Is it worth trying to rebuild my 305 w/ almost 200,000 miles on it?

 

Not in my opinion, but everybody seems to have different opinions.

A rebuild kit for a 350 will probably cost less than a rebuild kit for a 305 thanks to the incredible popularity of the 350. That difference in cost will go a long way toward finding a 350 to rebuild.

 

but why spend the money to buy a 350 and a rebuild kit when you can just buy a rebuild kit and do your 305. don't believe all that **** that a 305 is worthless cause i don't find many 350's that can hang with my 305,

 

No matter what you do to a 305, doing it to a 350 results in more power.

Nobody is saying that the 305 is a bad motor, but when you consider the difference in cost between rebuilding the 305 and rebuilding a 350, you're nuts not to upgrade. Unless you've got some kind of hard-on for overspending just to prove a point, stick with the 350.

 

wow, thats a pretty wicked 305, looks good!

 

Well i dont exactly have the money for a 350, or else I would buy one. The thing I realy want to know is if my block will handle being rebuilt after 200,000 miles on it? Do ya think the block will have a lot of cracks and what-not in it? Kids at skool are tellin me that there is too many miles on the block. Thanx all responders,
Matt!

 

as long as your block isn't worn so bad that an overbore won't clean up the bores properly, and as long as you don't have any sort of cracks anywhere in the block, then it'll be fine. If it still ran, chances are the block is in good enough shape to handle a rebuild. Getting it checked for cracks is an absolute necessity though.

But... you can't just slap new rings and bearings in there and call it a day. The block will need an overbore of some amount, which means new pistons and rings are necessary. You'll probably need to have the crank turned at least .010 under and replace the bearings with the proper .010 equivalent.

You're looking at at least $300 in machine work, and a couple hundred bucks for a rebuild kit that includes pistons, rings, bearings and gaskets. I don't have rebuild kit prices memorized, but you may be able to find a 350 kit as much as $50 cheaper than a 305 kit. Look around long enough and I'll bet you can find a rebuildable 350 motor for that $50 difference you'll save on the rebuild kit. All your machine work will cost the same, so in the long run you aren't paying any more for that 350. Even if you have to pony up an extra $50 for the 350, when you consider your total rebuild expense, an extra $50 is nothing.

 

Why would I have to bore it? I am not doing a COMPLETE rebuild, but am changing such crap as cam, all kinds of seals, etc... The car smokes oil, so i am gonna change the rings.

 

the problem with putin power through a motor with that many miles is the bearing are all on there last legs...

i've got a 210k 305 puttin 250hp to the wheels in my last dyno session, all on motor... it smokes liek a bitch, the rings are shot!

you can do all that, but the chances it will pop are pretty good.

instead of puttin the money into that, why don't you try to find a low mile l98 or roller 305 block?

you'll spend probably 300-500 bucks for a heads down setup, with 50k on it if ur lucky enough to find one... just takes some lookin!

persoanlly, if your trying to maintain a budget, thats going to be your best bet until you can rebuild a motor right.

Steve

 

Does anyone know where I can find a cheap L98? Or even an LT1?

 

there is far too many thing you would need to do to make an lt1 swap feasiable for a small budger... its a whole diff animal!

as for finding one, look in the classifieds here and on thirdgen.org

i recall seeing many over there at one time.

 

There's no way a 200k mile motor won't need an overbore. rings are metal. The bore is metal. The reason you're burning oil is because the rings are all worn out (or broken). What do you think happened to the cylinder walls? They are worn too. if a ring is broken, it's probably scored. Either way, after spinning for 200k miles, there is going to be some amount of elongation in the bore due to the side loading of the pistons. Long story short, a 200k mile will need to be bored AT LEAST .010 over, which is going to require new pistons for the bigger bore.

Bust a ring at 30k miles and you might get away with just putting a new ring in. At 200k? No way.

 

If you swap a 350 in to replace the 305 what stuff do you need to buy to make it work? Like the intake, what else? how about exhaust manifold. Does the 5 speed fit on the 350 too?

 

EVERYTHING, read, EVERYTHING that bolts up to a 305, will bolt up to a 350... heads and all....


however, 350 heads -> a 305, well some of them dont- the intake valve interferes with the cylinder wall.

nothing different is needed when a 305 to 350 swap is done.

I still say the best bet for ya guy is to find a less than 100k 350 or 305 (whatever ya wish) get some aftermarket heads or rebuild and do up the stock heads a bit, push a moderate cam into that puppy and let it roar... even with stock manifolds and whatnot, you can expect better power, and even better power when you have the money to upgrade

 

If it's carbed, you rejet the carb and you're done. As mentioned, absolutely everything bolts up. The exterior of a 350 is 100% identical to a 350, so of course everything will work.

With a TPI car, it's a little more complex, but still easy. You'd need bigger injectors, a new knock sensor, and a chip from an L98 car. Still within a few hundred dollars, and the injectors and chip aren't really a necessity. With an adjustable fuel pressure regulator, you can bump the pressure to compensate for the small injectors and get by. It sure as hell isn't optimal, but it'll get the car running until you can get a new chip & injectors.