Calling all Motor Heds

[sykotic1]

hey guys. i'm starting to plan some performance upgrades for my 91 z28 (LB9 305). Now here's where I need some help. I've seen a 302 crate motor in a mustang I used to own push out 400+hp, naturally aspirated. I know most people are going to tell me to swap out the 305 for a larger engine, but I want to know how far this little v8 can go. I need some help planning a rebuild for the engine. Without getting into the drivetrain, what do you guys think would be a good way to build this sucker up? Detailed info. is MUCH appreciated. So far I don't have any brands picked out but what I know for sure is I want to do the following:

.30 over bore with new pistons, rings, and rods
performance cam
aftermarket heads
aftermarket intake
MSD Ignition

With the right parts I've been told I can push this engine to 300hp+ working off of a decent engine rebuild/bore. I should mention that I dont want to get *too* radical, i'm looking at basically a good rebuild with performance parts that will effectively turn this into a crate engine. What are your thoughts?!

[89IROC&RS]

talk to 92RS, hes the 305 guru around here. i will say buy a 350 block. and a set of 350 pistons, then swap everything else from the 305 to the new block and pistons set. but with what your looking at it would make a decent performance engine, although i would expect more along the lines of 250hp

[Genopsyde]

please see picture in my signature.

[TEXAS-HOTROD]

If it's TPI, super cahrge it.

[sykotic1]

what kind of pressure could a mostly stock tpi LB9 handle?

[TEXAS-HOTROD]

I didn't mean to come off as a jerk, because I am not. My posts can become lenghtly so I just made it plain and simple. To build a high powered 305 naturally aspirated, it would be pretty radical too. Radical and streetable is 2 different things.
A stock 305? 4 to 6psi, depending on how you tune it. It would be best to rebuild it w/blower pistons, good rods and stud the heads and lower end. It would get pretty pricey to build a blower motor, but it would run verry strong. The bad part is that it would still be a 305.
Instead of all that trouble it would be cheaper to find a 350 block (a 400 would be way better) and slowly build it up for future use. Balanced rotating assemblys aren't priced too bad now days, you could even get a 383 kit pretty reasonable. Get it to the point where it is short-blocked and put some good heads (AFRs) on it.
To go one step farther, if you could find a s.b.400, it would make tons of torque more. I have built many 350s and 400s, from stock to wild, you can tell the difference in bigger cubes. With bigger displacements you can run a bigger cam, intake, headers, etc... and get away with it. A radical combination for a 305 woul make for a mellow 400.
I built a mild 400 for my last ride. When I super charged it, it really came to life. I spent $2100 on the block and heads to build a strong motor, another $5000 went into the fuel system and blower to make it brutal. http://bartonekdragracing.com/gene_biscayne

It's always a tough choice on what to build. Bigger is always better.
---TEX---

[crapmaster4000]

Id say go with a 350 or higher, 305 ci kind of crap out like the 700R4 tranny after they are rebuilt. Trust me on this one, its happened to me.

[Jm93]

yes, thats why they call you the Crapmaster4000. lol, just because yours was not repected and taken care of, doesnt mean that everyone else's was disrepected the same. on teh other hand, the 700r4 isnt really impressive in terms of durability. compared to some other tranny's from gm.

[sykotic1]

Well I appreciate the help guys but I'm really looking at keeping the 305. I think to start I'm going to take this project on in stages and work on new heads, valve job, mild street cam, new intake, and msd ignition to start with. if i can afford it i might include a high flow fuel pump and a new rear. i've seen similar setups on some other 305's i found on the web and it seems that they deffinetly gave that little v8 an edge.