No one mentioned that there is NO room in the bay to work on it. One guess where the put the starter motor?...In the galley beneath the intake manifold! I've changed a few. How about the fact that the engine weighs bore than a BBC with cast iron heads...Great in its time...but an engine that complex better make north of 600 hp. to justify itself.
Didn't even know the 265 and 307 were Chevy engines. I totally forgot about the 283. Did all of the 305s have smaller bores? I always thought the late 305 C3s were just shorter stroke motors.
Ive seen a few examples of some street driven 400+ c.i. stroker LT5s with some head work and such...600ish hp is not unreasonable, but would certainly be cheaper with an LS motor or even an LT1/4 based engine. Fun stuff, but ultimately a niche motor.