I installed a 1996 Vortec 305 in my 86 GMC. I converted it to carb with a no name Performer type dual plane with a Qjet , headers , 2 1/2" dual exhaust and it runs terrific.

I'll be honest, this made me nostalgic for an '81 El Camino and a garage built mostly recycled parts 305 made right around 1993-94.

i always like the 305. with those super 23 heads its a good engine for a fun project that you drive often. not too much power that it is difficult to drive or required expensive drive train upgrades but not a slouch either.

This video is making me rethink my original plans for my 86 C10. It came with a 305, and I picked up a Gen III LQ4 to swap also I've already sent the block and heads off for machine work. Now this!😔

Finally! Someone that knows what they are talking about with the 305sbc👍

Love your videos brother! You teach me and many others about Chevy power and keeping it 100%

In the 80s the 305 was pretty much all we had. Hard to believe but 350's were few and far between in new cars.

I would love all the links to the heads, cam kit, and intake manifold you used for the second test. I'm really blown away with how much power you made outa the little 305 and yoube given me hole to beef up mine instead of replacing it.

I did this test on my 79 Camaro, back when, I was in HS 1996. My 305 with Dart heads and Summit cam, can't remember the specs,went 15.1 in the quarter. Then I sprayed a 150 shot,went high 13 sec. Then a 454 was in charge. I took the N.O.S off and put it on my 1994 S10 SS with a CPI 4.3L "100" shot went high 13's in a stock 4.3L.

I get a tear...every time someone mentions Car Craft. The bathroom magazine rack just never recovered.

i have a 78 type lt camaro with a 305. its got a 4 barrel quadrajet and edelbrock air intake and an aftermarket mild cam. fun to tinker with and keep on adding stuff to increase power but at the end of the day i would like to throw an LS of some sort in it.

305 TPI Manual trans 373 or 4.10 Nitrous Tire Those days were fun. To date I feel the TPI intake was the most intimidating intake ever made, just could not make HP with it

Ran the tuned port on a 385 with lt4 cam kit and iron eagle 200s for nearly a decade before changing over to the hsr. What a difference.

I really want to see the FIRST TPI intake setup tested on the 305, id like to see what a much more opened up intake runners and base would do... Can't decide between the FIRST TPI, vortec heads milled, and cam vs Qjet, vortec heads milled, intake to match, and cam.. Love the look of the Bird of Prey style that the TPI gives..

Great video. Always like your stuff, facts.👍

Stock 4.8 is better than a hci 5.0 ford or Chevy. This video is awesome and proof of that. Best content on the tube. 🎉🎉🎉🎉

Love the 305 videos! Ive learned a lot as far as what kinda power i will make with similar set up. Shooting for a mid 12 second 1/4 with my 83 z28.

Wow that was one hell of a good video 💪👍

Thanks for doing these, I've had many 3rd gens over the years, in the 80s and still have an 84 Z28 H.O. that runs great. In the almost 40 years the engine has never been out of the car, I've had it for 10 years, it's never left me stranded. I have nothing to complain about, even in mostly stock form it'll fry the back tires right off rims if I want it to.

Never would have thought a 305 could be so potent. Considering there was a 150hp version...

I never understood why Chevy put dished pistons in the 305. I think it would have run much better with flat tops.

I was really hoping to see this engine with a high compression E85 N/A build.

I built a 305 with the old double hump heads 1.94/1.50 valves. Regular performer cam and regular performer air gap and a 600 Holley with 1 5/8" header. Was a blast to drive in an old 72' c10

Man 372hp in A 83 firebird would be like a 13.1s maybe 12.9s That would be sweet!

I'm in the middle of building a 339 stroker out of a 305 on my channel. Going to be running nitrous and a manual transmission in a 78 c10 chevy.

Cool thanks for sharing

Before these mods would be stupid but now with the prices of 350s this is viable im gonna be building up my 305 soon with aluminum heads and ported intake

OK boy you are a talker! I am thinking about an El Camino hobby car. Found one 305 real clean, low miles. Looks great. I have had a number of Corvettes so I want some grunt. In my 81 Stock Motor I went with Vortech, and TPIS, Headers and Water Meth injection. Thinking to go that way on the 305 as I know how engines respond to Boost. Any guidance on Block prep??? Always enjoy your videos, Dennis

Now I could build a badass 305. I've had a few. Bv

IMHO, the perfect 305 configuration would be the tuned port (long runner) with decent set of heads (I don't think they even make an aluminum head for the 305 anymore), "junk" 350 4 bolt one piece rear main roller block sleeved down to the correct bore size, forged 3.750 crank )331ci at factory bore size) forged pistons with modern low tension rings, forged rods, and a smaller single turbo setup. I wouldn't attempt to build it for all out horsepower (there are MUCH better platforms for that), but more as a boosted equivalent to a healthy big block. Something that is putting up 500+ ft/lbs, maybe 400hp, and the show's over by 6000. Slap it in a dually, and let it eat. The only possible downside to it (other than cost, and I don't own any of the parts, or a truck to put it in) would be the ultimate strength of the block casting might be suspect for heavy loads and sustained use under high boost.

I had an 89 GTA with the TPI . Loved it.

Rich thanks for doing this I still have my 84 50 H0 5 speed Z28 maybe this will inspire me to get it running again

Nothing wrong at all with building a 305. I did it myself. The data is really interesting, but nowdays people are nearly giving away SBC 350,383,and 400's with GOOD parts when they swap for LS engines.

I had a 1982 Z28 with a 305... It was embarrassing.. The 5.0 Mustang ate all my lunch. It took a few years, but I went blue and never looked back

I've got a set of those Trick Flow heads on order. Supposed to be here about the end of November. Putting them on my 1984 Grand Prix with only 70k miles on it, sewing machine smooth original drivetrain. Had already settled on the same RPM Air Gap intake too. Now I know what cam specs to shoot for, though I'll be slightly milder sticking with a flat tappet rather than spending the money on a roller upgrade. Thanks for the video!

Thank you sir

I am actually super surprised that the LB9 had dishes. The ones I've had were flat tops with eyebrows. Almost wonder if the motor was a mixmaster with an L03 bottom end If I were going to start with an L03 or LB9 or L69 I'd probably go in roughly the following order. The reasoning is a combination of ease and power capability. -Exhaust system (if not going turbo) headers to tip -intake manifold Performer RPM Air Gap or HSR. TPI or carb intake would go. -Camshaft (I like that 276HR cam btw, you may call it "small" but i think it's a great fit for the engine as a whole esp with non-ported heads. Had it in a 383, don't think it would be "small" in a 305 and am surprised it peaked at 6Kish RPM in the dyno.) -head work. Keep in mind I would argue that the SBC's limited valve lift capability out of the box means you're probably pulling heads any ways if you're going to get any lift. Stock flow isn't great on most TBI or even TPI heads so a 276HR is probably plenty of lift. For a TPI or milder build Elgin makes a real nice looking 210/215 roller as well. I'd think you'd be cutting the guides down at .5/.51 lift but maybe umbrella seals and a ghetto grind on the retainers would get you there? You'd probably also end up wanting to dump exh rotaters for mass reasons. An L30 or L30 Vortec 305 heads are likely a better path from what I've read. Maybe L31s if you are willing or able to compensate for the compression difference of 58 vs 64cc heads. -Turbo system. I think it wouldn't be easy to get to 1K HP, but I'd think it possible if you stuck in rods and pistons. You'd be talking nearer 30 PSI than 20 as well. With stock head flow of a set of 416es being about 175-180 CFM I don't see getting to 350hp being out of the realm of plausibility. If dumping a bunch of money into one of these you're probably needing to go down the 4" bore path as a block is cheap enough in the grand scheme, but there's zero reason one of these can't make great power especially for a street engine. I'd just cam/valve spring it, put a decent intake on, make some turbo headers and party. Shame you weren't closer, I scrapped 2 or 3 good ones last year when I moved. Would have loved a big bang on one. Or you just swap in a 4.8 with an extremely mild cam. :D

That’s respectable numbers for any engine.

305’s run well with a 3.75” crank. 😎

I had a 84 firebird with the LG4 305 and 5 speed, good torque and pull in 5 the on highway but not going win any races. I pulled it and used the L69 as a model, put in flattops bored 0.020 to bump to 9.5 cr, cam about 420/440 lift, performer intake (. CRane compucam 2030.) Full Edelbrock TES headers, 3 inch exhaust. Car was night and day. Would win races but this was 20 years ago.

I took a 305 out of a 86 chevy truck , added a sb400 with good heads and cam , gained about 200 hp over the 305 and several mpg.

I just picked up an 83 camaro with a 305 and I’m looking to get a lil more out of it

🔥🔥🔥

These can be really good stroker engines

We need a 305 big block v6 thrown in

4.2 or 4.8 seems more efficient and that is important for the wallet

i read an article years ago about a smc 400 with vortec heads. about 500 hp and tq. cheap build.

305's were bad about cracking in the valley some reason?

Now this is kind of off the wall. But I’ve always wanted to see a head to head of a Ford straight six 300 punched out to 302 vs a 302 Windsor. Have both with same cam profile and have both setup as close to the same as possible. Just to see how the HP and TQ curves compare. Just thought it’s an interesting concept with different number of cylinders bores and stroke but same displacement.

305 Big Bang time.

I pulled a 305 out of my k5 blazer, currently swapping a 5.3

Hey there. I have a 305 and In order to get these type of results do I need to change the computer system? It’s a tbi.

I had a mildly built 305 in a Chevy short wide I bought that was surprisingly stout. But on another note can we get the other other guys? Dodge 400, ford 352, Chevy 366? Someone make this a thing

I had an 89 camaro with the L03 TBI 305. That thing definitely does not deserve a high 5.

First question. How good is a 305 block on wall thickness. The rods are thinner. Not a 350 rod. Bv

Did you gap the rings for the Nitrous or boost?

Frieburger did this with different stages of NOS on engine masters

People hate 305's mainly because when they came in a square body, they usually had awful 2.73 gears behind them which made the truck just a dog. Iv had a square(2.73's) a rs Camaro(tbi 305) and a 97 Silverado with a vortec 305 and the 97 silvy was honestly not bad at all. It had 3.42's. I think with even just gears and a tune it would have been great.

We had a stock mark v hold up to 36 psi boost stock. But for how long.

Need some 400 sbc stuff!!

Yup lots were built in late 70s up to the 90s

You really need to add boosted power with these.

I had several things camaros and vets.

Should’ve tried the vortecs Rich…. Would’ve been interesting to see what it would’ve done. 👍

A 318 would be a great one to do next

In the future could you possibly do a test on a 305 sbc stroked with a 3.750in or 3.875in crankshaft to see how it responds?

I can make a 350 stock block hold up to the 850 mark Not sure about a 305. I've seen 400 hp 305s. How long will it hold. Bloodviking

where are the videos of the lt build you left off two years ago? saying you were going to test lt4, lt1 and baby lt1 heads on a 350 lt1

305 are way more abundant and cheaper than the 350

Would love to see a 305 video with it bored and stroked like a 383 to make it a 334!

I wonder how long a stock bottom end 305 would last under those power levels🤔

Not really a bad motor... But limited head choices and the fact it'll cost the same as building a 350 - it's easy to see why people skip it. But I do see why it's popular in circle track racing.

It looks like the only way to get 50 percent more HP on a small engine without making it undriveable is to replace it with a big engine if you want the HP to be BELOW 3500 RPM. And you want power brakes and want 16 inches of vacuum.

305 is not ideal, but sometimes racing has cubic inch limits. So now we know

Hey guys Im not a Professional n good in dished or flat head 305 but we used to have Pontiac 88 305 and it was killing Recently I funded c1500 truck 86 and I’m wondering what is the best reliable engine for power and daily use

Replace the main caps. Forged pistons. Good cam. 274 xe cam

89 cheyenne needs some upgrades

I'm stuck on building a 305 for my Monte Carlo. When comparing parts & money would it make sense to just build a 305 or would it be better to destroke a 350? I am wondering this due to the 305 bore size & head availability, & the cost between the 2 engines.

I just built a 305 with vortec heads… I’ve watched your videos a ton of times and realized that my heads have the 64cc and you have used 56cc for the 305. It’s built and ready to go in. My question is will it be dead in the water with that compression? What would the compression be. Using a comp cam with .470 lift

N o s and a 305 is stupid on stock pistons and rods. Try driving up a hill in a heavy car and load the rotating assembly and see if it breaks.

Do you think that you could get similar results with a 307 oldsmobile?

what injectors do you use. ? I bought 42lb/h for a 383 tpi and not sure if I will be able to make it idle at 1000-1200rpm.

Alright, I got a 85 IROCZ with a LB9. Was a LB9 now its got a TPIS mini ram and twin Gt28 turbos and a holley 58mm, got green eBay 42lbs injectors and a walbro. I'm struggling with tuning the damn thing, I'm using EBL Flash ECU. I think I've got problems with timing, I've got 416 heads. Anyone have any tips on how I should be attacking a TT LT1 setup? I use tunerpro to make changes to the bins. I can't get over 5 pounds of boost but I've got eBay wastegates and it was difficult to route the cold side. Lots of couplers. So I don't think I'm making enough boost to blow up the 305

Sorry for the beginner question - if one could only do 3 mods and wanted a street-able 305 that had more ooomph what should one do? Headers, Intake, Carb? Headers, cam, intake? I just dont know what works together and how it all harmonizes.

I’m running a 350 tpi 250Hp stock, and just removed the cats and muffler (actually I have metallic 100cpi cats, muffler has a straight through tube), basically sounds flows like straight piped and now planning to install 1.6 ratio roller lifters (steel) then a ecm tune. what kind of power increase can I expect? The manifold has long tube runners, pretty restrictive , anyway I guess it should make like 270-280Hp?! thank you

Now do it with 5.2 magnum :)

Good luck trying replace your 305 with a350 because there none to be had in central Alabama they gone the way of the BBC no 6.o ls and a few 5.3's and 4.8's.

Please build & test a junk yard mix "N" match 305 LT1. L99 block, L99 pistons, L99 heads, LT1 crank, LT1 rods, LT4 camshaft, LT4 intake. My prediction is that it would make more power than a stock LT1 350.. What do you think?

The problem with the 305 is cost per HP. One reason the third Gen Camaro guys were ripping out the stock TPI 305 and installing rebuilt carbureted 350s from the '70s was the fact that the 350 was cheaper to build and generated more power per dollar. Yes, you can make 500HP with a 305 witj nitrous or a blower or a turbo. But the 350 with the same mods will cost less to build and make *more* HP and torque.

What cam do you recommend for 400 hp

i wanna see someone boost one of these enginesi wanna find out if it would be good for mine

Lots of money for an iffy block.

Anyone have a stock set of 416 casting heads?

Arp bolts. No 60 over bore.

What bore and stroke have a 305?

Vortec 305 heads are not actually vortec heads. True story.

228k 😎✅

Why stop at 6k?? That setup is made to rpm and you chopped it off far to early.

Had one in my IROC ran well, no power but reliable.

Big cams and low compression not the best combo Bv