Camaro 305CI?

[Anonymous-0]

it seems my camaro is an 84' with a 305 (thanks for the help by the way) so my question is, how good of a motor is a 305? I have never owned one and know of nobody who does/did.. any info is again very helpfull.. thanks

 

[Wiill]

I have a 1978 Chevy van with a 305 and the engine runs great, no smoke, no oil burning, starts every time. It"s very low milage for a 1978 model (only 80,000 miles) but it"s all original and the heads have never been off. I"m sure the 305 or any GM engine of that era could never match the life expectancy of some engines like the Honda"s or Toyota"s that frequently live well over 200,000 miles, but I"m happy with my 305 anyway.

 

[Anonymous-0]

A 305 is just a small bore 350. Everything that will work on a 350 will work on your engine except for the pistons. If you swap crank shafts between 305 and 350s you will need to rebalance them but the stroke is the same, as are all the bearings.

 

[Allan in NE]

If ya flip all those small block Chevy engines upsidedown, from the first 265 forward, you'll find that they are all sisters.

The 305 is no better or no worse than any of the rest, other than the fact that in 84-86 GM was really leaning the fuel down on 'em to meet the emission standards and this could sometimes lead to a hesitation from the stoplight.

Just a good time-proven design. Drive it.

Allan

 

[Spook]

I disagree. The 350 chevy and it's variants have exceptional durability. I had a 94 Blazer with 245,000 miles on it when I sold it to a coworker, it now has 266,000 miles, still holds good pressure, and still doesn't use any oil. We did take good care of it, but I think the engine rates with anything Toyota or Honda has produced in that time. A friend of mine who is a professional mechanic tells me to expect 250,000 plus before rebuild. And it is one of the cheapest engines to rebuild.

 

[Bus Driver]

If it runs OK, drive it. While the small block Chevys do have parts interchangeability among different displacement sizes, the 305 seemed to me to experience more camshaft problems than did the 350, the 327 or the 307. The lobes were prone to wear down quickly. So if I rebuilt a 305, I would install a new economy cam from one of the aftermarket suppliers, such as Crane or Iskenderian. Use their new lifters, too. If more power is desired, install a 350 engine rather then trying to hop-up a 305. On the right side of the block, right in front of the cylinder head, readable from above, is the identity number for the engine. Clean and read that number to identify your engine block.

 

[Jimmy King]

I had a 1979 Impalla with a 305 I traded it off with a 180,000 miles on it. The lady that bought it drove it another 100,000 plus miles. The last time I saw it it was laying a smoke screen though.

 

[Mark - IN.]

305 is a bread and butter motor. Low RPM because of a long stroke to smaller bore ratio. Long strokes = torque, big bores = RPM and horsepower. I don't recall what the bore is on one, but remember that it was the second smallest Chevy ever had, next to the 262 CI offered in the late '70's Monza's. Don't get particularly good milage and pound for pound weigh more than there worth, but are cheap. They can move a Suburban down the road effectively sucking as much gas as a 350, but not a whole lot more.

I've long forgotten what the bore to stroke ratio was of the 426 Hemi, but they did have an incredible stroke and were a HP anomoly (freak of nature) that worked very well. That thing would really get up, go, and tear it up...even to then diehard 427 and other big block Chevy fans like myself. These days, I'm older, fatter, slower and drive Dodge/Cummins pickups. Does anyone else's knees bother them when they climb up on the tractors? Sometimes mine sure do.

 

[Mark - IN.]

305 is a bread and butter motor. Low RPM because of a long stroke to smaller bore ratio. Long strokes = torque, big bores = RPM and horsepower. I don't recall what the bore is on one, but remember that it was the second smallest Chevy ever had, next to the 262 CI offered in the late '70's Monza's. Don't get particularly good milage and pound for pound weigh more than there worth, but are cheap. They can move a Suburban down the road effectively sucking as much gas as a 350, but not a whole lot more.

I've long forgotten what the bore to stroke ratio was of the 426 Hemi, but they did have an incredible stroke and were a HP anomoly (freak of nature) that worked very well. That thing would really get up, go, and tear it up...even to then diehard 427 and other big block Chevy fans like myself. These days, I'm older, fatter, slower and drive Dodge/Cummins pickups. Does anyone else's knees bother them when they climb up on the tractors? Sometimes mine sure do.

 

[Anonymous-0]

Personally, I never owned one but have driven and used quite a few vehicles with one in. Seems like they are/where durable and gave good performance. A friend of mine has a 84 GMC half ton pickup he bought used in 89. A couple of years ago he decided to swap the engine out because it was starting to have some serious issues. Other than routine maintenance (ie. plugs, wires, filters, oil and lubes,etc.) the only major work that engine had done to it was have the timing chain/gears replaced at around 250,000 miles. He had over 300,000 miles on it when he had another 305 from an 83 model that he'd also owned (prior to this one and a wreck that totaled it out) put in it.

Personally I think it's a good engine and will good service, doesn't have the pull and umph that the 350 does but will get better mpg and will handle anything that a half ton pickup can carry or pull and still have some extra left.

Jim

 

[Anonymous-0]

I have heard of a V6 in a camaro in the early 80's versions. Same engine used in the S-10 pickups. Sounds dumb but better on gas.

 

[Wiill]

That"s good to hear. Maybe my old van will live longer than I thought!

 

[dave guest]

They drive like a V6 in my estimation. I had several in 70's with bad camshafts. If you see blue RTV on rocker don't buy it. Probably lifter started rattling and somebody tightened down rocker. Won't be long now!