4bbl manifold

[Francis Blake]

Hi folks I have a 305sbc with a factory 4barrel manifold on it. This will eventualy go in a tbucket I read several places on here that a305 is plenty engine for a t and I am not trying to set a new land speed record.Does any one think an after market manifold would be worth the cost Francis

 

[Youngster]

The 305 will give you all the grunt you need in a T bucket. If you watch what you buy, you can find some deals on used manifolds. Ask at parts stores. That's where I've had the best luck. Check for stripped threads and corrosion in the water passages. Don't buy one that you can't inspect personally. No e-bay! Usually a good blasting will clean one up just like new.

Ron

 

[SLR_65]

I have an old '74 Chevy C-10 for a work truck and a couple years ago I put an Edelbrock Performer cam and intake on it (used the original Quadrajet) and I've been very pleased with it . . . it inscreased my mileage significantly, I was getting 10-12 with it before the swap and I get 16-18 easily with it now and I have got 20 with it but it's not fun if I drive it that judicisouly!

Of couse I must admit that it may not be all attributal to the cam and intake . . . while I had it apart I replaced the points distributor with an HEI (with new cap, rotor, plug wires, and plugs) and I rebuilt the Quadrajet. The heat crossovers in the old manifold were plugged with carbon, etc..

Sooo, it got a new cam and lifters but also got a super tune up at the same time.

The mileage is livable now and I really like the power band of the Performer cam, though the old cam was so shot that I really didn't have a good baseline to compare it to.

In a car as light as a T though I'm not sure you'd really notice just an intake change (assuming you went to a similar dual plane design, a single plain, hi-rise, etc. would probably make a noticable difference but I'm not sure it would be a positive difference as far as drivability).

Personally I don't think I'd spend the money on it if you were counting your pennies on the project. If you like the looks of it or something and really want an aluminum intake then Youngster is right - check the local swap meets, your local Craig's list, etc. as you can usually find a good deal on a used aluminum intake.

Dave Vizzard in one of his books give a part number for an aluminum intake that was stock on I think mid-80's Monte Carlos and stuff and he said it worked about as well as an aftermarket one. We picked one up off of FleaBay for a little of nothing. It came painted corporate black, but we just bead blasted it and it cleaned up nicely and it worked on one of my son's projects just fine. Youngster is right though, FleaBay is a gamble since you can't examine things before you buy and aluminum is easily stripped or beat up. I'll see if I can dig up that part number for ya (you got to be careful as Chevy changed the angle on the heads in the late 80's I think so you need to get one that matches your heads).

TTYL,

Steve

 

[donsrods]

A agree that the biggest reason to swap to one is for cosmetics. You do get some HP boost, and I do like Edelbrock carbs for the sheer ease of installation and setup, but a cast iron manifold will be fine if you just want to get it running.

I bought the intake for my T new at Turkey Run for like $ 120, it is a Power Plus intake, a knockoff of some of the more popular brands, and I bought a reconditioned carb for $ 170. Mine is a Vortec 350, so intakes are more than a regular 305 or 350. You can get those for like $ 99 all day long at swap meets, new.

And yes, a 305 will move you along quite well. People poo poo them and say get a 350 instead, but tons of Camaros are running 305's and they run fine. In a light T it is very respectable.

Don

 

[tfeverfred]

I'm running a factory stock 305 SBC in mine and it is PLENTY fast! It came out of a '84 Chevy P/U. Has the factory 4bbl. I did a compression check on it before I picked it up and a mechanic friend helped me go through it. NO hipo parts, just stock. Power is awesome, she'll spin the wheels with VERY little throttle. Check my videos, PaulR and me did a short run in her. Trust me, you won't need anymore power, if all your gonna do is cruise and step in it every now and then. But when you do step in it, she'll still knock the snot of most cars you'll meet on the street! Of course you will race on the strip after the challenge!

Man, that block gets short quick!:laff:

 

[Francis Blake]

Thanks guys it looks like an aluminum manifold is the way to go if for no other than economy with gas prices what they are and no end in sight. I recently went to a pick and pull where they have all the cars in order and I went down a line of comaros and fire birds and they nearly all 305 engins two were gone I was told they were big blocks Thanks again Francis

 

[LumenAl]

...I was getting 10-12 with it before the swap and I get 16-18 easily with it now and I have got 20 with it but it's not fun if I drive it that judiciously!

TTYL,

Steve

I'd love to get 12 MPG on Premium!

 

[donsrods]

Hehe, I get slightly over 20 mpg on the highway. Love those 3:00 gears and 30 inch tires. I set it up to run on midgrade also.

Don

 

[TheAntiBoyd]

I know Im new here; so take what I say with a grain of digital salt. If youre going to put a new aluminum manifold on a small inch engine, Im a big fan of the Edelbrock RPM non airgap. (p/n 7101 I think). If hood clearence isnt an issue (it IS a t-bucket afterall) Id grap the airgap model. You'll get a much better part throttle response. My dad has a 1965 327 in his 55 chevy. Its a 4spd 3.23:1 rear gear with the solid lifter 365hp 327. He had the factory aluminum corvette manifold on it for years; along with the old Duntov 30-30 cam.
Recently with the price in gas, we tore down the old war horse and went with lower compression, a comp cams cam with the characteristics of the 268H but in a solid lifter design, an RPM manifold and 2.5" ramshorns. all this topped by a pertronix distributor conversion and an Edelbrock carb.
I think the car is MUCH more driveable. We put the intake on 1st and it didnt seem to make as muc power as it did to broaden the powerband to make the car more cruiser friendly.
On your 305, I think a performer manifold of any type, and a properly adjusted 600cfm (approx) carb will make your ride more comfy. I love quadrajets, I had one on my 383 camaro. the 305 QJs have a lot of bottlenecking involved to get them to fit the archaic smog laws.
If I was building your motor, Id go with a 260H flat tappet cam (assuming your motor isnt a roller motor) a performer RPM and a carb around 600-650cfm. If you want to get a little more trick; 58cc aluminum heads off the corvettes from 1987 or so will make a big difference, but be careful of different intake mating surfaces. GM uses these on a lot of their crate engines. If you do want new heads, but cant find the aluminum 58cc heads; world products makes a Torquer S/R for 300" engines that I put on my girlfriends 305tpi firebird. theyre great heads

Some opinions from a life long gearhead in Syracuse NY
Nate

 

[Photoman]

A agree that the biggest reason to swap to one is for cosmetics.

Don't forget the weight savings. You know these T's are a bit heavy.

Seriously, the 305 can run great if built right. Like someone mentioned, the Edelbrock Performer RPM is a great manifold and would work just fine on a 305.

If you can, put a little bit of a cam in it for that hot rod sound!

 

[VegasBruce]

If you can, put a little bit of a cam in it for that hot rod sound!

A little lope gives a T some serious attitude. That is the attention getter.

 

[Photoman]

A little lope gives a T some serious attitude. That is the attention getter.

Yep. Gotta have the Dairy Queen cam in there.

 

[donsrods]

I've got a 350 Vortec in my T and when I built the engine I put on 305 Vortec heads. I did it for two reasons: It bumps up the compression by about a point or so, and I scored a brand new set still in the wrappers, so I didn't have to do anything to them but bolt them on. They say it hurts a little on top end as they don't flow as well as 350 heads, but I never get it wide open anyways.

The 305 is dogged on by most rodders because of the logic that if you are going to go to the expense of building an engine, you can do a 350 just as cheap. Some truth to that, but if you already have a great running 305, or own one that needs freshened up, I would use it in a heartbeat. Besides, when they are set side by side you can't hardly tell one from the other anyways.

Don

 

[Francis Blake]

The guy I got my 305 from said it uses a little oil and needs to be freshend up havent tore it down yet dont know how much I will have to do to it but I have gone through many engines so I can do most of the work myself. A good friend runs an automotive machine shop so I will have him replace the cam bearings and rebore if necesary then well you know how gearheads are soooo. I keep telling my wife its only money.

 

[Baby Huey]

I had a "Free" 305 all ready to re-assemble and use in my bucket project when I first started. Then a friend gave me a Free Caddy, so I used it just to be different.
I have a stock Z-28 Aluminum intake and carb to use on the 305 (gave $125.00 for manifold and holley carb that matched)
If ya think back to the begining of T-Buckets, all they had was Flat Head Fords, Olds, Pontiacs,Buicks, and others of the era.... Bout all the Chevy V-8's back then were 283's, later 327's....they didn't have any trouble getting around..
Lots of T's been built with stock engines in em, even 2 bbl carbs and cast iron intake and exhaust manifolds.
Engine building is somethin you can do anytime after the car is drivable......jus my thoughts. "BH"