what do you mean a choopy idle.. glug..glug..glug..glug? Instead of an idle that sounds like it's gonna die?

 

its kinda hard to explain. its like sped up lope with a crispy snap somewhat. when i pull up to a store , gas station or light it gets noticed. when i pulled in at work one of the constructtion guys re modeling the tech offices said "aint no stock cam in that thing" i turned back and said "wouldnt think it was a 305 ither!" and right about then he hadta pick his jaw up off the tailgate of his truck.

 

^ hmm.. I want a better-than-stock sounding cam.. (nice story though.. humored my quite well )

 

its far beyond stock sounding. not even close. going from a stock 89 305 and manifolds with only a cat back to headers and a MUCH bigger cam it was all the difference between pitch black and high noon.
im quite pleased with the outcome, now if i can get the dam thing fully tuned i'll be in good shape!!

 

I would also recomend the XE262 cam for your 305....it's a nice cam, and will provide plenty of power with the other mods you are planning.

I actually have that cam sitting in my garage, but my little brother is getting ready to slide it into the 305 in his '79 Malibu.

FWIW - the cam in my car is an XE274 (230/236 .490/.490 112 LSA ground +4 degrees). It's a pretty mild cam (esp. for a 400), but it's got a very sweet sounding idle @ 600 rpm


- Justin

 

Lift: .447''/.454''
Duration: 256°/268°
RPM Range: 1000-5200

That is the specs of the cam I want; seem any good?

 

Too much duration for street driving.....Is that duration at .050? If it is, wouldn't be my choice.....

 

That'll be a fine cam. Based on the lift, we can assume those are total advertised duration, NOT the duration at .050", which I assume will be in the 212/218 degree area, on what is probably a 110 degree lobe center angle. Install that cam on a 104 or 106 degree intake centerline and you'll be stylin'. Just remember to replace the valve springs, too, and clean up the ports on the heads to take advantage of the extra lift.

 

I dunno if it is "advertised" or "at .050".. I will try to find out. I am getting new v-springs, lifters, pushrods, rockers, etc.. and I will try to clean up the ports a bit. If I can find a die grinder, I will be in luck. All I do is ground out the ports a bit, right? Will that cam I gave the specs for sound mean in my car, or no?

 

What cam is that? Do you have a brand name and part number?

- Justin

 

P/N 12-234-2 Comp Cams XE256H, 110 LSA, 212/218 @ .050"lift.

 

^ yup.
You have that focking memorized? lol.

 

Heh, I got this thing about numbers, they stick in my head sometimes!

 

lol. Jeez.. you know your a Gear Head if you..

BTW Transam.. how will this cam treat me in my 305? I called comp about it a while back.. and they said this would be perfect for me.

 

With the 3.23 gears, I'd stick in a 2700 RPM stall converter. The cam will have a smooth idle but will lope a little bit, enough as to advertise that it's NOT stock. This will be most noticeable if you have headers. The cam will make decent off-idle power, especially if you upgrade the torque converter. As it happens, I have a 2700 RPM NEAL torque converter sitting here with less than 2000 miles on it, that I pulled when I converted over to the T56 manual. I'd box it and sell it for $150 plus shipping, if you wanted to pop it in while your engine is out. Duuh, whoops. I just remembered that you have a T5! :embarrassed:

Top-end punch will probably start about 2500 to 3000 RPM and continue through 5000 RPM, then drop off in the SOTPometer starting at 5500 RPM. You'll definitely shift before 6000. Make sure you check the intake centerline and try to set it up between 104 and 106 degrees. It'll help fatten up the low-end torque. My XE262H cam made peak power at 104 degrees.

If you want to really make it lively, swap out the 3.23's for some 3.73 gears. I wouldn't want any other ratio with a 305 third-gen.