89 engine help

[sped95]

hey everyone, im going to pick up an 89 camaro this friday, my first one. I want to rebuild or swap the engine, but im not sure what to do. Right now it has a 305 in it that runs great, should i put in a 350? or rebuild the 305? I just need to know the best way to go without spending too much money. Thanx

[ct91rs]

a 350 is a performance motor, with a lot of potential, while a 305 is not. if your looking for more torque and HP, and your going to spend the money rebuilding it, you'll be much happier if you spend the extra, to put in a 350.

[danny350]

305's are a wast of time.

[89IROC&RS]

um... if it runs great, why are you rebuilding it????

that being said, the 305 is perfectly fine for a daily driver. i certainly didnt have any complaints with mine it felt like a 350 to me. Then i bought my IROC with the 350 in it. To me its kinda like dumping the high school cheerleading captain for a runway model. certainly nothing wrong with the cheerleader, just the runway model is a step up.

So to answer your question, if it aint broke, dont fix it. But if youre gonna go through the trouble of pulling the engine you might as well put a 350 in its place when you put it all together again.

[Morley]

While the 305 is running good, save up your money and buy an engine a few pieces at a time. Start with a rotating assembly, 383 stroker (one piece rear main seal)...all forged. Next, heads...Trickflow or AFR's. then on to a cam (small base circle), valve train, valve covers, gaskets etc, etc. The last thing I would get is the block (remember, 1 piece rear main seal). Get a used (seasoned) block and have it hot tanked, bored .030" over and clearanced for the crank. (the shop may want your rotating assembly for the machineing process) Have them assemble the short block at this time.
Once that is done, build up the rest of the engine and have it ready to install. Now, when you are ready for the engine swap you'll need the transmission rebuilt (if an auto)...a performance rebuild. If it is a 5 speed maks sure it is a "WC" (world class) T5, it will have WC on it in or near the casting numbers. It will also need a performance rebuild.
Once that is done and you have the car back its time to swap engines, this will take a couple of days if you also do the following and take your time.
If you want to keep TPI/FI (if it has it) you'll need to get a different intake and runners, Accel or Edelbrock intake and SLP or AS&M siameased runners, port the plenum for the runners and where the throttle body bolts on.
Another route would be to get a modified LT1 intake like john sells here http://lt1intake.com/services.htm This has the benefit of shorter runners for higher RPM operation and less gaskets/pieces to mess with.
This sounds like a lot of money...and it is but you can do this over the course of a couple years while still driving your car.

[sped95]

hey guys, thanx for the help, ill definately be using it when I build my enigne. To awnser the question of why im rebuilding it, well I already have a daily driver(91 explorer) and there is a couple camaro's at my school, so I want mine to be better . and by the way, I am dating the high school chearleeding captain, -Thanx guys

[bag91]

The 305's have potential if you know what your doing with it. To say they don't is just being 350 bias and immature. Also they pretty much know nothing about the 305's. Thats like saying the 4th gen v6 camaros have no potential, when Philly RS has over 250 horses in it and beats Corvettes. Almost any engine has potential, if you know what your doing
You have two cars and your still in High school?

[Morley]

Originally Posted by bag91

The 305's have potential if you know what your doing with it. To say they don't is just being 350 bias and immature. Also they pretty much know nothing about the 305's.

The 305 has potential, but no where near the potential of the 350.
Sure you can dump 2k into a 305 and make it a 334 stroker and get 300 hp..take that same $$ + 200 for a 350 engine that needs rebuildng anyway and put it together and you'll be pushing 400 hp. Parts for the 350 are more abundent, cheaper and been around and proven for longer.
the 350 is the more ideal base to start on, has a good balance of bore vs stroke. The 305 has a small bore that shrouds the intake valves and limits you on valve diameter, hardly any choice on aftermarket heads...the list of deficencies goes on.
It just makes no sense to dump money into that block when a 350 will yield much better results $ for $.

[sped95]

Well thanx for everything again guys, im definately going to go with a 350, or 383, something liek that, but will i have to change the intake?
if i do, does that mean i have to change the computer?

[ct91rs]

Originally Posted by sped95

Well thanx for everything again guys, im definately going to go with a 350, or 383, something liek that, but will i have to change the intake?
if i do, does that mean i have to change the computer?

i imagine you would run the computer for a 350, just have the chip calibrated differently, and the intake could stay the same.

morley could tell you for sure...

[bag91]

Originally Posted by Morley

The 305 has potential, but no where near the potential of the 350.
Sure you can dump 2k into a 305 and make it a 334 stroker and get 300 hp..take that same $$ + 200 for a 350 engine that needs rebuildng anyway and put it together and you'll be pushing 400 hp. Parts for the 350 are more abundent, cheaper and been around and proven for longer.
the 350 is the more ideal base to start on, has a good balance of bore vs stroke. The 305 has a small bore that shrouds the intake valves and limits you on valve diameter, hardly any choice on aftermarket heads...the list of deficencies goes on.
It just makes no sense to dump money into that block when a 350 will yield much better results $ for $.

I agree, 350's obviously have more potential then the 305, but to say their basically a crap waste is just ridiculas.

[Morley]

Yes, you'll keep the same computer but you'll need to get a custom chip burned that takes into account the engine modifications.

Sorry to say but, yes building a 305 to make "power" really is a waste of money. For the same money you'll get up to 50% more power from a 350. Bang for your buck is what it all boils down to. If you'd be happy putting 2k into a 305 and walking away with 300 HP, fine but you didn't get the most for your money.

[89IROC&RS]

well if you want bang for the buck and to be faster than the other camaros at school, i suggest focusing on the parts of the car others ignore. Everyone goes for more power, but they often fail to target the key problem in third gens, the suspension and drivetrain. The biggest kick in the pants my camaro has gotten was rebuilding my 700R4 with a B&M transkit and a 2600rpm stall converter and it dramaticlly increased acceleration. I also installed a set of edelbrock TES headers that made the car sound a helluva lot better and provided another boost in seat of the pants performance. you would also want to invest in a set of gears, and a high performance rear carrier. i personally preferr geared posi units with no clutches to wear out such as the detroit true track.

another weak link is the chassis, put in set of subframe connectors to eliminate power loss to twisting the chassis.

once youve built up these areas of the car, youll probly be much faster than guys with more power, and then modding your engine for better performance will just widen the gap.

[sped95]

hey guys, i cant thank you for all the help, but i cant keep the camaro. Today I rolled my ford explorer because of a deer. After me and my friends got out alright, we flipped it back over and drove it home. The trani is acting weird, and the body is crap, so I need to junk it. I would love to just drive the camaro, but it is not practical for me in the winter, or for the area I live in, so I am selling it to buy another truck. Hopefully I will make enough money to get another over the summer.

[89IROC&RS]

sorry to hear about the bad news, glad everyone is ok. I feel your pain because i myself am just now getting to repairing the damage to my suspension on the RS due to a dear. cant wait till hunting season......