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Are 305's really that bad?

Kyle Strong

Kyle Strong

1/2 ton status
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Eugene, OR
My old engine that I thought was a 350 turned out to be a 305. I wouldn't have been able to tell if I didn't look up the casting number. It lacked a little on the top end, but overall it wasn't all that bad. I always thought they were supposed to be a terrible engine. :dunno: I mean, I wouldn't take one over a 350, but all in all it's not THAT bad of an engine...
 
yes they are that bad... If you have a "good" running one, I don't see any reason to go junking it just to swap in a used 350. But going from an old tired 305 to a fresh stock build 350 was like night and day, it was simply amazing.
 
huh...I haven't driven a fresh 350 before, or actually a 350 at all yet. I'm still waiting to do a few more things to my truck first, and it's not a new engine anyway. Maybe I just had a good running one...or maybe I was on drugs?:thinking:
 
Or maybe you have no real comparison mentally for it..

Just like people who've driven badarse small blocks, then punch it in a BB vehicle, and go "Ah, thats what everyone was talking about!"
 
Not true, my dd is a 325+ hp. 289 in a light car, and my dad has a v-10 ram, so I know both ends of the spectrum. It might be the 4.10's and bald 33's, but I can usually tell the difference between power and gearing...but in retrospect the gearing might have been a big part.
 
Just saying any 305 and any 350 is way too general of a comparison. With all things equal, then yes a 350 runs better than a 305. But on the other hand certains versions of a 305 will run just as good or better than certain 350s.

A couple good examples:
- a new early 90's Chevy pickup with the TBI 305 felt a lot stronger than a comparable mid-80's carbed 350 truck.
- early 90's TPI 305 in a camaro felt a lot stronger than than a couple of late-70's to mid-80's Camaro's with stock 350's. My personal experience was riding in a '79 Z-28 (whopping 175 hp 350) versus a '91 (215 hp 305).
 
I grew up in the 80's so I never actually owned a truck back then- only a really weak Monte Carlo in the late 80's. Anyway, I remember hearing my dad talk about 305's in the trucks he owned. He always said that just normal daily driving the 305 did ok, but if you ever towed anything "it wouldn't pull the hat off your head". :doah:

I did drive a full size bronco with a 302 one time. It had 35" tires on it and man you better hope you never had to pass anyone. You could floor it and it never seemed to get any faster just made alot more noise.

If I had a 305 I'd be saving money for a built 350-383.
 
Kyle Strong said:
My old engine that I thought was a 350 turned out to be a 305.
Click to expand...

The GM 307 was kind of a dog of a motor also. I had a 307 out of a 69 Chevelle in my 1956 Chevy 4x4 and it did pretty well. Of course back then I wasn't doing that much off roading, just driving back and forth to school.
 
I hear ya there, passing someone was nearly impossible, and I can't imagine pulling anything. I also don't know what the internals of the 305 were either. It could have had some mods/mild cam, don't really know. And it was a 80-82, so nothing big there. Preferrably I was going to drop a 454 in it instead, but don't have the money right now. Same thing with a 383. So it's 350 time for me. Just waiting for my mufflers to arrive tomorrow.:D
 
gaspass said:
The GM 307 was kind of a dog of a motor also.
Click to expand...

I've also heard bad things about those motors...I wonder what makes these motors poor performers? Bad head design? Weak castings/bad oil passages? I know small displacement ford engines are pretty good (289-302), but I never hear anything good about 305-307's.
 
They just don't have the cubes to make the torque... I was watching dyno vids on youtube the other night, and saw a mildly built 302 make only 250 ft lbs of torque, but 300 horse power.

I've personally driven both 305s and 350s, and to be totally honest, I don't mind the 305. I certainly wouldn't use it for towing, and it certainly isn't my first choice, but for daily driving, it was perfectly fine.

If you want underpowered, try pulling something with a 4.3L V6! Suddenly a 305 is a real powerhouse, lol :D
 
SierraClassic said:
If you want underpowered, try pulling something with a 4.3L V6! Suddenly a 305 is a real powerhouse, lol :D
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YEAH !!!, why in the hell would GM think that a 4.3ltr v-6 would be a good motor to install into a fullsized extended cab pick-up???

My '94 has that in it, gutless little wonder,

but there is something about that motor i noticed,,,i had to drive out to Albuquerque a few months back, and while pulling the hills, it naturally dropped out of OD and into 3rd, but it just seemed that when it reached a certain RPM, like close to that 4000 mark?,,,it seemed to pull it'self really well.

I personally don't like running motors that high for an extended period of time, but this little thing just kept chugging along.

Another odd thing, this truck had 115k on it when we bought it. We bought it from a car lot that picked it up from an older couple that used to haul their travel trailer with it, has a brake controller installed and everything...

This 4.3 gets about the same fuel mileage as my Burb did when it was stock, 15-19mpg.
 
Fairly interesting 305 build in "enginemasters" this month. Something like 370HP or so. I don't have the mag handy, but a Ford 302 build made barely more power lol.

Not a well tested build (threw a bunch of parts on it and see the results) but the end result was pretty healthy. Not a truck motor, but still pretty powerful.
 
I have mixed emotions about running engine above 3k for extended periods of time, but I guess it doesn't really hurt much.
 
Well if you wanna talk GM motor mistakes, you can't do that without mentioning the 2.8ltr in the s10's, terrible gas mileage and no power... the 305 is a smog motor, built to pass smog tests and save a little gas.
 
I don't know about the Furd 302. I have never head anything really good about it. However, I have heard from many people that the Furd 300 straight six was an extremely durable and good running engine. I think those things have been used in everything from trucks, to running irrigation pumps on farms. The 300 six seems to be to Furd like the 350 is to Chevy.
 
tiger9297 said:
I don't know about the Furd 302. I have never head anything really good about it. However, I have heard from many people that the Furd 300 straight six was an extremely durable and good running engine. I think those things have been used in everything from trucks, to running irrigation pumps on farms. The 300 six seems to be to Furd like the 350 is to Chevy.
Click to expand...

never heard of a Ford 302?? ,,,,,,,,,,Mustang 5.0???? :confused:
 
When I bought my 84 it had a 305 a 700 and 3.08s with 235 75 tires. You needed a blind fold and nose plugs on that engine if it saw or smelt a hill it was in 3 or 2nd right now. It was a DOG. Lifted it 2.5 added 33s but not before a regear to 4.11s. The engine also got a good tune up and headers with duals. In the end it ran real good and when I did swap to a 350 yes there was a difference but it wasn't mind blowing. Yes it has more power and will pull and spins the tires with ease but the gears made a bigger difference. Thats why I do 2 things now 1) I always order my new trucks with 4.11s and 2) I believe a hot engine rebuild cannot make up for proper gearing.
 
My DD is a 99 Nissan 2wd truck, with a fourbanger and auto, so it makes a 305 feel like a big block!:wink1:
 
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