Thread: Thoughts On The 305..

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I HAVE THE CHANCE TO PICK UP A SBC 305 FOR NEAR NOTHING TO PUT IN MY 53 MERC...DONT KNOW THE YEAR, IM ASSUMING EARLY 80S. IS THIS GENERALLY THE SAME BLOCK AS THE 327/350, ETC OR IF IT DIFF, ANY OPINIONS ON IT? IM PLANNING TO JUST GO W/ EDELBROCK PERFORMER INTAKE/CARB, AND HEADERS, AND MAYBE GET IT DECKED TO INCREASE COMP.

I may get flack for this, but if I was doing it I would hold out for a 350. I have ran 283's, 327's, 305's and 350's in various street rods, and really, the 305 is a weak sister. The physical outer dimensions are identical, but the heads don't "breathe" all that well and the horsepower gains that you will get from aftermarket equipment will add up to the cost of a 350.
Then again---I have driven stock flatheads, and even the sickly 305 is a vast improvement over them------and if your getting it free, well-------

I agree 100% with brianrupnow. If you are going to go to all that trouble, start with a 350.

Guy just called me last week, he repowered his boat that had a 350 in it with a new 305. He is unhappy with the performance. I asked him why he bought the 305, and he said he saved $ 100.00. So now he has a boat that runs worse with a fresh 305 than it ran with a tired 350. I told him we couldn't help him.

Those 50 extra cubes make a whole lot of difference.

JMO,

Don

Originally posted by merc53man
I HAVE THE CHANCE TO PICK UP A SBC 305 FOR NEAR NOTHING TO PUT IN MY 53 MERC...DONT KNOW THE YEAR, IM ASSUMING EARLY 80S. IS THIS GENERALLY THE SAME BLOCK AS THE 327/350, ETC OR IF IT DIFF, ANY OPINIONS ON IT? IM PLANNING TO JUST GO W/ EDELBROCK PERFORMER INTAKE/CARB, AND HEADERS, AND MAYBE GET IT DECKED TO INCREASE COMP.

A car that heavy really needs a 383 to move it around.Save your money and buy a 350 to build a 383 from.

Even Though I've got a 305 in my chevy truck, I have to agree with everyone and say go with more cubes. With the money I spent on rebuilding my 305 to get a little over 300HP, I could have bought a crate 350 or 383 for less than what I've put into my engine.

I WAS THINKING OF LEANING TOWARD A SMALLER V8 (283, 327, 305) OR EVEN A FORD EQUIVILENT OF THAT. THIS'LL BE A DAILY DRIVER SO I WANT DECENT MPG. IS THAT SOMETHING I CAN DO JUST AS EASY W/ SMALLER JETS OR CARB?
THANKS

Originally posted by merc53man
I WAS THINKING OF LEANING TOWARD A SMALLER V8 (283, 327, 305) OR EVEN A FORD EQUIVILENT OF THAT. THIS'LL BE A DAILY DRIVER SO I WANT DECENT MPG. IS THAT SOMETHING I CAN DO JUST AS EASY W/ SMALLER JETS OR CARB?
THANKS

Your 53 merc. is a daily driver?

O.K. where did he go?

Your 53 merc. is a daily driver?


My '27 roadster was pretty much my daily driver for 7 years. Made the commute to work a whole lot of fun.

Don

Originally posted by Itoldyouso
Your 53 merc. is a daily driver?


My '27 roadster was pretty much my daily driver for 7 years. Made the commute to work a whole lot of fun.

Don

Yes,that is what I said.

When properly tuned, there is no difference in gas mileage between a 350 (breates good) and a 305 (breathes bad).

yeah 350's little brother is hated for sure. Heres what I did, unorthadox as it seems........you decide for yourself. I own a 1981 GMC Caballero diablo (elcamino). took the 305, bored .030 over, had a 400 chev crank turned down and installed. Took the stock #416 casting heads and fully ported and polished them including the chambers. had 1.94" intakes installed in place of the 1.84" intakes. Had a custom camshaft ground for it, a knock off of a Isky 270 mega cam. Up top is a old school torker single plane intake and a 600 cfm.....all breathing through a set of hooker super comps........well, no video yet but the beast screams.....it has awesome throttle response, i have not taken it to the track yet season not open as of yet up here. it is a winner and built on a budget. for your merc, this thing will turn many heads. the cam is on a 108 lsa and lopes heavily. Hope this helps, those who have seen this car run have been totally impressed with it. it is small on the cubes but so was a 302 zapper. to each their own on which engine to build, i had this kicking around and wanted to see what its potential is..and so far im tottally impressed. Future plans are running a higher than 9.5:1 compression, slightly bigger camshaft and vortec heads.

Oh, I thought you were expressing surprise that he would use the Merc every day.

Sorry................

Don

Time for another Corona.

Originally posted by merc53man
I WAS THINKING OF LEANING TOWARD A SMALLER V8 (283, 327, 305) OR EVEN A FORD EQUIVILENT OF THAT. THIS'LL BE A DAILY DRIVER SO I WANT DECENT MPG. IS THAT SOMETHING I CAN DO JUST AS EASY W/ SMALLER JETS OR CARB?
THANKS

I have never owned a 53 merc.I would guess with driver it weighs over 4,000 lbs.If you are worried about gas mileage why not look into a Chevy Malibu that is a few years old. Am I missing something here?

Forget the 305 and look for Blue Oval 460. The Merc needs a big block.