How can I identify a chevy 350 from a 305 or ?

• Link

>Link Should give the correct codes.

Other than that there's no good easy way to tell. The exhaust port spacing as noted in one of the other posts won't work since certian year 350's also used that. The crankshafts are darn near identical so you can't use the old tried and true method of identifying the engine by the shape of the rear crank flange. They used the same stroke, only the bore on the 305 was smaller.

As far as that goes, on an unknown used engine it might not be such a bad thing to pull the heads and see what the bore size is, and at the same time check for cylinder wall wear(scratches, ring ridge, etc.)....and any other possible trouble areas. It might let ya know how much longer you can expect to get out of it, and small block chevy head gasket sets are way cheap if you look in the right places...

Then again, if you're just wanting something you can stab in and run, that's fine too, been there done that...but if that's what your wanting it doesnt really matter what size it is either.

Check out the cylinder head and block casting numbers against some of the lists you find.

(Note, the head casting numbers are likely under the valve covers.)

I don't remember much about 305s except were throw aways. Had the 2nd smallest bore of any small block made. I think was 2nd only to the 262 that went into the late '70s Monzas. As I recall, if bored .060 over, the bore still wouldn't be that of the 283/307, or the very first small block, the 265. The 305 was a small bore, longer stroke, torque engine with very little HP and no good way to find any. On the outside looked like any other small block, but on the inside was a mouse that could barely belch. OK for moving low geared pickups and suburbans, and irrigation pumps.

Mark