comp xe274hr retro fit roller cam, 10.5 compression pistons, comp moly pushrods, and comp stamped rockers. Hooker long tubes, a performer RPM air gap, a 750 Edelbrock (way too much, but I was a kid then), and 4.56 rear gears with a "Lincoln locker". I had to get 15x10 Mickey Thompson sportsmans on it to hook up. Pulled to 6500rpm and surprised plenty of cars at the stoplights.
In Seinfeld's voice: Why do they call it an RV cam? It's not like grandparents across the world are caming their RVs.... don't they mean camping their RVs? 🤣🤣🤣
I built a marine 305 335 stroker Wheeler block that was machined for 4 bolt main. I used the Cific 305 059 vortec improved heads. Keith Black Hyper Pistons. Put a Comp Cams H262 marine cam in it. A Professional Products air gap intake installed. Not sure what HP it will make.
I've run 305's for years mainly because people were ripping them out of Camaro/firebirds and chevy trucks right and left. I got three engines for 50 bucks all had less than 55k miles on them. So if you are wanting to keep it on the cheap side and still have decent power run the 305 because there are a ton out there that people haven't back yard hot rodded and kept in good mechanical running condition
@@donellmuniz590 right especially if you find a good set of the 059 vortec 305 casting they don't have the combustion chamber of a standard vortec but they have the intake runner design and they flow really well. Mine were flow tested at UTI sacramento when I went there they tested 228 cfm at .500 with a 4 inch bore. You can also use the 062 vortec heads on a 305 I believe that Steve Brule recorded over 350 horsepower from a stock 305 with 350 vortec heads and a single plane intake on the engine masters nitrous test. I'm sure you can make more with a better intake and mill the heads down to get compression back up.
its really about power per cubic inch. a good high performance small block street motor makes around 1.1 - 1.2 HP per cubic inch. thats 330-360 HP on a 305. for a 350 that same engine would be around 380-420 HP. for a 454 its 500-545 HP. so yes bigger is always better, until you add boost... then bigger its significantly better.
Just viewed this again after a long time… The torque curves between the two displacement engines really tell a story about the parts selection. The stealth ram has really short runners resulting in “rr track” torque curves. With basically the same top end you’d expect the bigger engine to move the torque curve down in rpm. The AFR heads might affect that a bit vs the TFS 175s, but I think the manifold selection killed low end torque on both combos. I’d love to see this test re-run with a 3-4” runner extension added between the lower and the plenum. You could do that with a 3D printer… Another great video, Richard!
I’ve ended up with an early 80’s chevy pickup with a fairly low mileage 305. All checks make the shortblock seem healthy but the stock 160hp just isn’t going to cut it. My initial thought was to drop in a 350 or a 5.3. The cost of the 5.3 swap or the 350 with the mods to make decent power are more than the cost of putting heads, cam and intake on the 305. I’ve avoided 305’s over the years because I had easy access to 350’s but for the intended use of this truck upgrading seems like a no brainer.
Great video on the 305 vs 350 and the upgrades that were done to both engines! With decent results I think both performed well! And the 305 could possibly make 400 HP great video! But I would love to see a 350 vs 400 SBC Gen 1 with equal equipment for both engines now, I believe the 350 will do decent with power but the torque number would be up on the 400 SBC compared to the 350 although I have built 350s in my time and made as much as 480 ft lbs.. but I just thought it would be a nice comparison of the 2 engines even a 350 vs 383 vs 400 Gen 1the 383 vs 400 has been a big question for years but the 400 will be tough.. I’ve never had any overheating issues or nor did I drill stem holes in my heads for the 400 block never had a issue.. if built correctly the 400 is a great little Street/Strip engine. I do normally run Solid Street Roller cams in most of my builds. The HDY Roller cam would be fine for these test.
Great video and appreciate all you do. I see many request for the 305 vs 307 all through tbe comments and you'd it's a cool comparison. Throw same upgrades to both and what you'll have at the end is a higher hp 307 with less torque and a higher rpm limit. The 305 will have lower hp and more torque and slightly less rpm. The difference in hp will be about 15-25 and the torque about the 20-40. RPM will be about 300-400 more for the 307. They kinda average out overall but it's still cool to do it.
Regardless of which parts you throw at a 305, a $1000 l33 swap is a better bang for the buck... But with turbos, maybe it makes sense to stay with the 305. 305 big bang please!
Get the block machined for 4 bolt main caps and it should take a ton of boost. Its literally a under bored 350, so it has thicker cylinder walls. Kicked around the idea of building one for many years now, just never got around to it.
@@sparkplug1018 I've got 2 305's sitting around that would need full machine work to be buildable again... If I ever get to a point where I have the money to throw into something like this I might just do it....
Here’s an interesting test build a 302 Leica DZ with a 4 inch bore in the 3 inch stroke and then take a 305. And do direct swap of parts exact same cam exact same heads as best you can with the boar. And see which one makes more power
Interesting, I had a .40 over 350 with 305 Iroc z heads years ago with a professional products version of the air gap intake .490 lift comp extreme cam, under drive pulleys and a demon carb 575 cfm I believe. Car was a torque monster but my top end, ehhhh, so so but man was that car fun on the streets punishing people. Give em head starts and my stall would kick in...lol
A decent head, with 1.94"/ 1.60" valves, with a decent cam, and 10 psi boost, it would be a stout 3oh5!! Maybe swap in a 3.75" crank, I put the 305 HO tpi on a 355, it was awesome to about 5k rpm, it has trickflow twisted wedge heads, and flat top pistons, somewhere around 9.9:1 and 10.2:1, compression ratio, it ran nice, it had a hyd roller cam, .465"lift, with 1.5:1, I added 1.6:1, so it was nearing .500" lift, and somewhere around 220°-225°est. Dur. it was a 1800 -6k revums, it did nice, sounded nice, it had a bit if rumble, like a stock 60's 300hp 327 or something, a set of vortec heads, polished, matched ports, blended bowls, with 1.94"/ 1.60" swirl polished, undercut valves, maybe a slight angle cut, to get the chamber volume down, if it could possibly get down to 54-56cc would be awesome, on a 305 with flat top, pistons, *** I have a roller 305 block in great shape, 109k miles, but looked like new, I needed tthe crank out of it, maybe I can find a 3.75"1 piece seal crank, and a set of vortec heads to play with, that extra 1/4" stroke will be like adding pop-up pistons, so maybe no head cutting needed, but port polishing, not actually polished, smoothed and "opened" a bit, with 1.94"/1.60" valve upgrade, 2.02's are useless unless unshrouded, a 305 bore would probably shroud even worse than the chambers, maybe raise the exhaust ports a bit in porting, a 334cid or what ever it comes to, but I think naturally inspired HP, would peak around 350-400, with such a small bore, and it would likely not be a street friendly engine, for a not so heavily modified engine, but 500hp boosted should be possible, I'd like to see it !!!..5.0H.O. with a decent head, cam, and 15psi boost! I'd like to see the dyno results, then swap the crank! To 3.75, or atleast 3.50" or ha-ha, 4.0" if you could ever squeeze that in there!.. 3.75" x4.0" or what ever the 305 bore is, I can't member, all I dine with 305's is drive'em, swap'em, or use the crank and rods from them, I have used HO heads on a stock 350! With dishes, and a cam & intake upgrade, they make nice Street engines!!.. Low-end TQ, more compression, I have used the pre vortec 350's truck TBI engines, with the swirl heads, swap them for 5.0 HO heads, with TBI intake port matched, I think I'd went with a edelbrock performer rpm intake, and adapted a 454 TBI on to it, "IF" I did it AGAIN, but probably use vortec heads, if it's a low buck, " use mostly stock parts build", (parts stock for other engines) with aftermarket cam and intake, headers, building something that performs, with nearly all stock parts, isn't that easy,ya gotta know how stuff works, and what makes it better, and know how to modify to make them work better, a street only engine doesn't need 2.02" valves,1.94" but swapping to 1.60" will make power with vortec heads, and 305 HO heads 1.94/1.50"-1.60" valves work also, chamber polishing/ smoothing, and bowl work after valve work, makes the heads, but aluminum heads may be just as cheap, after all the work is done!! Sorry I'm rambling!!! But I can really get into building Engines!! Especially modifying engines!! The biggest thing is the RIGHT cam!! As in the correct cam for its job!! Being we don't have vtecV8's Maybe we will have free valve V8's where the cam swap is in a program in the ECU, or ECC (Electronic cam computer) or (ECM, electronic cam management) ha-ha, that would be awesome, maybe 6-8 valves per bore would be a thing then, I'm guessing a smaller 'lighter' valve would flow more, and be controlled easier at higher revums! Ha-ha, a 64valve, V8 engine , with 1.6hp / Litre! From Detroit!! Awesome!! Imagine a Next gen LT engine with 4valves per, the Gen next, with 6 or 8 per ! With ports ya can nearly get your hand into, with 2,3 or 4 halves inside it!! Likely a 1.25" valve intake, and 1.125" exhaust valves, or 3exhaust, at 1.25" like the intakes, for some nice power , that the performance curve can be programmed!! That would be some next level awesome!! And throttle with the valves, no need for a thelrottle body!! Like a diesel engine!! Crazy, bit Likely, if we don't go electric first, or blow the earth up in ww3&4!!
How about a 318 build comparison. Poly vs La vs Magnum. On the LA, one with original small port runners vs 340/360 runners on the heads. Polys had a 2x4brl from the factory in 57-59.
I say do a 307 vs 305 shootout. The un-forgiven 5.0's. Use l-30 305 heads on both. Same intake and carb. A roller cam would be nice. I say bigger bore 307 tops longer stroke 305. A 350 400 would always be stronger, but hey build what you got, and what you can afford. 300 hp should be easy on either with 305 l-30 heads, and you get better MPG. Show the unforgiven some love.
Thanks for finally doing another 305 video it makes me feel good about building my 305 I'm 16 and looking for a good little motor to put around in and I've been looking at the trick flow super 23 175cc heads amd I'll definitely look into buying some I've recently bought a 1980 buick regal and it has a 4.9 liter 301 pontiac in it and I curious to the availability to you but I'd love to see what you could do to one and what would hop up my regal I believe the specs from the factory on my 301 is 152 hp and 240 ft.lbs of torque thanks fortge great videos watch these all the time
Since the 301 is a short deck block made in the last few years of the Pontiac V8, there are no aftermarket intake manifolds for it and early factory intakes won't fit. It is a low performance motor with siamesed intake runners and ports. If you're looking for a serious performance improvement, best to consider another engine.
I like this guy hes a regular guy that thats not making huge claims or taking trash. He lays it all out in simple easy to understand terms and doesnt act like hes got a chip on his shoulder. And hes not a douche bag like Steve Dulcich.
My dads 79 chevy truck had the emissions 305 engine - it had good torque and would rev out ! That motor ran like a top for 30 years - not even a valve job or timing chain !
Have you thought of stroking the 305 with with a 3.75 or 4.00 inch stroke crankshaft and seeing how that affects the power output with the smaller bore while still having heads, cam, and intake upgrades.
Under square engines are best suited to tractors and large trucks, low revving stump pullers. The small bore limits airflow and valve size, unless ya do like Ford and go 3 or 4 valves and OHC.
Do a 307 Chevy video!!! I was abused so bad for having a 307 in my 71 Malibu and I managed to get some power out of it but my budget wasn’t much back then.
Honestly Rich, I've seen Steve Dulcich make over 400 HP on a standard 318, so I would definitely be interested in seeing you modify a TBI 305...not a TPI. Just a base model 305 out of a Silverado, or RS Camaro (yes, I've seen them with 5 speed manuals before and also yes, I realize they came with V6s too, both 2.8s and 3.1s). Those engines should be REALLY cheap and plentiful still. I owned a 1990 Camaro with a 3.1 with 4500 miles on it and it was junk and was really slow. It doesn't get much more "Other Guys" than a TBI 305. I think they were rated at 170 HP and 255 lb ft at one point. It could be even lower at some point due to emissions changes...
318 has a 4" bore. 3 3/4"ish bore is the 305 major handycap. With gas the way it is, I'm having fun mod-ing the 305 in my el camino ss. As weak as they come, stock, they respond very noticeably to almost everything you do to them.
The question is: if you have a 305 already, and you can buy a known good running 350 for $500 (in my area anyway), would that $500 extra thrown at the 305 make up for the displacement difference? Of course this depends on the total budget ($500 in mods on the 305 and $0 on the 350 may end up with very different results vs $2,500 in mods on the 305 and $2,000 on the 350). I have no dog in this fight, but it's what I would consider apples to apples.
Perhaps cam and springs for that $500, but the 305 has always had a breathing problem with intakes, heads, and exhaust. The 305 with cam mods would still be lagging behind a production 350 engine. As he stated in his video, you get bragging rights of a 305 beating a 350 - but is having to spend $3,000 on a 305 to make comparable power to a modded 350 worth bragging about? You can only go so large with the cam before the heads breathe their limit, and on a small valve 305, you won't get very far. IMHO a 96-2001~ L31 Vortec 5.7L with 250hp is just as bulletproof as the 305 with lower HP, and is a drop in no fuss replacement (Minus intake and water mods). A $300 Cam and valve spring mod on the vortec heads will quickly get the L31 over 320HP without much effort and still be very reliable. Good L31's can be had easily at boneyards around $250-300, and are extremely reliable as is. With a 350, it's simply Cheaper and easier due to more part availability, and the volume of engines out there give plenty of options. I wouldn't bother with a Non-Vortec 350. The L31 has all of the updates to the engine, 1pc rear main seal, and roller lifters for cheap money. I don't think a lot of people hate the 305. I think once they do the math, they quickly see it's much cheaper to build the 350 for their performance goals.
@@SpeedyHuskee Im restoring an 81 c10 w 68k miles - the 305 is buttery smooth but man there is nothing there after 50% throttle and 3000 rpm. I did a dual plane intake manifold, Edelbrock avs 2 carb, hooker log tube headers and a 3 in magnaflow exhaust with y pipe and crossover. In all it cost me $2,000. Is it a world beater? No!!!! But it is way more alive, fun, and sounds incredible. And, it’s still the original engine. Probably not the best economical decision I ever made but it’s real fun and unique and has plenty of grunt for day to day driving!
So my sister had a 94 Trans Am GTA back in the day and it had a 305 TPI and it was a really punchy engine, but was in NO WAY fast. It was bone stock, even a stock exhaust, but like I said, it was punchy and fun to drive. It was burgundy and gold.
That car was no newer than a 92. 93 was the newer body style, which didn't include a GTA model, and the 305 was dropped. Only the v6 and the LT1 were available.
@@ShyaMiss Sorry, I just saw this, a year later... I asked her and it was a 1992. That was my mistake. I always thought that it was a 1994, but then again she sold that car over 20 years ago, and I only saw it a few times as she lives in Florida and I live in Pennsylvania. I helped my brother in law change the diff oil in it and we took it for a ride and it was fun. It was red and gold with the silver and gold wheels. It was definitely a GTA though.
Speaking of small small blocks!...I got the ultimate challenge for you Richard!...I would like to see you build a 85-86 Olds 307 with the roller cam and 7a heads!...I would love to see a video on what upgrades you would put on it!..."what say you sir?"...
That holley stealth ram seems like over priced jewelry. It would be very cool to see you play around with edelbrocks pro flow 4 system. Especially the ram air version.
From experience and talking with others its around the 300 mark, if you can come across larger runners for it you could go further, but might as well do the whole intake at that point.
@@sparkplug1018 300 is not too bad for a street car. That stealth ram leaves a lot of torque on the table. Looks like it would keep pulling well past 6000 rpm. Maybe if they made something in between for efi. I know a dual plane intake and carb works great but if I already had a 305 or 350 tpi in my car I would leave it there and make it better.
There’s a test Richard did with the stock TPI intake on a built 383 that made 410hp and a ton of torque. The downside of the extra-long runners isn’t airflow as such, it’s the fact that it chokes above 5000rpm (I assume due to the pressure waves bouncing around). The same 383 with the Holley Stealth Ram made 500hp peak but made less power than the TPI below 4500.
Definitely check out Richard’s combo with a TPI 350 with a turbo, made an unbelievable amount of torque, for a street engine a stock TPI will work great, the more flow mods you can do, the better as well, porting larger diameter runners, bigger throttle body heavier injectors and throw some boost at it with a correct cam, even with a 305 or any SBC you will make a ton of power and torque, it’s just it will for sure be limited to about 5000 rpm unless you manipulate boost to change the shape of the power curve.
I know I'm late to the game here, but how about some Oldsmobile love? The 307 roller motor had potential with decent heads. Tons of those still around....
I have a 305 tbi headers exhaust holley intake alum pulleys alum driveshaft n msd igntion n its fast enough to beat 97 4.6 gt n 2006 silverado 4.8l so i like 305
Take the 305 to .060 over and stroke a 383 crank an extra .100" and use small journal rods and you'll have a sbc 348. Compare that to a sbc stock bore and stroke 350 an a sbc 307 with a 383 crank with a .030 over and finally a sbc 400 block withe the 307 crank with a .030 overbore. Give the all the same static compression ratio to keep things fair. Compare all of them with sbc 305 Vortec heads or those aluminum heads you used on the above 305 test to make it fair for the smaller bore engines. Use exactly the same cam(s) in all the engines and maybe throw some boost on them to see what bore size reacts better to boost? Now that would be the ultimate sbc shoot out!
What difference does few stealth ram intake make over a dual plane carbureted intake. I have the trick flow super 23 175cc heads and an xfi hr cam but I have an edelbrock performer air-gap intake.
One thing I've learned watching your show everyday, na numbers don't matter. You're only going to make as much power as the turbo allows. Just boost it with big injectors and a wideband.
Some of us older guys will never go turbo. I don't like the look, the plumbing, or the heat. Sure they make power. But 500 is more than enough for me. I'm not into chest thumping or pissing contests. Just wanna run 12's and do burnouts.
@@donellmuniz590 500 hp is a stock engine with 7psi. Total cost $800 or less. We don't even say those kind of numbers anymore. One gets laughed off the street.
@@Go4BrokeOffroad THAT is exactly what I mean by chest thumping and pissing contests. I'm a 55 year old ADULT, I don't give a damn about "impressing" anyone with Street Outlaws numbers. I just want to have fun. I'd probably start with a junkyard Vortec 350 and put a Weiand mini-blower on it. No underhood boiler room, no plumbing, no intercooler. To each his own.
I have a 91 Camaro RS with a TBI 305-T5 what cam would you suggest for a 334 stroker stock heads with maybe some port chamber and valve work that will still pass California emissions? I plan on running the GM performance TBI intake shortie smog tube headers single 3-inch cat back exhaust, stock TBI throttle body ported to 650+ CFM, stock flashed ecm, also going with the TKX 5 speed. my goal is to extract maximum torque and gas milage yet still pass smog and keep the original engine and appearance. thanks
Hi Richard,I love yur channel,it gives great info for all V8 enthusiast. I have old 305SBC 1979 lg4 engine with mild mods: 600cfm edelbrock carb,weiand 8004 intake,some headers and a pretty wide x-pipe.what would you suggest for cam upgrade? some old car craft magazine 305 build suggests comp XE262 cam for 50hp gain,is that any good with stock converter? BR -Mikko from Finland
I agree. But if feel like it's a different situation with fords, as they have the small block 302 that is bulletproof. Mid range 5-600 hp and a higher rpm. Can we get a 302 vs 351?
if you have a 305 block then i say just upgrade it if you really just want a better street car. if it has a 305 you would have to engine swap to a 350. while not as difficult as a change to a different engine family it is still a lot of work.
Richard just for funzies what would happen if you took say a 305 tune port or any 305 for that matter and did a build up side by side with a destroked 350 down to a 305 or as close to 305 as possible. I think there would be some very interesting data on what bore size and stroke length really does. Like use same heads same cam or multiple cams but use the same cams in both engine same induction and even get into boost . Not only would the results be very interesting for comparing bore and stroke but also I believe the effects on various cams have on different bore/stroke combos at the same cubic inch. Wouldn't it? It does to me
@@turbolq4 agreed just have 2 identical cubic engines of the same manufacturer and family but one with a bigger bore shorter stroke and one longer stroke smaller bore. . That way it would be a very interesting test of the parts and principles of each combo
Were not all NHRA drag personnel. With this said, i love your video's. Stuff we can do at home ect...But truth be said. 400horse is alot of fun. ALOT !!! LOL. IF YA HAVE A 305 IN YOUR TOY AT HOME. BUILD IT. RICHARD WILL SHOW YOU WHAT CAM ,HEADS, ECT. THAT YOU NEED TO HAVE A BLAST !!!!!
One question, Why did Chevy produce other engines than the 400 CID Sbc and the 7.0 L LS if bigger always is better on the dyno? Is the 572 and 502 the only BBC worth having for high performance?
Anything more than a couple three hundred you might as well pick up a 5.7 Vortec from a bone yard. You can still pick up a decent running engine for between 500-1000 bucks.
So it seems to be the case that regardless of what is the bore and stroke, MORE CUBES MEANS MORE POWER. But we are not really dealing with extreme variations in BORE/STROKE ratios here. So that leads to my question. At what point do the RATIOS become so extreme ( on either ends of the spectrum ) that we pass the boundaries into DIMINISHING RETURNS in power? Okay that leads into another question. And yeah I'm that guy who has an obsession with V12s. But I have been focused on a most recent configuration of 12 cylinder engines! The W12 made by VW. So as you know, this motor is basically 2 VR6s paired up at an offset of 72 degrees. So upon further research of this design, I noticed that in order to get this design to work, they designed it with a relatively extreme bore/stroke ratio, where, STROKE is actually GRATER THAN BORE. Well the engine, which is 6 Liter makes power that can compete with V12s of the same CID. Okay so that is in harmony with the conclusion that it's CUBES/LITERS that make power, and not the bore/stroke ratio. But with a Bore of 3.31 inches (84 mm) & a Stroke of 3.55 inches (90.2 mm) AREN'T BE PUSHING THAT BOUNDARY OF DIMINISHING RETURNS here with this W12? IDK. Maybe Not! Anyone have opinions or knowledge on this? I'd love to see a comparison between a few of the German 12 cylinder engines. How about a VW W12 vs a BMW V12 vs a Mercedes V12 ( all 6 Liter )?
I need to see a big bang with a tpi or lt1 motor. Or even a normal sbc with an mpfi manifold. Honestly i have to wonder how much the ls engines are engineering magic with a skirted block that likely handles stress and vibrations better and how much its just a matter of turbos, ring gap and good manifolds. Yes the ls has a lot of great parts and yes people did build the lt1 and tuned port cars but turbos werent as popular and are claimed to be easier on parts and the factory gen1 and 2 manifolds were weirdly tuned. A tpi has 23" from runner end to valve which is good for a factory engine turning barely over 5000 rpm where there are 2 sound wave reflections during the intake stroke and its harmonic to the rpm. On an lt1 there has to be 4 or 5. 3 is usually the number used for a cross ram and many tunnel rams but if you can hit 3 reflections at 5000 you may be able to reach for 2 at 7500. So no more than 18" from plenum to valve makes more sense for a racer and still works for torque production in a factory engine. This is what the infamous accel super ram did and its no surprise the ls truck manifolds are probably in the 16" ball park. What im saying is that unless you had a super ram or tunnel ram and a turbo with port fuel injections and aluminum heads you have already lost to todays engines, but maybe if we build that specific combination and test it to destruction wed find out that the ls is more evolutionary the revolutionary.
I wanna see a 302 chevy TPI (4.00" bore) vs a 305 chevy TPI (3.736). As a kid I always hated 305's. The over .250 reduction in bore not only hurt performance but now you wasted money by creating two different blocks and drove up cost. The TPI worked much better with 305's than 350's (in a HP application), but I'd still love to see a side by side (same factory 'performance' heads/cam) "what if" showing what could have been in 80s-90s Fbody's/vettes if GM wasn't chasing emissions and built what would have made more sense.
If the test used the same heads, cam and intake the results would be more accurate. And why wouldnt you use the same heads? The Super 23s wouldve fit fine.
@@roknroy1 the funny thing about the 305-350 comparison is that because people bad mouthed the 305 for so long, no real development has been done to max out the small bore size. Ford's mod motor has a small bore, yet people are yanking 7s on small tires and 5s on big tires ( Mihovitz Pro Mod....and Holdener knows who he is )
Because if you had a 350 and were spending big money on heads, you wouldn’t fit the Super 23s because of the small chamber and valves, so it’s not realistic.
@@NotoriousREV nearly all 350s have come with 1.94 and 1.5 inch valves since 1968. What is not realistic? You could open up the intake valve on the 175s for less shrouding and improve the flow a little. With most of the late model 350s you have concave pistons, 56 cc chambers just gives you a little more compression.
@@Don-et3yp Because the cost of the Super23s is the same as heads with bigger valves already in them. The only reason to stick with such small valves when spending the dough on CNC ported heads is if you’re restricted by the bore size ie you have a 305. How you spend your money is up to you, but there’s better options for 350s at this price point.
Judging from these comments it doesn't appear that the opinion of the 305 has changed much. To those of you saying why build a 305 if you can build a 350; why build a 350 when you can build an LS? Why go N/A when you can go turbo? You see where this line of thinking gets us? Yet here we are, wondering why everyone goes turbo LS.
I was thinking the same thing...why go 350 when you can go 400, why go 400 when you can go 454 and so on and so on and so on lmao. It never ends!!
Exactly. It can keep going to, skip the 350, go 400. Go 415, 434. I think the reason so many still go with a 350 is the total factors of, all over the place, cheapest rebuilder parts, good power when built right. Sure a 400 is quite a bit larger, but aren't found around every corner and not as cheap. Still, I have a thing about the underdog engines, especially the 307.
I don't wonder .. I don't build everything as Max/Effort. Only 16 yr olds think a battle of 4100lb pickups is cool. I like driving .. cruising .. having V8 power to tow or romp down on is great. You don't need max effort/engines for that. A 302 or 305 in a 1/2 ton is a great instrument.. Good Power/Good MPG.. great everyday package.
no shit. everyones focused on fitting the "fad" but tbh. 305s are so spit on you could prob buy one running for 100 bucks. will probly last your lifetime. nt the biggest powerhouse but better the them footerollies or firin up your chevrolegs
Because at the end of the day a 305 will always be a disappointment engines are nothing more than air pumps, and you can’t park nowhere with those little baby pistons
I really like the Vortec 305. My friend gave me a 1996 version and I converted it to a carburetor with a no name Edelbrock copy intake from Ebay. My truck is an 86 GMC, so I used the original non-electric Qjet and a set of 1 5/8" headers with 2 1/2" exhaust. Runs better than the 350 I removed.
Those vortec heads flow well
According to some people in Europe the "ideal" cylinder is .5L and "slightly above square". That being the case with the right head a 305 would theoretically be more efficient than a 350 or even a Ford 5.0L because of the large bore. Supposedly the .5L slightly above square design is ideal for flame travel hence the reason why everything now has center mounted spark plugs (or 2 plugs per cylinder if a large bore engine). Would be nice to see some type of comparison between a 305, a 350 and a 302 with an identical setup with EFI.
@@BoardwalkBullies your right, a lot of its in the heads.
@@BoardwalkBullies A 305 will never be more efficient than a 302 Ford or a 350 😒
@@BigUnk85 It will always be more fuel efficient, assuming both are built to perform.
Maybe a comparison between a 307 and a 305 with some mods would be interesting.
THERE'S a horseapples-to-horseapples comparison.
Yes
307 would make more power than a 305 due to the bigger bore and shorter stroke would be my guess.
I had a 71 Nova with a 307. I just swapped in a 350. The 305 is smaller bore longer stroke than the 307 if I remember correctly.
I wanna say a 307 was the reverse of the combo used to get the 302.
302 was a 327 block with a 283 crank, 307 was a 283 block with a 327 crank. 307 vs a 305 would be interesting comparison I agree.
The RaceSaver Series used spec 305s in open wheel sprint cars. Injected on alcohol, they made about 435 hp or so. Brodix and AllPro make 305 specific heads.
305 boosted. First car I owned was a 1978 Caprice Classic. I lived in FL when I bought it in 1991, it was garage kept and only had 27k miles on it. I paid $1k for it. Since it spent its entire life in FL, garage kept and owned by an elderly couple it was in emasculate condition. The husband had passed away and I knew the widow as I had done yard work for her. Since none of her kids or grand kids wanted the car she finally sold it to me. Fortunately my cousin won a lawsuit at that time and fronted the cash for me. It had the 305 in it. I bought it in August of 91 and then moved to MI in December. In my mind the car was a POS, but I had to have to something to drive. I had no idea what engine was in it until someone told me. Here in MI I had lots of guys, particularly from Detroit that asked me how much I would sell it for. I told them it was a POS and wasn't worth nothing. They laughed and said you don't know what you got there. Then other people would ask if I had modified it and started making suggestions on modifications I could to make more power. Cam swap, different carburetor setup and so forth. Also to swap a 350 or a chevy big block. I wasn't interested and I didn't take care of the car the way I should've of. By 1994 it really did look like crap and I ended up buying a Hyundai and giving the Caprice to my cousin that loaned me the money. The point of this story, it was a mistake not to take care of that car and I should've added some performance to it.
Buy another and redeem yourself.
I sold my brother in law the tpi 305 out of my wrecked 90 trans am. Come to find out it was bored .060. He put an lt1 hot cam, world castings sportsman 2 heads with oversized valves, edelbrock performer dual plane intake and an edelbrock 600 electric choke carb on it. Ran that through a turbo 350 trans with a manual valve body and the stock rear end. Welded the axle tubes and added 3.42 gears with posi in a 94 s10. It might not have been the fastest in town but it sure as hell was a fun truck. I had plenty of people not believe me it was just a 305.
I'm a fan of the 305, they're smooth, reliable and run forever. Displacement does count, of course but plenty good for pushing the family car around.
Yep.. Had a friend with the L69 5.0 HO SBC .. great everyday package.
@@granbordeaux6955 Yep. I'll take as many homeless 305's as I can get my hands on.
I had a fully built 306 ci ford that would smoke the doors off most Chevys
@@avoldme The Ford 302 was a great running engine, IMO.
@@thisisyourcaptainspeaking2259 they were. If my neighbor didn't give me a 70s 350 for free I would've built another ford fr
I love how ridiculously quick a properly preped 305 revs. You can make awesome power with almost any smaller bore motor ie: 267, 283, 307, 305.. I just have to build them to rev higher. I have a good running 305.. Bored to 314 Dart iron eagle heads 2.02 in 160 ex 10:9:1 compression. Solid lifter cam 518/536 lift, 244/254 duration @050. Low tension rings and a crankcase evacuation system and hooker supercomp headers 1 7/8 primaries and 3 1/2 collectors.Topped with a 650 holley d.p. and weiand xterminator single plane intake. 3800 stall converter and 4:88 gears. Motor is a beast pulls from 3,500 rpm well past 7,000 rpms. Built with help from a sprint car engine builder.
Have you Dyno-ed it?
2.02 in a 305?
A 302, 305, 307, 327, 350 are all fine
What impresses me is that the LT-1 you tested stock made ~362hp and ~390 ft pounds which was close to a modified 305 with big cam and trick flow heads. The 2nd gen LT-1 was a big step in the end....
Alot of stock eliminator guys in the 80s and 90s kicked alot of ass with 305s
B.P. ……………...that 3.48 stroke was doing a lot of work in those combos ??????
@@dannycalley7777 305's have the lightest piston and a heavy crank comparatively so. id imagine once the crank gets to a certain rpm, its more likely to want to spin rather than slow down.
Yes, they kicked a lot of 4.3 V6 ass, Ford 200-6 ass, Pinto 2300 ass, Hyundai ass...
@@evogibson92 The flywheel, if so equipped, has a lot of bearing on that too.
@@donellmuniz590 idk, you can buy 500+ hp 305's out of a catalog these days...
I like 305’s in general. Underrated and cheap
The mild 355 makes more power than the built 305. That’s absolutely how I’d go for the street.
I've built both I agree.350. then when that wasn't enough I stroked it even bigger gains..about 575 hp now
One of GMs biggest mistakes was to not use the tuned port engine in their trucks. Excellent truck engine.
i want to know what kind of torque tpi intake and tbi heads would make, they both make power in the same rpm range
It's also too bad they didn't keep producing the 400 SB for trucks, or at least a 383. A 383 with Vortec heads and roller cam would've been a great truck engine. But it might've outshined the 454!
@@evogibson92 tpi intake and Vortec heads would be much better. Yeah the intakes are different, but GM would've fixed that.
@@donellmuniz590 the tbi heads make more low end torque than the vortecs. Which is why it would have been perfectly matched with the tpi intake
@@donellmuniz590 gm sold it as a crate engine with a carb EO #. it was called the HT383. it was made as a direct swap for 96+ vortec sbc's
i think "the other guys 305" would be fun. people love to hate the poor 305 and i would love to see it getting up in the 500+hp to shut them up
It's fun to root for the underdog. When they win it is that more satisfying!!!
Not being a 305 hater here, there is lots of potential in building a 305 and it has been improperly maligned for years. But since one can get a good used complete running or rebuildable 350 for literally $100-150, probably the 350 is the way to go for a if you are looking for a best bang for the buck.
As someone who has run through his fair share of 350s, yes you can find one that RUNS for a few hundred, that's not to say it doesn't come with issues. The one 305 I had was a hell of a runner compared to every 350 I've had. That's part of what helped me decide to get a 305 for my boat.
Loved this video for several reasons:
1) The 305 is the Chevrolet camps Mopar 318. Both can produce awesome power with a little bit of effort if one uses their noggin.
2) Now you’ve done it Richard!! I feel you’ve now opened up the other SBC debate... 377 (400 block-350 crank) or 383 (350 block 400 crank)
Great comparison!
400 blocks are hard to find now, unless ya go with Dart, World, etc.
@@donellmuniz590 IMHO they pretty weak with the steamhole etc. I will give up 17 cu-in to have a stronger block......granted 350's are getting hard to find now as well.
Please don't embarrass the 318 Mopar by comparing it to a lowly 305 boat anchor. I'm a Chevy guy, but the 305 is an engine I love to hate
@@milojanis4901 its just an air pump......at one time the 283 and 273 were top dogs. 305 is even more cubes, not my 1st choice but not my last one either.
I would love to see a max effort (but still streetable, not race engine) build on a 305. Obviously not the most cost effective or smartest way to go, but it would be cool to see. 335 stroker kit, etc.
Had an 86 Z28 with the 305HO and a T5. Put in a comp xe274hr retro fit roller cam, 10.5 compression pistons, comp moly pushrods, and comp stamped rockers. Hooker long tubes, a performer RPM air gap, a 750 Edelbrock (way too much, but I was a kid then), and 4.56 rear gears with a "Lincoln locker". I had to get 15x10 Mickey Thompson sportsmans on it to hook up. Pulled to 6500rpm and surprised plenty of cars at the stoplights.
In Seinfeld's voice: Why do they call it an RV cam? It's not like grandparents across the world are caming their RVs.... don't they mean camping their RVs? 🤣🤣🤣
my neighbor literally put a cam in his RV lol
No replacement for displacement😉
I built a marine 305 335 stroker Wheeler block that was machined for 4 bolt main. I used the Cific 305 059 vortec improved heads. Keith Black Hyper Pistons. Put a Comp Cams H262 marine cam in it. A Professional Products air gap intake installed. Not sure what HP it will make.
When is the 3800 content coming? I’m hanging out. Wanna see some tests before I build mine!
Trans Am racing proved you can make plenty of power with 5 liters, and let’s admit it, at 8,000 rpm it’s pretty damn impressive.
I've run 305's for years mainly because people were ripping them out of Camaro/firebirds and chevy trucks right and left. I got three engines for 50 bucks all had less than 55k miles on them. So if you are wanting to keep it on the cheap side and still have decent power run the 305 because there are a ton out there that people haven't back yard hot rodded and kept in good mechanical running condition
Especially in a lightweight car, like a T-bucket, street rod, or rat rod. 400hp in a 2000 lb car would be a lotta fun.
@@donellmuniz590 right especially if you find a good set of the 059 vortec 305 casting they don't have the combustion chamber of a standard vortec but they have the intake runner design and they flow really well. Mine were flow tested at UTI sacramento when I went there they tested 228 cfm at .500 with a 4 inch bore. You can also use the 062 vortec heads on a 305 I believe that Steve Brule recorded over 350 horsepower from a stock 305 with 350 vortec heads and a single plane intake on the engine masters nitrous test. I'm sure you can make more with a better intake and mill the heads down to get compression back up.
Thanks Richard for all your videos!!!
its really about power per cubic inch. a good high performance small block street motor makes around 1.1 - 1.2 HP per cubic inch. thats 330-360 HP on a 305. for a 350 that same engine would be around 380-420 HP. for a 454 its 500-545 HP. so yes bigger is always better, until you add boost... then bigger its significantly better.
Just viewed this again after a long time… The torque curves between the two displacement engines really tell a story about the parts selection. The stealth ram has really short runners resulting in “rr track” torque curves. With basically the same top end you’d expect the bigger engine to move the torque curve down in rpm. The AFR heads might affect that a bit vs the TFS 175s, but I think the manifold selection killed low end torque on both combos. I’d love to see this test re-run with a 3-4” runner extension added between the lower and the plenum. You could do that with a 3D printer… Another great video, Richard!
I’ve ended up with an early 80’s chevy pickup with a fairly low mileage 305. All checks make the shortblock seem healthy but the stock 160hp just isn’t going to cut it. My initial thought was to drop in a 350 or a 5.3. The cost of the 5.3 swap or the 350 with the mods to make decent power are more than the cost of putting heads, cam and intake on the 305. I’ve avoided 305’s over the years because I had easy access to 350’s but for the intended use of this truck upgrading seems like a no brainer.
Great video on the 305 vs 350 and the upgrades that were done to both engines! With decent results I think both performed well! And the 305 could possibly make 400 HP great video! But I would love to see a 350 vs 400 SBC Gen 1 with equal equipment for both engines now,
I believe the 350 will do decent with power but the torque number would be up on the 400 SBC compared to the 350 although I have built 350s in my time and made as much as 480 ft lbs.. but I just thought it would be a nice comparison of the 2 engines even a 350 vs 383 vs 400 Gen 1the 383 vs 400 has been a big question for years but the 400 will be tough.. I’ve never had any overheating issues or nor did I drill stem holes in my heads for the 400 block never had a issue.. if built correctly the 400 is a great little Street/Strip engine. I do normally run Solid Street Roller cams in most of my builds. The HDY Roller cam would be fine for these test.
I agree with you Richard, a 454 would have been better in my Iroc Z.
Great video and appreciate all you do. I see many request for the 305 vs 307 all through tbe comments and you'd it's a cool comparison. Throw same upgrades to both and what you'll have at the end is a higher hp 307 with less torque and a higher rpm limit. The 305 will have lower hp and more torque and slightly less rpm. The difference in hp will be about 15-25 and the torque about the 20-40. RPM will be about 300-400 more for the 307. They kinda average out overall but it's still cool to do it.
the two would make the same power with the same components
Put set of old double jump heads on a 305. 1.94 1.50 valves. With a performer cam and airgap intake it, headers etc, it ran real good
Vortec 305 heads unless if the 350 L31 vortec heads have an advantage
Regardless of which parts you throw at a 305, a $1000 l33 swap is a better bang for the buck... But with turbos, maybe it makes sense to stay with the 305. 305 big bang please!
Love the little 305
Thanks Richard for the videos.
305... Throw some H-beam rods in it and ALL the boost..... Ego destroying power....
Get the block machined for 4 bolt main caps and it should take a ton of boost. Its literally a under bored 350, so it has thicker cylinder walls.
Kicked around the idea of building one for many years now, just never got around to it.
@@sparkplug1018 I've got 2 305's sitting around that would need full machine work to be buildable again... If I ever get to a point where I have the money to throw into something like this I might just do it....
Here’s an interesting test build a 302 Leica DZ with a 4 inch bore in the 3 inch stroke and then take a 305. And do direct swap of parts exact same cam exact same heads as best you can with the boar. And see which one makes more power
need a 307 in the bunch too
We learned that we need to turbo the 305
I wish someone would make a LS intake with fins on it like that stealth intake! At least if there is one I’ve never seen it.
Interesting, I had a .40 over 350 with 305 Iroc z heads years ago with a professional products version of the air gap intake .490 lift comp extreme cam, under drive pulleys and a demon carb 575 cfm I believe. Car was a torque monster but my top end, ehhhh, so so but man was that car fun on the streets punishing people. Give em head starts and my stall would kick in...lol
A decent head, with 1.94"/ 1.60" valves, with a decent cam, and 10 psi boost, it would be a stout 3oh5!! Maybe swap in a 3.75" crank, I put the 305 HO tpi on a 355, it was awesome to about 5k rpm, it has trickflow twisted wedge heads, and flat top pistons, somewhere around 9.9:1 and 10.2:1, compression ratio, it ran nice, it had a hyd roller cam, .465"lift, with 1.5:1, I added 1.6:1, so it was nearing .500" lift, and somewhere around 220°-225°est. Dur. it was a 1800 -6k revums, it did nice, sounded nice, it had a bit if rumble, like a stock 60's 300hp 327 or something,
a set of vortec heads, polished, matched ports, blended bowls, with 1.94"/ 1.60" swirl polished, undercut valves, maybe a slight angle cut, to get the chamber volume down, if it could possibly get down to 54-56cc would be awesome, on a 305 with flat top, pistons, *** I have a roller 305 block in great shape, 109k miles, but looked like new, I needed tthe crank out of it, maybe I can find a 3.75"1 piece seal crank, and a set of vortec heads to play with, that extra 1/4" stroke will be like adding pop-up pistons, so maybe no head cutting needed, but port polishing, not actually polished, smoothed and "opened" a bit, with 1.94"/1.60" valve upgrade, 2.02's are useless unless unshrouded, a 305 bore would probably shroud even worse than the chambers, maybe raise the exhaust ports a bit in porting, a 334cid or what ever it comes to,
but I think naturally inspired HP, would peak around 350-400, with such a small bore, and it would likely not be a street friendly engine, for a not so heavily modified engine, but 500hp boosted should be possible, I'd like to see it !!!..5.0H.O. with a decent head, cam, and 15psi boost! I'd like to see the dyno results, then swap the crank! To 3.75, or atleast 3.50" or ha-ha, 4.0" if you could ever squeeze that in there!.. 3.75" x4.0" or what ever the 305 bore is, I can't member, all I dine with 305's is drive'em, swap'em, or use the crank and rods from them, I have used HO heads on a stock 350! With dishes, and a cam & intake upgrade, they make nice Street engines!!.. Low-end TQ, more compression, I have used the pre vortec 350's truck TBI engines, with the swirl heads, swap them for 5.0 HO heads, with TBI intake port matched, I think I'd went with a edelbrock performer rpm intake, and adapted a 454 TBI on to it, "IF" I did it AGAIN, but probably use vortec heads, if it's a low buck, " use mostly stock parts build", (parts stock for other engines) with aftermarket cam and intake, headers, building something that performs, with nearly all stock parts, isn't that easy,ya gotta know how stuff works, and what makes it better, and know how to modify to make them work better, a street only engine doesn't need 2.02" valves,1.94" but swapping to 1.60" will make power with vortec heads, and 305 HO heads 1.94/1.50"-1.60" valves work also, chamber polishing/ smoothing, and bowl work after valve work, makes the heads, but aluminum heads may be just as cheap, after all the work is done!! Sorry I'm rambling!!! But I can really get into building Engines!! Especially modifying engines!! The biggest thing is the RIGHT cam!! As in the correct cam for its job!! Being we don't have vtecV8's
Maybe we will have free valve V8's where the cam swap is in a program in the ECU, or ECC (Electronic cam computer) or (ECM, electronic cam management) ha-ha, that would be awesome, maybe 6-8 valves per bore would be a thing then, I'm guessing a smaller 'lighter' valve would flow more, and be controlled easier at higher revums! Ha-ha, a 64valve, V8 engine , with 1.6hp / Litre! From Detroit!! Awesome!! Imagine a Next gen LT engine with 4valves per, the Gen next, with 6 or 8 per ! With ports ya can nearly get your hand into, with 2,3 or 4 halves inside it!! Likely a 1.25" valve intake, and 1.125" exhaust valves, or 3exhaust, at 1.25" like the intakes, for some nice power , that the performance curve can be programmed!! That would be some next level awesome!! And throttle with the valves, no need for a thelrottle body!! Like a diesel engine!! Crazy, bit Likely, if we don't go electric first, or blow the earth up in ww3&4!!
5v per cylinders is pretty much the "limit"
Great video Richard!!!!! I learned a lot and thanks for sharing.
You should try the 283
Right on! And with serious enough parts. Not one of those where the guys are "impressed" with it making only .9 hp per cube.
YESSS!
How about a 318 build comparison. Poly vs La vs Magnum. On the LA, one with original small port runners vs 340/360 runners on the heads. Polys had a 2x4brl from the factory in 57-59.
He'll never do it, but I love it! I could certainly see him doing LA vs Magnum, but I wouldn't count on seeing a Poly, they were last made in '67.
I say do a 307 vs 305 shootout. The un-forgiven 5.0's. Use l-30 305 heads on both. Same intake and carb. A roller cam would be nice. I say bigger bore 307 tops longer stroke 305.
A 350 400 would always be stronger, but hey build what you got, and what you can afford.
300 hp should be easy on either with 305 l-30 heads, and you get better MPG. Show the unforgiven some love.
Thanks for finally doing another 305 video it makes me feel good about building my 305 I'm 16 and looking for a good little motor to put around in and I've been looking at the trick flow super 23 175cc heads amd I'll definitely look into buying some I've recently bought a 1980 buick regal and it has a 4.9 liter 301 pontiac in it and I curious to the availability to you but I'd love to see what you could do to one and what would hop up my regal I believe the specs from the factory on my 301 is 152 hp and 240 ft.lbs of torque thanks fortge great videos watch these all the time
The 301 is a mega turd, like a 267 Olds or 262 SBC. The 305 will be a big improvement over any of those.
Since the 301 is a short deck block made in the last few years of the Pontiac V8, there are no aftermarket intake manifolds for it and early factory intakes won't fit. It is a low performance motor with siamesed intake runners and ports. If you're looking for a serious performance improvement, best to consider another engine.
I love this video! Thank you so much for posting it! Great information!
I like this guy hes a regular guy that thats not making huge claims or taking trash. He lays it all out in simple easy to understand terms and doesnt act like hes got a chip on his shoulder. And hes not a douche bag like Steve Dulcich.
My dads 79 chevy truck had the emissions 305 engine - it had good torque and would rev out ! That motor ran like a top for 30 years - not even a valve job or timing chain !
Have you thought of stroking the 305 with with a 3.75 or 4.00 inch stroke crankshaft and seeing how that affects the power output with the smaller bore while still having heads, cam, and intake upgrades.
Under square engines are best suited to tractors and large trucks, low revving stump pullers. The small bore limits airflow and valve size, unless ya do like Ford and go 3 or 4 valves and OHC.
You need to do a 350 vs 400 sbc comparison. It would be interesting to see the difference between the two using identical parts
Do a 307 Chevy video!!! I was abused so bad for having a 307 in my 71 Malibu and I managed to get some power out of it but my budget wasn’t much back then.
Honestly Rich, I've seen Steve Dulcich make over 400 HP on a standard 318, so I would definitely be interested in seeing you modify a TBI 305...not a TPI. Just a base model 305 out of a Silverado, or RS Camaro (yes, I've seen them with 5 speed manuals before and also yes, I realize they came with V6s too, both 2.8s and 3.1s). Those engines should be REALLY cheap and plentiful still. I owned a 1990 Camaro with a 3.1 with 4500 miles on it and it was junk and was really slow. It doesn't get much more "Other Guys" than a TBI 305. I think they were rated at 170 HP and 255 lb ft at one point. It could be even lower at some point due to emissions changes...
I DID A TBI UPGRADE TOO
318 has a 4" bore. 3 3/4"ish bore is the 305 major handycap. With gas the way it is, I'm having fun mod-ing the 305 in my el camino ss. As weak as they come, stock, they respond very noticeably to almost everything you do to them.
Thanks Richard. I have a few 305’s languishing in the garage. I’m going to try building one - see what I can do with it.
The question is: if you have a 305 already, and you can buy a known good running 350 for $500 (in my area anyway), would that $500 extra thrown at the 305 make up for the displacement difference? Of course this depends on the total budget ($500 in mods on the 305 and $0 on the 350 may end up with very different results vs $2,500 in mods on the 305 and $2,000 on the 350). I have no dog in this fight, but it's what I would consider apples to apples.
Perhaps cam and springs for that $500, but the 305 has always had a breathing problem with intakes, heads, and exhaust. The 305 with cam mods would still be lagging behind a production 350 engine. As he stated in his video, you get bragging rights of a 305 beating a 350 - but is having to spend $3,000 on a 305 to make comparable power to a modded 350 worth bragging about? You can only go so large with the cam before the heads breathe their limit, and on a small valve 305, you won't get very far.
IMHO a 96-2001~ L31 Vortec 5.7L with 250hp is just as bulletproof as the 305 with lower HP, and is a drop in no fuss replacement (Minus intake and water mods).
A $300 Cam and valve spring mod on the vortec heads will quickly get the L31 over 320HP without much effort and still be very reliable.
Good L31's can be had easily at boneyards around $250-300, and are extremely reliable as is.
With a 350, it's simply Cheaper and easier due to more part availability, and the volume of engines out there give plenty of options.
I wouldn't bother with a Non-Vortec 350. The L31 has all of the updates to the engine, 1pc rear main seal, and roller lifters for cheap money.
I don't think a lot of people hate the 305. I think once they do the math, they quickly see it's much cheaper to build the 350 for their performance goals.
@@SpeedyHuskee Im restoring an 81 c10 w 68k miles - the 305 is buttery smooth but man there is nothing there after 50% throttle and 3000 rpm. I did a dual plane intake manifold, Edelbrock avs 2 carb, hooker log tube headers and a 3 in magnaflow exhaust with y pipe and crossover. In all it cost me $2,000. Is it a world beater? No!!!! But it is way more alive, fun, and sounds incredible. And, it’s still the original engine. Probably not the best economical decision I ever made but it’s real fun and unique and has plenty of grunt for day to day driving!
chevy 400 is my favorite engine, i will never want anything besides that
So my sister had a 94 Trans Am GTA back in the day and it had a 305 TPI and it was a really punchy engine, but was in NO WAY fast. It was bone stock, even a stock exhaust, but like I said, it was punchy and fun to drive. It was burgundy and gold.
That car was no newer than a 92. 93 was the newer body style, which didn't include a GTA model, and the 305 was dropped. Only the v6 and the LT1 were available.
@@ShyaMiss Sorry, I just saw this, a year later... I asked her and it was a 1992. That was my mistake. I always thought that it was a 1994, but then again she sold that car over 20 years ago, and I only saw it a few times as she lives in Florida and I live in Pennsylvania. I helped my brother in law change the diff oil in it and we took it for a ride and it was fun. It was red and gold with the silver and gold wheels. It was definitely a GTA though.
Speaking of small small blocks!...I got the ultimate challenge for you Richard!...I would like to see you build a 85-86 Olds 307 with the roller cam and 7a heads!...I would love to see a video on what upgrades you would put on it!..."what say you sir?"...
challenges don't really work on me-but I do want to build an Olds 455
That holley stealth ram seems like over priced jewelry. It would be very cool to see you play around with edelbrocks pro flow 4 system. Especially the ram air version.
I love all your content but i need my TPI and LT1 fix. There is that 3800 too?
I'd like to see the tpi intake with the new cam and heads. Curious at where the tpi intake would start to choke.
From experience and talking with others its around the 300 mark, if you can come across larger runners for it you could go further, but might as well do the whole intake at that point.
@@sparkplug1018 300 is not too bad for a street car. That stealth ram leaves a lot of torque on the table. Looks like it would keep pulling well past 6000 rpm. Maybe if they made something in between for efi. I know a dual plane intake and carb works great but if I already had a 305 or 350 tpi in my car I would leave it there and make it better.
There’s a test Richard did with the stock TPI intake on a built 383 that made 410hp and a ton of torque. The downside of the extra-long runners isn’t airflow as such, it’s the fact that it chokes above 5000rpm (I assume due to the pressure waves bouncing around). The same 383 with the Holley Stealth Ram made 500hp peak but made less power than the TPI below 4500.
Definitely check out Richard’s combo with a TPI 350 with a turbo, made an unbelievable amount of torque, for a street engine a stock TPI will work great, the more flow mods you can do, the better as well, porting larger diameter runners, bigger throttle body heavier injectors and throw some boost at it with a correct cam, even with a 305 or any SBC you will make a ton of power and torque, it’s just it will for sure be limited to about 5000 rpm unless you manipulate boost to change the shape of the power curve.
Check out Brodix "French Grimes" race saver head designed specifically for the 305. Unported power hovers in the 470 range. Very basic combo.
I know I'm late to the game here, but how about some Oldsmobile love? The 307 roller motor had potential with decent heads. Tons of those still around....
I feel bad for the GM performance department when GM asked them to use the 305.
Wish you would have went 30 over and run TRW 2 valve relief pistons to see what the. Gains would have been . This is something I wanted to build.
Ooooooh mathematics! Making 1.2 HP on a given combo and a similar combo with 50 more CI makes about 50 more HP. Who’da thunk it? I bet Richard did.
I have a 305 tbi headers exhaust holley intake alum pulleys alum driveshaft n msd igntion n its fast enough to beat 97 4.6 gt n 2006 silverado 4.8l so i like 305
Take the 305 to .060 over and stroke a 383 crank an extra .100" and use small journal rods and you'll have a sbc 348.
Compare that to a sbc stock bore and stroke 350 an a sbc 307 with a 383 crank with a .030 over and finally a sbc 400 block withe the 307 crank with a .030 overbore. Give the all the same static compression ratio to keep things fair.
Compare all of them with sbc 305 Vortec heads or those aluminum heads you used on the above 305 test to make it fair for the smaller bore engines. Use exactly the same cam(s) in all the engines and maybe throw some boost on them to see what bore size reacts better to boost?
Now that would be the ultimate sbc shoot out!
I wouldn't hold my breath...
I like the 305s less piston weight for me that equates to a little better high rpm stability. I’d like to know what other people think.
those two things don't really go together
What difference does few stealth ram intake make over a dual plane carbureted intake.
I have the trick flow super 23 175cc heads and an xfi hr cam but I have an edelbrock performer air-gap intake.
that works well
One thing I've learned watching your show everyday, na numbers don't matter. You're only going to make as much power as the turbo allows. Just boost it with big injectors and a wideband.
Some of us older guys will never go turbo. I don't like the look, the plumbing, or the heat. Sure they make power. But 500 is more than enough for me. I'm not into chest thumping or pissing contests. Just wanna run 12's and do burnouts.
@@donellmuniz590 500 hp is a stock engine with 7psi. Total cost $800 or less. We don't even say those kind of numbers anymore. One gets laughed off the street.
@@Go4BrokeOffroad THAT is exactly what I mean by chest thumping and pissing contests. I'm a 55 year old ADULT, I don't give a damn about "impressing" anyone with Street Outlaws numbers. I just want to have fun. I'd probably start with a junkyard Vortec 350 and put a Weiand mini-blower on it. No underhood boiler room, no plumbing, no intercooler. To each his own.
@@donellmuniz590 I'm 40, you aren't that old bud.
@@Go4BrokeOffroad See how ya feel in 15 years, Champ 🤣. My mind is about 14, but my soul is 200, and my abused bod feels about 70.
Great video as always, I was wondering if it was just as easy to make good power/torque/performance with the 305 as with the 318.
I have a 307 out of my 68 Malibu sitting here, wish you were closer - I'd totally donate it for "science."
THNX
I have a 91 Camaro RS with a TBI 305-T5 what cam would you suggest for a 334 stroker stock heads with maybe some port chamber and valve work that will still pass California emissions? I plan on running the GM performance TBI intake shortie smog tube headers single 3-inch cat back exhaust, stock TBI throttle body ported to 650+ CFM, stock flashed ecm, also going with the TKX 5 speed. my goal is to extract maximum torque and gas milage yet still pass smog and keep the original engine and appearance. thanks
Hi Richard,I love yur channel,it gives great info for all V8 enthusiast. I have old 305SBC 1979 lg4 engine with mild mods: 600cfm edelbrock carb,weiand 8004 intake,some headers and a pretty wide x-pipe.what would you suggest for cam upgrade? some old car craft magazine 305 build suggests comp XE262 cam for 50hp gain,is that any good with stock converter? BR -Mikko from Finland
How would the factory tuned port compare to the holley on the 305?
Maybe on the 355?
I agree. But if feel like it's a different situation with fords, as they have the small block 302 that is bulletproof. Mid range 5-600 hp and a higher rpm. Can we get a 302 vs 351?
if you have a 305 block then i say just upgrade it if you really just want a better street car. if it has a 305 you would have to engine swap to a 350. while not as difficult as a change to a different engine family it is still a lot of work.
what is there to argue? 350 is better, period.
My uncle the machinist/engine builder always said the 305 is just a budget parts kit for rebuilding a 350
Absolutely...don't EVER modify a 305 unless it's a requirement in a racing class, ALWAYS go with a tree fiddy.
Would love to see 348 build, tripower and 4 barrel
Well, not only is the 350 arguably more common then the 305 and superior to the 305 in almost every way, I think I'm going with the 350.
305 is more common in cars 350 might be more common in trucks though
@@derekmaxwell8164
As I said, arguable.
I got a 305 in myz28 (it's all stock 1982) thinking of giving to my daughter, but don't want it to embarrass her. Thanks for the ideas.
Would have liked to have seen a 1.6 exhaust valve on the 305 head...
Hell yeah show a 305 fully modified big cam ported heads
Richard just for funzies what would happen if you took say a 305 tune port or any 305 for that matter and did a build up side by side with a destroked 350 down to a 305 or as close to 305 as possible. I think there would be some very interesting data on what bore size and stroke length really does. Like use same heads same cam or multiple cams but use the same cams in both engine same induction and even get into boost . Not only would the results be very interesting for comparing bore and stroke but also I believe the effects on various cams have on different bore/stroke combos at the same cubic inch. Wouldn't it? It does to me
Or destroke a 400 small block. Unshrouding those valves has a real effect on these and is alot if the reason why the 305 is such a turd in stock form.
@@turbolq4 agreed just have 2 identical cubic engines of the same manufacturer and family but one with a bigger bore shorter stroke and one longer stroke smaller bore. . That way it would be a very interesting test of the parts and principles of each combo
How about slapping a turbo on the 305?
WE DID RUN A SUPERCHARGER ON IT
Great information here is there a video on the 305 tbi motor mentioned in this video.
no vid on the tbi
The question is how much does it cost to make that power
Build what you got but the only way im building a 305 is if its the factory engine...which im currently doing to my 1977 impala
Were not all NHRA drag personnel. With this said, i love your video's. Stuff we can do at home ect...But truth be said. 400horse is alot of fun. ALOT !!! LOL. IF YA HAVE A 305 IN YOUR TOY AT HOME. BUILD IT. RICHARD WILL SHOW YOU WHAT CAM ,HEADS, ECT. THAT YOU NEED TO HAVE A BLAST !!!!!
One question, Why did Chevy produce other engines than the 400 CID Sbc and the 7.0 L LS if bigger always is better on the dyno?
Is the 572 and 502 the only BBC worth having for high performance?
Money, and different engines were made for different things. You can still make huge power with any sbc/bbc/LS/LT, any of them are worth it
Emissions, cafe numbers, cost.
Anything more than a couple three hundred you might as well pick up a 5.7 Vortec from a bone yard. You can still pick up a decent running engine for between 500-1000 bucks.
A friend just gave me a 307 , now what would make it a fun block? I race a 421 in the drag car but this may be fun also. HI Richard !!
So it seems to be the case that regardless of what is the bore and stroke, MORE CUBES MEANS MORE POWER. But we are not really dealing with extreme variations in BORE/STROKE ratios here. So that leads to my question. At what point do the RATIOS become so extreme ( on either ends of the spectrum ) that we pass the boundaries into DIMINISHING RETURNS in power? Okay that leads into another question. And yeah I'm that guy who has an obsession with V12s. But I have been focused on a most recent configuration of 12 cylinder engines! The W12 made by VW. So as you know, this motor is basically 2 VR6s paired up at an offset of 72 degrees. So upon further research of this design, I noticed that in order to get this design to work, they designed it with a relatively extreme bore/stroke ratio, where, STROKE is actually GRATER THAN BORE. Well the engine, which is 6 Liter makes power that can compete with V12s of the same CID. Okay so that is in harmony with the conclusion that it's CUBES/LITERS that make power, and not the bore/stroke ratio. But with a Bore of 3.31 inches (84 mm) & a Stroke of 3.55 inches (90.2 mm) AREN'T BE PUSHING THAT BOUNDARY OF DIMINISHING RETURNS here with this W12? IDK. Maybe Not! Anyone have opinions or knowledge on this? I'd love to see a comparison between a few of the German 12 cylinder engines. How about a VW W12 vs a BMW V12 vs a Mercedes V12 ( all 6 Liter )?
displacement first-bore and stroke change things very little-especially with more cylinders (where head flow becomes less critical).
Step it up to ls1 small block but it makes tone of power
Can you please try upgrading a roller cam vortec chevy 305 H.O ?
this is a roller cam 305
I need to see a big bang with a tpi or lt1 motor. Or even a normal sbc with an mpfi manifold. Honestly i have to wonder how much the ls engines are engineering magic with a skirted block that likely handles stress and vibrations better and how much its just a matter of turbos, ring gap and good manifolds. Yes the ls has a lot of great parts and yes people did build the lt1 and tuned port cars but turbos werent as popular and are claimed to be easier on parts and the factory gen1 and 2 manifolds were weirdly tuned. A tpi has 23" from runner end to valve which is good for a factory engine turning barely over 5000 rpm where there are 2 sound wave reflections during the intake stroke and its harmonic to the rpm. On an lt1 there has to be 4 or 5. 3 is usually the number used for a cross ram and many tunnel rams but if you can hit 3 reflections at 5000 you may be able to reach for 2 at 7500. So no more than 18" from plenum to valve makes more sense for a racer and still works for torque production in a factory engine. This is what the infamous accel super ram did and its no surprise the ls truck manifolds are probably in the 16" ball park. What im saying is that unless you had a super ram or tunnel ram and a turbo with port fuel injections and aluminum heads you have already lost to todays engines, but maybe if we build that specific combination and test it to destruction wed find out that the ls is more evolutionary the revolutionary.
I wanna see a 302 chevy TPI (4.00" bore) vs a 305 chevy TPI (3.736). As a kid I always hated 305's. The over .250 reduction in bore not only hurt performance but now you wasted money by creating two different blocks and drove up cost. The TPI worked much better with 305's than 350's (in a HP application), but I'd still love to see a side by side (same factory 'performance' heads/cam) "what if" showing what could have been in 80s-90s Fbody's/vettes if GM wasn't chasing emissions and built what would have made more sense.
If the test used the same heads, cam and intake the results would be more accurate. And why wouldnt you use the same heads? The Super 23s wouldve fit fine.
yes, this would be a better test, most comparisons i've seen are 1 hp per ci. 350 makes about 50 hp than 305
@@roknroy1 the funny thing about the 305-350 comparison is that because people bad mouthed the 305 for so long, no real development has been done to max out the small bore size. Ford's mod motor has a small bore, yet people are yanking 7s on small tires and 5s on big tires ( Mihovitz Pro Mod....and Holdener knows who he is )
Because if you had a 350 and were spending big money on heads, you wouldn’t fit the Super 23s because of the small chamber and valves, so it’s not realistic.
@@NotoriousREV nearly all 350s have come with 1.94 and 1.5 inch valves since 1968. What is not realistic? You could open up the intake valve on the 175s for less shrouding and improve the flow a little. With most of the late model 350s you have concave pistons, 56 cc chambers just gives you a little more compression.
@@Don-et3yp Because the cost of the Super23s is the same as heads with bigger valves already in them. The only reason to stick with such small valves when spending the dough on CNC ported heads is if you’re restricted by the bore size ie you have a 305. How you spend your money is up to you, but there’s better options for 350s at this price point.