CK5
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Is the SB 305 a good motor?
- Thread starter 2INSANE
- Start date
Not a fan
it has a small bore and a long stroke
it has a small bore and a long stroke
y5mgisi
1 ton status
As long as you don't need as much power as a 350. Otherwise, yea they are good motors.
Performance-wise, anything you do to a 305 will make more power on a 350.
Longevity-wise, as long as they are taken care of like any other motor, they seem to last fine.
Economy-wise I didn't lose anything going from a 305 to 350.
I used to run my 305 fairly hard (31's, 3.08's and 700R4 took a lot of throttle to get moving up to freeway speeds) and it never complained. Original motor to the '83 which I sold in about 2000.
Put a 305 HO from an '85 SS in a buddies C30 about the same time, and even with towing a car trailer, it's never complained either. Not overly blessed with power, but the 4.56's help.
Longevity-wise, as long as they are taken care of like any other motor, they seem to last fine.
Economy-wise I didn't lose anything going from a 305 to 350.
I used to run my 305 fairly hard (31's, 3.08's and 700R4 took a lot of throttle to get moving up to freeway speeds) and it never complained. Original motor to the '83 which I sold in about 2000.
Put a 305 HO from an '85 SS in a buddies C30 about the same time, and even with towing a car trailer, it's never complained either. Not overly blessed with power, but the 4.56's help.
Ehh, about the same fuel suckage with less power imo. I lost maybe an mpg going from my 305 to my 408 
Yeah mine was alright, a boat anchor though, but alright 
Stomis
Professional Amateur
Theres nothing wrong with them but theres certainly better options w/o any losses economy wise.
There is no reason to ever rebuild one.
Martin
Martin
yep As plentiful as 350's are not to mention even better options (LS), I would only run one till I was ready to swap it out, and yes I'm speaking from experience.
K5dreamer
1/2 ton status
A TPI 305 is a great TRUCK motor. Even the TBI isnt too bad. no experience with a carbed 305.
of course, that depends on what you define a truck as. to me, its slow, reliable, gets the job done, can crawl through muck, and get decent economy, and torque is more important than horsepower.
Alot of guys have rigs that they want fast, to mud bog, sand drag, merge into traffic faster than traffic is moving while spinning 40in tires etc. etc. and to them the 305 is a worthless turd.
The greatest asset of the 305 is for those on a budget. you can mod and tweak and upgrade a 305 to the moon over time for small investments. and then later on, when you can afford a 350 block (383?!?!?) everything just swaps over directly, no muss, no fuss.
If I had a 305 to work with in a truck and was on a budget, I wouldn't be upset about it at all. at least its not a four cylinder, but at the end of the day.... its still not a diesel
of course, that depends on what you define a truck as. to me, its slow, reliable, gets the job done, can crawl through muck, and get decent economy, and torque is more important than horsepower.
Alot of guys have rigs that they want fast, to mud bog, sand drag, merge into traffic faster than traffic is moving while spinning 40in tires etc. etc. and to them the 305 is a worthless turd.
The greatest asset of the 305 is for those on a budget. you can mod and tweak and upgrade a 305 to the moon over time for small investments. and then later on, when you can afford a 350 block (383?!?!?) everything just swaps over directly, no muss, no fuss.
If I had a 305 to work with in a truck and was on a budget, I wouldn't be upset about it at all. at least its not a four cylinder, but at the end of the day.... its still not a diesel
I had a 305 in my k10 when I got it. 3.08s with a sm465 and then 33s. It was doggy but very reliable. I was young and dumb and neclected it and have replaced it with a 2nd built 350 and after that one I finally went to 4.10s and the better gearing made more of a difference than the high compression engine ....
In retrospec I'd go back and take of the 305 and do the gear change and have a relieble engine than a hot rod. I also put a 305 that came out of my dads 79 El Camino into a 77 k20 with a sm465 and 4.10s which I ran 33s up to 40s and really I loved mudding with it. I could put it in granny and just mash it and the 305 didn't have enough power to break things but I had the gearing to turn the tires
In retrospec I'd go back and take of the 305 and do the gear change and have a relieble engine than a hot rod. I also put a 305 that came out of my dads 79 El Camino into a 77 k20 with a sm465 and 4.10s which I ran 33s up to 40s and really I loved mudding with it. I could put it in granny and just mash it and the 305 didn't have enough power to break things but I had the gearing to turn the tires
PhredzK512
1/2 ton status
I have a stock '87 CK5/5.0/SM465/NP208,..and right now it is parked and isn't kicking over. I am thinking of going with a 5.7,...for horsepower reasons and more possibilities of interchangeable parts,...not that the 5.0 doesn't have that option,but it seems a 350 carries abit more respect...
Honestly if you wonder if you should go 350 or gears. I am going to tell you for a fact 305 and gears will win over 350 and no gears. They aren't a great motor but really if you needed an engine and could get one cheap/free I would use it in a heart beat.
......and still drive out.
Martin
Martin
Yep, for a boat anchor.
The 305 is far better for low end torque than a 307 or 283 is,their short stroke makes them gutless at lower rpms,they want to rev up...I've had a few 305's and none were fire breathers,but they did OK considering the 3:08 gearing and being in a 5000 lb truck...they are much better suited for a lighter vehicle like an El-Camino or Malibu,Nova,etc,than a big truck in my opinion...their best feature is the fact they are cheap and often all you can find around here as far as a carbed small block any more,and they fit in anything GM made practically,and any other small block will bolt in its place too..
I think a 305 is a good engine, it just had the bad luck of being a "smog" engine I built a 305 stroker once with a set of vortec 305 heads and a LT4 hot cam and conversion lifters, Q-jet carb and shorty headers . we put it in a S10 blazer with 33" swampers and it dominated the small tire class at the mudbogs and it got around 17 mpg Hwy .
Anyways, I don't feel there junk but if you had a 350 and a 305 sitting there I'd probably build the 350 its cheaper by a little bit.
Anyways, I don't feel there junk but if you had a 350 and a 305 sitting there I'd probably build the 350 its cheaper by a little bit.
Funny thing is that it was designed to try and match the output of the 350.
To the best of my knowledge, the 305 was the first "high compression" (over 9:1) engine GM put out since the early 70's. Arguably a technological advance on the way to fuel injection, what with the ESC/EST that was used on them.
