The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Engine Shop 305 power

Seeing as how I'm doing a complete tear down I have plenty of things to work on besides the motor.I've been holding off on buying a 235 in hopes of finding one cheaper.I recently purchased an 89 chevy caprice for body parts.This leaves me with a spare TBI 305,that runs pretty good .I have been told that a 235 would work pretty hard pulling my truck around(I have a 1 1/2 ton dually and want to work it) and was wondering how much better the 305 would do and if I could keep the original tranny and rearend(they were probably geared for working, right :confused: )?I know I would need a different crossmember for the motor but wasn't sure if I could buy an adapter for the tranny.Thanks for any opinions.

Skippy, you and I seem to be roughly at the same place on our restorations. Our trucks are the same except yours is a Chevy and mine is a GMC. I am considering repowering mine also. From what I have managed to read the major problem with going to a V8 is interference with the steeering column. I have seen plenty of V8 swaps where they changed steering or even put a more modern front clip(I dont think this is even an option on a big bolt). I would think that swaping in a 230-250-or a 292 might be the easiest, from what I have seen so far that swap would involve new front engine mounts and a bellhousing from up to a 67? Chevy/GMC Truck. One more problem both you and I have is the rear engine crossmember it changed in 54 to the more angled mounts.

guys, I plan to put a 305 in my 52panel. I am of the believeth, and some others, that we can dodge the steering box issue by shopping around for a set of headers. I am thinking that a pair of old 265 or 283 headers might do the trick. Also a pair of regular headers that exit out the back? I am a ways from doing this so I'm interested in what you come up with. As for the cross memeber I think Chassis Engineering makes them "to fit". I have one for my panel that you do not have to "adjust" that I traded for(made by them) and it is made with the correct angle where it bolts to the chassis. I have their number in the shop. If you would like to have it send me an email and I will get it for you. Just never know what will work until we try it!!! Thats why I love this place....lot of folks with lots of "hands on" experience.

All this V8 talk is making me naucious..

Seriously, I don't think that a 305 would have the bottom end torque of a good running inliner. The 305 will be cammed for HP and the torque is at too high an RPM for truck work. Stick with the I6 for your 1-1/2 ton.

I believe you would be disappointed with the 305 performance. To make a noticable performance gain over your I6 without spending a fortune in time and money, you would need to go w/ a moderatly warmed up 350 at least if not a big block. But I agree w/ 53 moneypit, stick with an inline. I would go with a 261. Wait a minute, that's what I AM doing

Thanks for the input.I want to avoid major modifications,I just have this 305 laying around.I gotta go with TooMany,305's aren't junk.I might not use it in my 53'but it will be used .I wonder about the 261,how do I tell the 261 from a 235 and will it bolt up to my tranny?Thanks again.

http://www.inliners.org/link_261_page.htm

Here's why I like it. It's a bolt on swap and you already have just about all the parts except the block, the head, and the carb(if you were to go stock).

I agree, the 305 will not preform as the I6 six will.... how many heavy trucks did they install 305's in???? They are good motors for what they were designed for, a heavy truck is not one of them. A good running 235 or 261 would be a better choice. Joe

I would agree except for the price of gas. A 305 tbi or better yet tpi is a good choice due to the gas milage. A 305 with a 700r4 would work well. It has a nice first gear and a tall 4th gear. Twenty plus miles per gallon are possible with this set up. I have never seen a 261 with a carb come anywhere near this. My last truck was a S10 that I put a 350 in. Yes it was fast, but the 15 mpg was a rude awakening.
Rick In Va

Maybe if the truck were higher geared, maybe. But then you couldn't work it as a truck. An overdrive tranny with the I6 would be the way to go. I'd bet at comparable rpms the difference in gas mileage between a 305 and a 261 would be negligible. And probably better with a 235. And as Joe pointed out, 305s are just not designed for big truck use. I had 2 cars with 305s. A 79 sunbird and an 84 trans am. They were both little and lightweight and I was still underwhelmed by the engine performance in both of them. The sunbird was kind of a sleeper for a high school car though, everyone thought it had a 4 banger as most of them did.

an 89 caprice should have a 700r4.why not use it unless your truck is a torque tube type.a 1989 700r4 is an excellent trans.i wish my truck had one.my 89 rs/305 tbi/700r4 gets 24 mpg highway with 3.42 gears.

Boy, my experience with the 305 is sure different from all youse guys. I have one in an '84 K10 with over 200K miles on it. The axle ratios are 2.73(not 3.73) so it's geared very tall. Granted, it's no jack rabbit off the line, but it will still run circles around my '37 1/2 ton with a 235 and 3.38 axle ratio. It's a much heavier truck than the '37 also. The gas mileage is not great though(around 14mpg), probably no better than a 350. I think it would make a pretty good motor for an early 1.5 ton, especially if you are keeping the original low gearing. The 305 will happily tolerate many more rpm's than an early 4 main bearing six giving you better road speed. The low gearing of the truck means you don't need a lot of low end grunt. If you already have the 305, I would say go for it. Myself, if I were going to do this project, I would opt for a 350 though. Same amount of work to install it, quite a bit better power, and probably the same gas mileage.

I'm with you TooMany. I just picked up a complete running 305 with A/C, Power Steering pump, Alternator, Starter, and Cruise Control for $100!

You can't buy the brackets for a crate motor for $100. They are cheap because they are overlooked.

When you look at torque (not HP) numbers they are pretty close to the 350. Dollar for dollar they are ahead.

_______________

Guy
_______________

'67 Chevy C-10 305/700R4