'90 Chevy 305- Cheap hp increase options?

[Woods Racing Transmission]

I thought I'd heard them all. What's a 335?

Take a 305 and put a 3.75 stroke crank (400 crank). will make good torque not much HP. If you added some vortech heads to this stroked 305 you would see some good numbers, it would also still be able to be feed by the stock EFI system with no problem. BTW the original TBI intake is aluminum.

The best bang for your buck would be Under drive pulleys and electric fan conversion, and prob a good tune up like SEB mentioned.

[shumpertdavid]

You can make the TBI stuff run pretty good, even the 305, but you have to be careful with it. If you get crazy with the cam (anything with a tight lobe separation) or just really good flowing heads, you'll run into running problems on the stock chip. I've got a friend with an 88 1\2 ton 350, she did a set of cheapy aluminum heads, pretty decent sized roller cam, roller lifters, bored throttle body, big block injectors, headers, y pipe, stall converter, 3.73's and uses a custom tune from a guy in canada. She spend several months sending scan data to the guy and having him tweak the tune until she was happy with start up, idle, driveability, & wide open acceleration. She bought the chip burner, several blank chips, and software so she could burn the programs. The truck runs very nice, pulls strong to @ 5500, and has a nice healthy idle, but she says she wouldn't have bothered if she'd known it was going to be such a hassle on the tuning side.

The stock heads are junk, the cam is tiny, and they run out of steam @ 4000 rpm.

All that said, as stated above, the TBI stuff is great, dependable, runs fair for what it is.

[Nash B.]

Take a 305 and put a 3.75 stroke crank (400 crank). will make good torque not much HP.

Hahaha! So many reasons not to do that.

[BradM]

Boat anchor

[Woods Racing Transmission]

Hahaha! So many reasons not to do that.

Besides the fact that a good stock 350 would be cheaper, please share.

[Nash B.]

Besides the fact that a good stock 350 would be cheaper, please share.

A stock 350 would be cheaper, and a 383 wouldn't cost much more than a 335. The only reason I can think of to do it is if you're limited in bore or displacement.

[Big A]

I'll second the thought that it is a waste of money to try to make more HP out of that motor. Get your rims and lowering springs, and drive it for what it is. Save the money on speed parts for something else, like bills.

[Nash B.]

...says the guy with the M3.

[Cobraman]

What's an "edelbrock lower"?

Cam + lifters = $100
+port work
+edelbrock lower

Add all that up and see if it doesnt compare in cost to a 5.3 swap.

lower intake

[mustang_revival]

4.56 rear end gears, 125 shot nitrous (always on)

[Nash B.]

There's no upper or lower intake. It's just an intake.

[Woods Racing Transmission]

A stock 350 would be cheaper, and a 383 wouldn't cost much more than a 335. The only reason I can think of to do it is if you're limited in bore or displacement.

I agree on the 350 part that is why I excluded it. It would cost about the same to do a 383 or a 335. Problem is that the stock TBI is not going to be able to feed a 383. Been there done that.

Have you ever drove a stroked 305 with a vortec TBI conversion?
This combo is very close to a square engine, which allows you to get the best of both worlds good torque and good HP numbers, without compromising one or the other.

[Slowhand]

Keep the stock rims, those things are bitchin'.

[Cobraman]

I'll second the thought that it is a waste of money to try to make more HP out of that motor. Get your rims and lowering springs, and drive it for what it is. Save the money on speed parts for something else, like bills.

I dont disagree. This is maybe a $600 project over the next couple of months. I'm not looking to make it a racecar, just make it a bit more peppy for towing and highway driving. Sounds like 350 is the answer.

[Bonestk87]

tbi

Like he said. I've had several TBI trucks/cars. Best thing to do is just drive it. IMO the TBI engines are some of the most reliable engines/injection systems GM has ever produced. If you wanna go fast do a ls swap. The ECM on the TBI is not worth it. Any go-fast part you throw at it will be a waste of money and you will feel minimum results. If your going to be towing something get a big ass tranny cooler and gauge.

I'll second the thought that it is a waste of money to try to make more HP out of that motor. Get your rims and lowering springs, and drive it for what it is. Save the money on speed parts for something else, like bills.