i just called on an ad in the paper for a 307+powerglide(TQ conv. included), and the guy wants $100 for evrything. the motor is out of a 69 camaro and has very low miles due to its replacement by a 396. he said it ran good before it was pulled. My situation is im looking for a quick replacment for my tired, oil burning lg4. i dont have time to rebuild the lg4 so i am looking for a quick running swap. i really have no use for the tranny and will probably sell it, since i have a t5. is it worth the $$

 

Pass on it. Its junk. Go to a junkyard and get a 305 or 350.

 

so wait, you want to swap out a "tired, old LG4" for an even more tired and old 307?

 

Come on, guys, this isn't as bad as it sounds.

The 307 had terrible heads, terrible cam, and a 2bbl carb. However, its bore-to-stroke ratio is better than the 305.

Here's what you do:

Take the 305 out and pull the heads off, have the heads gone through by a machine shop. Take the heads off of the 307 and use them on the door from the house to the garage whenever it needs to be held open. Get yourself a basic "upgrade" flat-tappet cam & lifter kit and install it in the 307. Put the 305 heads on the 307 when they get back from the shop. Install the engine in the car. The dipstick will be on the "wrong" side of the engine, be prepared to install headers or a flexible dipstick tube. The flywheel will need to be a two-piece rear main seal 153-tooth type ('83-'85).

Sell the Powerglide on eBay to finance the whole thing. They're popular in drag race dedicated cars. The torque converter and 305 block will be used in the same way as the 307 heads.

 

Five7's right. Really, $100 isn't bad. If you could redo the heads yourself, you'd save yourself some money. A little bit of time and effort and you'd be ready to go. Don't use the 307 heads unless you want to have them machined for hard seats for unleaded gas, or unless you want to add lead to your gas. Besides, the 305 heads will be decent enough for what you're application is.

Gilley

 

Of course, redoing the heads would probably stop the 305 oil burning as well. . .
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By the way, ProjectIrocZ28, what exactly is this car/305? What year, what type 305, etc.

 

I would pass due to the fact that the work invloved is not really worth it.

 

thanks for the input guys. im going to pass on it. im still tempted to buy the powerglide just for reselling, but the guy's 45 mins away so its not really worth the hassle. i guess my parts holder motor will just have to keep on smoking awhile longer

 

The 307, at least in my dads 1973 Nova, had alot of torque, but lacked in horsepower. For $100, rebuild it, sell the tranny, get a good strong tranny behind the 307, and go from there.

/edit: I see you decided to pass on it. Dont bank on selling the tranny easy, nobody wants tem anymore, really. I had to give my powerglide away because it was in the way, and noone wanted to buy it.

 

The 307 in the '73 camaro is rated at 115 HP, 200 Ft-lbs of torque... it doesn't get much worse than that. Good heads, cam and headers would make a night and day difference with that motor... like Five7 said. And keeping that powerglide to back that engine would be a joke, it'd make a better doorstop than those heads.

 

A V8 powerglide will have the more popular and stronger 1.76 gear set. The I6 powerglides had the weaker 1.82 gear set. The later powerglides also don't have the rear pump adaptor which is again more popular.

The 307 is junk. Only the 265 is the worst V8 Chev ever produced.

 

Best deal on a 307 is free transport to the junk yard. 307 is better than a proud walk but not much else.

 

Why not save the 50 bucks and buy a 305 from a JY? I couldnt see putting the money in all the gaskets and cam and whatnot for a 307. No matter who is paying, someone is losing.

 

I guess I need to clean out my garage attic. I could put that one together with leftovers from previous projects.

Sure, you can always do the 350. My "simple" 350 shortblock project ended up costing me almost $2 grand by the time I got it running. Of course, I wasn't trying to use up attic stash, either. And I knew going in the shortblock needed rebuilding.

It isn't very often that you hear someone say, "This project ended up costing a lot less than I thought it would." The "low mileage" statement is one that certainly would have to prove out in order for this to be worth paying for. And, it is only temparory.

Why the factory ever went to the 305 when they already had the 307 is beyond me. I guess they thought using all 3.48" cranks would provide some economy of scale. Maybe it did. Of course, these are the same guys who never put anything but junk heads and 2bbls on SB 400's.

The econorail I saw at the 1974 Boston autoshow keeps sticking in my mind. Had a 307 in it. Ran 8's.

forever!

 

the guy just called me back and offered them to me for free. now is it worth it? keep in mind all my 305 parts (edelbrock 4 bbl carb, intake, Mallory HEI dis.)can go on the motor. is a 327 possible w/ this block? my friend is a machinist so can get machine work done really cheap.

 

It's worth it for free.A very select few would indeed bore to 4",but the cost of sonic testing to find out makes it not really worth it.At the cost of free,I'd say go with FiveSeven's advice.They ain't great performers,but head to head,a 307 will spank an otherwise identical 305.

 

No. 0.060" is the max safe overbore, which gives you 3.935" bore for 316 cid.

Besides, already said this is only worth it if it is good running condition. $100 doesn't change that.

 

Actually,as I mentioned earlier,there a FEW that would take a 4" bore.I have only personally seen 2.A machinast that I know that's been in the buisness since flatheats were hot told me that the casting process left plenty of room for machining,and that since the 307 lived on for a short time after they stopped producing 327s,that a few 327 castings were used,but retaining the smaller bore.May be total BS,so don't hold me accountable as stating it as a fact.But I do know for certain that some 307 blocks could hold a 4" bore,but I'm also certain that it wouldn't be worth the cost of sonic testing to find ot,being as there were 10000000000000000000000000764or so 350 blocks out there.

 

thanks guys for the info. it looks like i'll be getting the motor this week.
depending on what it costs i may or may not even bother w/ boring the block( since there are 10000000000000000000000000764 350's lying around . i heard from my boss that the oil pan wont clear the crossmember and the block will somehow have to be machined for starter clearance!? any validity to this? i thought most sbc parts were pretty interchangeable. also, is the rear seal 1 or 2pc on an 86 lg4? i dont have centerbolt valve covers, and i thought that was a good indicator of the later design.

 

One-piece rear main seal started in 1986. Centerbolt valve covers started in 1987 along with roller lifter cam. '86 is a bastard year.

The 307 will be 2-piece rear main seal. The original flexplate will be 168-tooth, and the block probably isn't drilled & tapped for the 153-tooth flexplate size starter. That really shouldn't be a problem, although if you have headers you might have starter motor clearance problems - the typical solution for that is to use a mini starter. The dipstick will be on the driver's side which makes use of stock style exhaust manifolds sporty - no problem with headers, but if you try to reuse stock exhaust manifolds you'll probably need a flexible dipstick tube such as is available for Lokar.

I'll say it again - unless the shortblock is in running condition now, don't bother with this project. It is better than a 305, but it isn't better than a 350 which won't cost any more to build.