Looking at a pretty nice '91 FWB, has the 5.0 engine, about 75k miles.... any thoughts from the forum on desirability/performance/reliability of the 5.0 engine vs the 5.7 in a '91 FWB? Thanks.....

Both are very good, durable, reliable motors. Hell, they should be, they came from the same family! But the 5.7 is generally preferred because of the additional aftermarket support and additional power when new.

Okay I' in the market for another Brougham too. And I definitely want something with more get-up-and-go than the Olds 307. I'm leaning towards a 350 because I had such poor results with the 5.0 liter '90, but will a Chevy 305 EFI Brougham give me some "umph"? I saw a 350 Brougham in the freeway one time and it was just a zippin' and a passin' other cars, while I couldn't even keep up with the Geo in the fast lane.

Don't mean to jack the thread, but yeah, same question. :confused: Basically is the 305 closer to the 307 or the 350 in performance? But I'm sure they're all easier on gas than that gas-hog carburetor, lol. I'd jump straight for the 350, but fewer are around with my price range, condition, options, and colors.

305's of those years tend to blow piston rings. Not all but it is common when they get up in mileage. The 305 Chevy definately performs better than the 307 Olds. More hp is one reason but the Broughams with 305 motors also had better rear gears which contributed to the better acceleration.

Does the 350 has any known issues? Seems like they all do... like the N* with headgaskets. What'd be nice is if you could get a 4.9 in RWD, but I bet it would be impossible, not no mention the extra load. just thoughts. :rolleyes:

Issues on a TBI 350..................................

None that I can think of. Nothing really ever breaks on those things. They just suck a fair amount of gas and have zero top end power.

Does the 350 has any known issues? Seems like they all do... like the N* with headgaskets. What'd be nice is if you could get a 4.9 in RWD, but I bet it would be impossible, not no mention the extra load. just thoughts. :rolleyes:
350 TBI is probably one of the most reliable motors GM has ever made. Nothing like a N* which is at the other end of the GM reliability spectrum. A great swap for peeps with Broughams is also the TBI Vortec 350's found in coutless GM Trucks/vans from '96-up. The Vortecs are very similar to LT1's in power and even more reliable. Would make for a pretty easy swap.

It depends whether you will be driving up hill or down hill.

305 will give you almost 30 mpg when going down hill.

About half of that when going up hill because of the downshifting.


350 has a lot more power, and actually will give you better gas mileage when going uphill as it will not downshift so often.

Both are good engines.

Check the archives, its been discussed a lot, look under the engine section too. I have the 5.0, gets slightly better mileage, they are both really reliable, but the 5.7 ( Chevy) gets a 55lb torque and 15 hp increase over the 5.0 on the '91 -'93 models.