Heads cam on the ole 305

[10camaross]

okay my 1992 Rs camaro 305 has been running hot latley so i went out and bought a new thermostat and it was still running hot so then my next thoughts were radiatior or water pump. but come to find out im getting compression in my cooling system most likely a cracked head or blown gasket. So if i have to dig into it i wanna go ahead and put heads cam.
I wanna go heads, cam (some kind of nitrous cam) and some good heads to go along with the deal. Im looking towards like a 100-125 shot, with some headers and exhaust. Im looking for a daily driver setup but more leaning towards power. I wanna keep the 305 so if anyone could help with any cheap heads or cam ideas, or anything it would be great. Thanks

[Monte Carlo Man]

Originally Posted by 10camaross

okay my 1992 Rs Camaro 305 has been running hot lately so i went out and bought a new thermostat and it was still running hot so then my next thoughts were radiator or water pump. but come to find out i'm getting compression in my cooling system most likely a cracked head or blown gasket. So if i have to dig into it i wanna go ahead and put heads cam.
I wanna go heads, cam (some kind of nitrous cam) and some good heads to go along with the deal. I'm looking towards like a 100-125 shot, with some headers and exhaust. I'm looking for a daily driver setup but more leaning towards power. I wanna keep the 305 so if anyone could help with any cheap heads or cam ideas, or anything it would be great. Thanks

1882 Camaro uses a light duty block, one piece rear main seal and light duty crankshaft.

The 305 HO - if you are lucky has a 9.5 x 1 compression ratio max.
If you are really lucky, it has flat top pistons.

The rods are light duty and the heads probably have about a 63cc chamber and small valves. For what it is worth, it isn't worth the bother to try to build up a 305 motor.

It costs the exact same amount of money to build a 350 small block Chevrolet engine as it does a 305, you can buy / build a heck of a lot better motor - with a lot better parts then what you presently own.

Unless you have some kind of super X ray vision that allows you to see inside of a engine, there is no way for you to know for sure what is wrong with your engine until you tear it apart and have someone clean it up and inspect it. By the time you waste all that money on a engine that isn't worth anything, you could have already went out and purchased a used 350 - 4 bolt main truck engine and been done with it.

A simple formula to remember is that every time you get rid of weight in the bottom end, it will spin faster and will probably make more horsepower - because more usable power will be freed up.

So if you want to build an engine that will run on pump gasoline, which will make 150 more horsepower, without having to fill a tank of nitros oxide once a week, you are going to have to spend a little money.

I would suggest that you start with a 010 block out of a 1982 or older Chevrolet pick up. Purchase a Lunati, Crower, or Bryant crankshaft and a set of Oliver rods and a set of JE light weight pistons and have the whole bottom end balanced. Buy a good set of rings and bearings and pay someone to assemble the bottom end for you.

Buy a camshaft that has just enough lift and duration to make the horsepower in the rpm range that you desire. Do not go over 500 lift or you will have issues driving the monster in the city. Crane Cam, Comp Cam, Lunati Cam - it really doesn't matter which manufacturer you choose - as long as it is the right cam for the engine that you are building.

Buy a set of pre assembled Dart Heads with the right valve springs for the camshaft that you choose. Roller would probably be best - but you will have to decide what your budget will allow.

I would buy a set of roller rocker arms - like Comp or Crane Gold and I would buy a cast aluminum timing cover and a double roller timing chain and a good oil pump. New oil pan, windage tray and new rocker covers and a Edelbrock 7101 air gap intake manifold - if it will fit under your hood. Holley 750 double pumper.

With a good set of shorty aftermarket headers you could expect to make 350 hp / 400 + ft. lbs of torque, on 92 octane pump gas and get 25+ miles to the gallon - as long as you stay out of the 4bbls.

That is probably almost double what your present engine puts out.

Nitros is for idiots that doesn't know what they are doing, who only wants to impress little kids by showing their NOS bottle in the trunk. The only time it turns on is when you are in WOT. Wide Open Throttle.

[92rscamaro]

a ton of people will tell u to ditch the 305 but if thats what u want keep it and build it. its a beast of a lil motor and can run just like any other with the money into. People also say that bigger is better. so if ur gonna get a 350 y not buy a big block because they are even easier to make power with. If you keep the 305 try the world products heads for 305 i herd they were pretty good or just a set of vortecs.
depending on how fast u want to be. a 305 with lt1 cam, full exhaust, good tune, and some 3.73's will run mid to low 14's. just depends on how much you wanna spend. there are some guys over at thirdgen.org who are pushing some pretty impressive numbers with a 305. either way good luck to u on ur build

[Monte Carlo Man]

If a person was to use a 400 SBC and put the Camaro heads on it, and if the 400 engine had flat top pistons - your compression would climb significantly - somewhere around 10.5 / 1 compression according to most online calculators.

The torque characteristics of the 400 is significantly better then the 305 or 350.

The problems are that the cylinders are Siamesed and the block is much weaker then a 350.

Big block Chevrolet's on the other hand, has more problems with over heating, bad pistons on the back cylinders - they do not like to be rev'd very high and they are very expensive to build and the crankshafts weigh significantly more.

If cheap horsepower is the ticket then the Big Block is definitely not the way to go.

[The Project]

If you choose to go with vortec heads, you will also need a vortec intake (more $$).

If you want a mild upgrade try a ZZ4 cam and TFS 305 heads from summit. Add Comp CM rods and full roller rockers.

You should get about 300 hp...oh and don't forget to add a 4th gen alum driveshaft and tune.

[maxhunter]

You wanna keep the 305? Are you planning on a complete rebuild?
If you are going to do a rebuild you can make some significant increases in horsepower to the 305 with vortec heads and new cam. But as has been said the intake you have may not work, and one of the most important things to do is match up your parts. Too big of a cam or not enough flow in the heads or exhaust can ruin performance. There is a good article I ran across awhile back in hotrodding magazine (it's online) http://www.popularhotrodding.com/eng...cks/index.html
on how they built a 305 into some very respectable power (~370 hp)
Now having said that....the same or greater increase can be had from building a 350 with the same parts.
I am in the same boat....2 second gen cars with 305's....I will build at least one of them and probably replace the other with a 350,as I have an extra 350 already that needs gone through.

I had an 84 Z/28 ex highway patrol car though with the 305HO....it was very impressive.

[Monte Carlo Man]

The 305 will not make 300 HP with a simple cam / head swap.

That is just wishful thinking.

The 305 bore is too small - does not have enough quench area to get proper compression unless we are talking about using a set of Dart heads with 48 CC combustion chamber.

Even then, the bore is too small to accommodate the large valves.