In this video, we'll be talking about an engine that used to be everywhere, and now it's almost gone. The Oldsmobile 307 cubic inch (5.0 Liter) engine.
I drive daily a 1982 Olds 98 Coupe. It has over 300k miles and runs beautifully. Idles smooth, fires right up every morning. Ive taken her all up and down the east coast and always got home.
I always thought the 307 was quieter under full throttle than the Chevy 305 and certainly the Ford 302 which was downright raucous by comparison. Maybe the Olds 88 it was in had better sound insulation. You could stand on the throttle and engine noise was very muted. It had a very distinct sound that I can still hear today. Completely different from the Chevy 305.
Driving on currently maybe three weeks worth, tinkering on this n that it’s becoming a real fine motor! We got the roller cam model to, instant throttle response down low!
@@douglasb9105 I would not doubt it because there are always examples of an engine with a good reputation failing early as well as examples of an engine with a terrible reputation that lasts and lasts.
@douglasb9105 The 307 is a great engine for the G-bodies. They struggled a little bit in the heavier cars. But, with proper maintenance (and bypassing the emissions🤫) they would hold their own regardless of what vehicle they were in.
I had the 307 in my '87 Cutlass salon. Engine wasn't the fastest but had decent pickup, solid torque and was absolutely bourbon smooth. I remember traveling the long uphill grade on I-70 just north of Fredrick MD, passing trucks that were climbing the grade slowly with their blinkers on. I was going around 80 with the A/C on and the secondaries on the quad open. Fuel economy on the grade not the best but that 307 made easy work of it all while sounding like smooth, V8 authority. Great car. Great engine.
I was in high school when my mom bought a new 1982 Delta 88 so that car got lots of abuse. It had an idle and stumbling problem from day 1 that was never resolved. It would balk and stumble when floored. Pinged and dieseled if you didn't use premium gas. I had the carb cleaned and adjusted many times but it never ran right. My friend had an '84 Cutlass that ran flawlessly.
@@AlexanderCrumpjust came across a clean 83 delta 88 and planned on building the 307 just a bit for my 86 camaro just because anythings better than the 2.8 in it😂. hopefully it isnt as much trouble as you have suggested lol
As a kid we always use to tell my dad to 4 barrel it. He had an 86 olds cutlass with the 307 V8. That car had such an awesome sound when he floored it. Nothing ever sounded like a 4 barrel carb again.
I had one in my 86 Cadillac Fleetwood Brougham. Great engine. Better than the HT4100 crappy Cadillac aluminum block v8 from 82-87. 403 was a great engine too.
Yes the 403 Olds has had a come back in recent years , people understand more about what makes a motor go good , the 403 has the biggest bore of almost any American production V8 be that big or small block with the 460 Ford only 0.009 bigger. And these days we know big bores and short strokes are the way to go ! A few upgrades like cam and intake really wake it up , and don't worry about everyone going on about windowed main webs, the LS/T GM motors have windowed main webs too and no one says they are weak.
My dad's only reliable transportation was a 83 cutlass 4dr with a 307/200r4. 350k miles when the 3rd trans went out. Loudest quadrajet I've ever heard when the lid was flipped.
I am glad that so many of you have had good luck with the 307 engines. I have owned an 85 Cutlass Supreme Brougham where GM replaced the engine with the newer version with the roller rockers and cam, it did run great, I own a 78 Cutlass Salon with the 260 V8, very smooth but gutless and still better than the available 231 Buick V6. My 85 Custom Cruiser, I am on my third engine. The first was a smog bomb that CA didn't like so I commissioned a rebuild. That engine had suffered from extremely poor parts. Especially the valve pushrods and the final nail in the coffin was the number seven piston shattering just below the rings. Second rebuild, I just got it back last week after nearly ten months of waiting for the rebuild and the installation. It is hard to find mechanics willing to work in so many shops today. I have only driven it home so far as the weather has been bad. It seemed to be much smoother than before. We did install hardened piston rods to strengthen the bottom end of the engine. The cam was turned, and the heads reworked, new water pump, distributor and PCU. Let's cross our fingers for a long enjoyment of the Custom Cruiser and its new engine. I do enjoy the Oldsmobile cars. Last year I bought a 78 Delta 88 Holiday coupe. It has the venerable Olds 350 engine that was rebuilt by the previous owner after the car had sat for years in storage. It seems to be a very reliable and clean car with less than 50K on the odometer. I plan on taking this to Reno's Hot August Nights this year. Only my 78 Cutlass Salon Brougham has been entered because of the 1979-year restrictions. I would like to enter the Custom Cruiser someday too.
These were relatively reliable (at least by 80’s standards) and pretty smooth. The biggest issue was the lack of low end grunt. They were decent in the smaller cutlasses but in the big B and C cars or even worse the wagons they were dogs. This was surprising because the olds 350 that was sunset in 1980 felt so much stronger, even though the 307 was only 14% smaller it felt vastly slower. The 305 versus 350 Chevy of the same era had a similar difference in feeling. Perhaps those smogger era V8’s made such low horsepower that the torque did all the work and the reduced stroke killed the pull. One thing to watch for if you have an original car today with a 307 is the Catalytic converter, they were very prone to blockage by 60-70k miles. You’d lose a lot of power and mpg. They respond really well to removing the cat (or replacing it with a modern low resistance cat). But if you do you’ll need to go up at least one size on the primary and two sizes on the secondary jets-metering rods to take full advantage of the freer cylinder scavenging.
Currently drive an 86 Fleetwood Brougham. I'm very surprised by the engine. Its 38 years old, done 62000 miles, spent 13 years sitting in a scrapyard on an island off the coast of France and all I've had to replace is the choke pull off, a couple of vacuum hoses, the HEI module and a spark plug (because I broke it). Been a daily driver for 14 years. Its the most reliable car I own or my family owns. Its just a pity that there isn't an aftermarket for this engine.
@@radeakins 1964-90 Olds 260,307,330,350,403 Are all small block olds. Yours has a roller cam and small port heads designed for fuel mileage at part throttle.
@@radeakins 30 miles per imperial gallon? That's unreal. I am Canadian so I understand all measurements. Even 30km per imperial gallon would not be to bad.
The last car that my grandfather (mother's side) ever bought was a new 1987 Chevy Caprice coupe. His had the 307 Olds V8 in it. What a really nice car....it rode and drove like a dream. I really miss that car.
My dad ordered a 1979 Olds Delta 88 Brougham. The 307 was one of available engines. Instead he opted for the Olds 350 4bbl instead. It was underrated at 165 hp. I can tell you, that it was a factory hot rod. It also got 23-24 on the highway. Just remember, where ever an Olds V8 was installed, a B.O.P. big block would fit.
@@googleusergp I stand corrected. It was the 301 that the salesman gave him the choice. As far as the Pontiac, I know it’s all the same size block, it’s the cubic inches I was referring too.
@@josephnash3015 Yes, the 301 V8 (likely the "L27" VIN code "Y" engine) was what they were offering. That was popular with other GM divisions. Some also offered the "L37" which was the "W" code four barrel 301 Pontiac V8. You just meant to say "BOP" as a pattern because even if it's a Pontiac 455 V8, it's still never a big block.
@googleusergp Oh Christ, here we go...... Pontiac's 265 & 301 had a much shorter deck height, so if people want to use the terms "big block" vs "small block", it's just fine. Yes I know, you authored some damn catalogs......... BTW, Olds can have big vs small blocks too differentiated by short and tall deck heights. Get over yourself 🤡🤡🤡
@@johneckert1365 God has nothing to do with the Pontiac V8. However, Oldsmobile did have a small and big block and Pontiac did not. Of course if you were actually in the know about Pontiacs (which you're not), you'd know that anyone in Pontiac circles never calls them "big blocks". It makes you look like an asshat. Yes, you actually have to know what you're doing to write parts books. I can tell you've never worked on the manufacturer side of the auto industry, so we know you couldn't write a children's book, no less a parts book.
I love my ‘83 Delta 88 Brougham coupe with the 307. Black, sand gray interior, factory rallye wheels, and 27,000 original southern miles. It’s a true pleasure to drive. But my ‘77 Ninety Eight Regency (firstborn red/white top) with 57,000 miles and a 403 is just as much fun to drive. You can definitely feel the difference between the B and C body. The ‘77 is the smoothest car I’ve ever owned - and I’ve owned a lot of full size GM RWD over the years!
I run a few olds motors at the track. I have played with them all but never built a performance 307. I think I could get a hp per cube no sweat. Left stock they moved a olds98 just fine and got good mileage, ran like silk, and lasted forever. I think a late roller 307 with a set of #4 330olds heads and a mild cam would do it. I would re ring, new bearing and gasket the stock bottom end and reuse the roller lifters and use a mild howards roller cam with just under .500 lift ,little duration on a 109lsa. With a swap meet alum intake and 625cfm afb. Through a set of headers and 20" extensions I cant see how it couldnt make 307 hp.
Heck, I remember those engine were everywhere in the 80s & 90s before Olds called it quits. Those engine were found in some Buicks, Pontiacs & Cadillacs Even Chevrolet had their own 307 motor. That is why GM made transmissions called BOP which stood out & was interchangable too. My late Mom's wagon(1970 Chevy Malibu Concours) had the Chevy's 307 motor in it with 350th transmission. I wish Chevy would bring it back this century.
The 307 "LV2" VIN code "Y" engine didn't really "replace" the 260 VIN code "F" and VIN code "8" engines. The 260 was last used in 1982, a full two years after the 307 came on the scene. The 307 wasn't just used in the 1990 Custom Cruiser, as other GM divisions used it. One thing is clear---the 307 wasn't a powerhouse and had the power curve of a Briggs and Stratton equipped lawn mower, but they would run, run, run, run, run, run, run, run and run some more.
I’ve always been fond of the Oldsmobile engines the 350 455 403 and 307 my dad owned plenty of them back then I remember seeing the last Oldsmobile v8 from 1990 it’s in the R E Olds museum in Lansing Michigan it has all the assembly workers signatures all over it
Had one in a 1985 Delta 88, ran it for years, and sold it to a lady who ran it for several more years, also had the 260cu in and it was a great engine.
I was given an 85 Delta 88 by a family member with a 307 when a university student. It had 169000 km when i got it, and 312 km when i gave it back because i could afford mh own car. It ran about the same when i returned it.
The Caprice wagon came with these. Maybe the same assembly line as the Custom Cruiser? GM just called it 5.0L so Chevy buyers thought they were getting a 305.
Yep. They soon found out when they went to Pep Boys and tried to put an air cleaner on it for a Chevy V8. Not sure the air cleaner parts were different but many parts were.
There's one in my folks 87 Pontiac Parisienne wagon and one in my 84 Olds Custom Cruiser. Had good luck with them. It tows my folks 21' trailer. Smooth. Keeps going with maintenance. Not going to win land speed records but wasn't designed for that. Great for cruising.
That '82 Mercury would have had the miserable variable venturi carburetor. But Ford would soon make up for it by moving to EFI across the board and engine performance of the Panthers would be much better than cars still using the carbed Olds 307.
Must be kidding. Also probably never seen the main cap webbing in an late 70s and beyond Oldsmobile. The good Olds small block engine to build is the DX diesel block. You can drop a forged 425 crank into it, bore it 0.125" over and make a nice little stroker. The diesel bottom end has 2-3x the metal in the lower block and has very wide, beefy solid mains as opposed to the windowed mains of the later 307, 350 and 403.
I have an 86 Regal limited with a 307 in white. Been inside it's whole life, never seeing inclement weather. Take care from the southern interior of BC Grumpy
What killed a lot of those was the E4ME Carb. The way they worked is that the computer controlled a metering rod that would essentially plug the jets (on the primary side) allowing the mixture to be controlled electronically. The solenoid that computer controlled would move a rod downward when energized, thus leaning out the mixture. The jetting was never really "right", it was stinking rich or slightly lean, and relied upon the computer pulsing the solenoid to hit a reasonable mixture for general operation- and that was the problem. 1980's era GM electronics weren't known for their reliability, and when the system failed, the mixture would either default to ridiculously lean or pig rich. The cars that had a failure that resulted in lean mixture were actually the ones that got off easy. They'd usually stall, stop running, or be so down on power that the owners would take them in for service. The cars where the metering rods failed in the "up" position weren't so lucky. Aside from a drop in mileage and some drivability concerns (high idle, dieseling after shutoff) the owners usually continued to drive them, and the ridiculously rich mixture would dillute the oil, and cause the cats to overheat (thus causing the engine to run hot). Most of the time the only complaint on the work order would be for a bad rotten egg smell, and maybe a footnote about the drivability concerns. By the time the cats started failing, and got bad enough for them to have it looked at, they'd like been driving around with washed down cylinder walls and a crankcase half full of gasoline for months- add overheating and high exhaust gas temps (and backpressure) to the mix, and you can start to see why these engines usually had an abbreviated existence. Damned shame, because while they were never hotrods, they were a really nice little engine for just getting around, and didn't have a whole lot of issues otherwise.
I had an Olds 88 with the 307 and fixed all that. I discovered that the 307 could be easily back engineered to a pre-smog system. I went to the junkyard and scavenged the carb and HEI distributor from a '75 Olds Cutlass with the 350. After taking out the rest of the smog stuff and putting that in, the 307 ran like a champ.
@@BlackPill-pu4viI went a step beyond that. Pulled the Vin 9 307 out of my 88 Fleetwood and put a 403 from a GMC motorhome that was pulled at low mileage to install a 500 Cadillac. I put W31 350 heads on the 403 after drilling out the head bolt holes and a custom mondello cam. Added some headers and an edelbrock performer rpm manifold. Car ran great after that.
Had a 1988 Fleetwood with a Vin 9 307. Gladly swapped it for a 403 with W31 heads and a Mondello cam. The 403 in the real world got the same mileage as the 307 and actually ran cleaner.
Meant to add that the Cadillac Vin9s had a single snorkel air cleaner, did not get anything special on the secondary metering rods (mine had DD, the leanest of the lean) and worse were straddled with a 2.53 rear gear and the same tight torque converter that came in the Y cars. The base cam would have run better in the Cadillacs. The Cadillacs really needed the 3.73 or perhaps a 4.10 gear and the 2,000 rpm converter to get moving with the HO cam. There was also a 6 or 6a forget which, cylinder head casting that came on the early roller cam engines prior to the 7a swirl ports. The 7a head engines ran as smoothly as some fuel injected engines of the time. That being said a good running LE9 or L69 305 Chevy would walk away from the Oldsmobile and the Chevy would live longer. I had multiple 305s that ran over 350K miles. Same cannot be said for the 307s that generally gave up around 200-250K.
I had a G body Buick Regal with the 307. It was a really nice car that ran great! Only downside was the 2004R transmission. It wasn’t strong enough to handle the power of a V8
I think you are mixing up T200 and T200 4r , they are two different Trans , the T200 4r is almost twice as strong as T700, most builders prefer the T200 4r over T700 as better gear ratios , as far as how strong GM thought it was , well they put them behind Turbo Buicks at 400 + HP. I have a T200 4r behind a 403 Olds and it never misses a beat .
I had this engine on booth a delta 88 coupe and a cutlass Supreme very smooth engine not that fast but still can smoke the tires on the starting line. Great low end torque.
They should have fuel injected it like they did for the chevy 305 and chevy 350. The olds 350 was fuel injected for some cadillacs back in the late 70s
You can do it now with the sniper efi quadrajet kit it cost a good penny but it's worth it I got one on my oldsmobile 350 engine I got it in a 84 olds 2-door g-body👍🏾
Very good engine. Mine last over 400K and probably would still going strong if I wrecked it. Even in it's later years, it was still as smooth as with I got it, had no problem running 70+mph for hours, and would start with just the bump of the starter once warmed up.
@kushandflightscrew Rotella 15w-40. And once it started really getting into the miles, I added a bottle of Lucas Oil Stabilizer to it. But, I always changed the oil and air filter every 3000 miles like clockwork.
And don't forget the Y code 307 Olds mill was offered in GM's front drive E-bodies with the exception of the Cadillac Eldorado. In the early 1990s I had an '83 Buick Riviera with said engine. Made for a wonderful combination with the chassis and drivetrain. Never needed to add oil during the time I had it; the only real issue with the car in my case was rust.
I had a Riviera with one. I think it was an 84 or 85. It had a factory 2bbl on it. The 2bbl was a Q-Jet body with the secondaries completely cast shut. Smooth but gutless. Luckily I grabbed a Q-Jet off a similar year 307 in the wrecking yard and bolted it right on after going through it. Ran a lot better with the OE 4bbl.
@@chrisreynolds6520 Not a 1979-1985 Riviera then. Those would have had true Quadrajets on them as all the V8 offerings in those years were four barrel. The "Half-Jet" you're talking about was used on some 1977 Pontiac 301 (and other) engines. It was a Q-Jet casting with the secondaries sealed off.
@@googleusergp It was an 84 or 85 Riviera, I know what I am talking about. This 307 OLDSMOBILE had a CCC DualJet on it, the type with the secondaries cast shut. It was a low mileage, undisturbed car. I know what I am talking about, if you cannot understand that I do and want to argue, get lost.
That was alao not the only example of that car I have seen with the 2bbl. I was searching around and found 5-10 examples of the same setup in other Rivieras.
Along with the 1990 Oldsmobile Custom Cruiser, the 307 was also offered as the standard engine in the 1990 Cadillac Brougham. In 1991 it would be replaced by the fuel-injected Chevy 305 as standard and both Cadillac model years had a fuel-injected Chevy 350 as an optional engine.
The 307 was the standard engine in all of the B-body wagons (Chevy Caprice, Olds Custom Crusier, Buick Estate Wagon) from about 1986 through 1990. The Caprice sedans got the Chevy 305. I assume this was done to reduce assembly costs.
I had 2 of those. First was in a 81 Olds 98, the Second was in an 86 Cadillac Fleetwood Brougham. Both engine were long haulers, over 300,000 on the Olds, and 500,000 on the Cadillac. In Canada the 307s did not get the Electronic Carb or the Computer Command Control System, they used a regular Q-Jet and a Mechanical/Vacuum Advance Distributor. The 307 in the Canadian Caddys did have the CCC, when the 307 was put in the FWB Most Caddys had the lower power version. I have actually never seen a the higher HP in a FWB
My 88 had the Vin9, in reality GM shoved the last of the Vin 9 long blocks that had been built to go into the Cutlass 442s when they went away into some Fleetwoods in 87 and 88. The Fleetwoods only got some of the goodies. No dual snorkel air cleaner, still had the leanest DD secondary rods, it got a Vin9 specific EPROM and gained an idle control stepper motor rather than a Idle Load Compensator, still had the single exhaust, still had cast iron exhaust manifolds, still the same old low stall torque converter and still had the snail paced 2.53 gears. The only thing it did was make the car a dog at lower rpm and rev out a bit higher. IIRC the car shifted out around 5,000 rpm with the pedal on the floor.
I had one in my '84 Hurst Olds , it ran damn good at sea level (Orlando) , i didn't believe it was the original engine when i bought it , the service manager at Oldsmobile said if the eighth digit on the vin was a '9' its original, i thought it was 400 , i had several short stroke 400's back then .
I had one of these in a big 83 Buick LesSabre. Pretty good power with wind but nothing as soon as you saw the grass swaying in the wind. But it ran nice. Just had to start off a little earlier if you were bucking wind lol. Oh and I had it back in the shop many many times and it never had more.
307 is a lightweight, windowed main garbage casting. If you power from an Oldsmobile, start with a DX diesel 350 block. Can slip a 425 forged crank into it and it can generally take a 0.125" overbore, it also 2-3x the metal in the lower end, big beefy solid mains rather than the frail window mains of the later 70s 350, 403 and 307.
We would tear 307s out, throw them in the scrap, and slam in a 403 with a cam back in the 90s. Never been a fan of the siamesed center exhaust ports of this family either.
While the 5-A and 7-A marks are easily visible on the corner of the head, the easiest way to tell between the two is that the 5-A engines used cast exhaust manifolds and the 7-A engines had welded steel exhaust manifolds. This is assuming that someone has not mixed the manifolds up. Also note that the number one problem that causes rich running on these engines is a failed fuel vapor canister purge valve. ( the black plastic thing atop the front of the engine that has 3 or 4 hoses attached it it )
My very original Vin 9 7a head 1988 Cadillac engine had cast iron exhaust manifolds on it. The tubular steel were only used in some applications. Come to think of it I have never seen them on any Cadillac 307.
@@chrisreynolds6520 There might have been some mixing that I'm not aware of. In the day when sourcing a used engine it was always asked if cast or welded manifolds / hear number.
@@bobroberts2371 GM definitely had some mixed up setups. I had an 84 or 85 Riviera with a 2bbl 307. GM put some of these 307s out with a Dualjet that was a Q-Jet with the secondaries cast shut. Luckily a factory 4bbl was a bolt on swap with zero other changes to those.
@@chrisreynolds6520 That blocked off Q jet was found on the 260, I never seen one on a 307. The heads and intake on a 260 have an intake port that is about half of the height of a 307. .
@@bobroberts2371 I have seen those 260 manifolds. IIRC they are similar port size to a 7A head, the port is just opposite the 7a port. If you picture a normal port, 7a had it on either the top or bottom and the 260 had it opposite. Been a while since I have been into either. The Riviera definitely had the stock carb, it was dolled out with the CCC setup, ILC and had the correct rochestor number and julian dates to tell me it was factory for that year car. It had a little more power with the 4bbl and atleast it sounded better like it was doing something when I planted my foot through the firewall to try to get on the highway.
Having driven a Cutlass powered by the 260, I can tell you: This is what the 260 should've been. Few things as frustrating as having a V-8 that made less horsepower than the '94-03 LN2/Vortec 2200, and had a torque curve that the V-6 for the same year could out-pull.
@@rporestorations I figure they were trying to make the "perfect" engine for their traditional customers (Smoothness & drive-ability being key) that also achieved "good" fuel economy, while meeting ever increasingly stringent emissions regulations by highly embracing proven methods of control.
@@Fred_NaughT That's because--as a friend's father's friend learned... the hard way--the factory compression ratio was so ridiculously low (for emissions reasons) that it was a poor match for the cam's profile, which was designed with a high compression ratio (10.0:1 > 7.5-8.0:1) in mind. That, and the ports of the 260's heads were shorter in height compared to the standard of heads slated for other Oldsmobile "small-block" V-8s, making for flow restrictions that clearly couldn't allow enough to work with such a radical cam design... nor allow use of any intake or exhaust pieces used by larger SBOs, either!
What rear axle options are the best for 7A heads 307 and 200R4 (say on a G body)? Some say 3.73:1 is best because O/D, but revving higher on an engine having a low RPM peak torque seems pointless to me.
I've driven several in the 2.XX range and owned a 3.73. In my opinion, the 3.73 is probably the better option. With the overdrive, it's very usable at highway speeds. Plus, there is a noticeable improvement in acceleration.
I had a 1985 Olds 88 with the 307. I can tell you from direct experience to stick with the original 2.73:1 rear end it normally came with. I ordered the optional 3.23:1 rear end to make life easier on steep mountain roads. But, on flat roads, the 3.23:1 only revealed the short-winded nature of the 307 and the powerband just didn't match up like it did with the 2.73:1. I know this because my neighbor had an Olds Cutlass Supreme of the same year and power train but, his had the standard rear end. The 307 just felt happier because the powerband could work with the TH-200-4R gear ratios better.
@@rporestorations The Olds you drove with the 3.73:1 was very likely the Hurst Olds Cutlass model with the "9" code 307. That engine was stretched to its limit and was able to rev a bit better. The grocery-getter 307s were short winded and the lower rear end gears (2.73:1) were better matched to the engine and transmission.
Having owned a 7a head Vin9 Cadillac, the gears need to match the cam. Cadillac really messed up the Vin9 cars keeping the 2.53 gears in them. They needed 3.73s or 4.10s and the 2,000 rpm converter to get the Vin 9 cam into its powerband. The Vin9 Cadillacs actually ran worse than the VinY units. I happily pulled that 307, threw it in the scrap bin and put a 403 with W31 350 heads and a custom mondello cam into it. Same fuel mileage and 2x the power of that junk 307.
I had it 4bbl on a 83 Buick Riviera. It wasn't like 455,403 I got used to. In 74 my dad bought me a 70 GS STAGE 1,4SPD. My dad had a 73 Riviera GS Stage 1, no comparison. In 76 he got an Eldorado with 500cid fuel injection. I had a 76 Electra Landau coupe. Da Buick 455 for dat year had da most hp of all other sis division. Even da carb Caddy 500 only had 190 vs 205Buick. 307 was quite decent in MPGs, decent highway passing, but, it was no big block. Da Buick dealers were pushing their V6 turbos. I, just couldn't go a long with a 6cyl on a luxury car. Kept da car 3yrs, maintained every 5k miles, spark plug, filters, synthetic oil (mobil 1), it clock 59k miles. Gr8 engine, only time I did repair was charging da A/C compressor. BULLETPROOF lil V8, worked nice with da 4spd auto. Very few Naturally Aspirated V8s now, with da modern fuel injection & size ,would be a gr8 choice.
Very understressed engine at the time. It was also used as a stop gap for platforms that had life cycles extended beyond their original expiry dates (B-body wagons, G-body coups).
@@rporestorations yep.. it was a great engine.. it was in a 1978 Olds 98 Regency.. my dad bought it new.. then he gave it to me with 200k on the odo.. i put another 130k on it.. it was tired, but still running great.. it only had one kind of oil in it from new.. exxon uniflow.. it was my dad's thing.. so i kept it up.. eventually, my son and i put rings and bearings in it, valve job.. did the typical cam/springs/intake/carb/headers... then swapped it into a 79 trans am that had a blown 403 in it.. i built a turbo 400 for it.. it was a fun street car.. hell, it might still be running as far as i know.. lol
Had one in my 83 Olds 98, it was OK, seemed to run fine. Had to change the water pump once, was a bigger deal than it needed to be overall the engine was OK, seemed to get around 18 mpg. I have a 93 Buick Roadmaster now and I enjoy the Roadmaster much more then the old Olds.
Much agreed the durability and smoothness was never a question however noted that earlier 84 and older slightly more power than the later ones. Decent enough in a cutlass but the wagons and 98s park avenues and 86 and newer broughams really seemed to struggle. Very little passing power worrisome merging into freeway traffic especially if car is loaded. In comparison the big fords 86 and newer had port injected 302 much stronger. My 88 country squire wagon much better road trip car than my 89 custom cruiser 307 4bbl.
My Grandmother had a 89 Brougham d’elegance with that 307. Great car, only issue it had was later in life the auto leveling started acting a little crazy. She had it until she was t boned by a teenage girl in a Ford Probe. Downgraded to a Crown Victoria.
Great video! And I'm going to pose you a challenge. Trivia: There really was no true Oldsmobile big block. All their modern V8's were essentially the same block, from the 455 down to the 260. A friend of mine described it as an "intermediate block", since it could actually go to 455 cubic inches, but was smaller than other GM big blocks of the era. Only slightly larger and heavier than Chevy's small block V8. -Want an idea for a video? I know of an official "big block" engine that is not American. It comes from Germany, and NO it is not a BMW or Mercedes Benz product. It was offered in 2 valve and 4 valve per cylinder designs, with SOHC and DOHC variants. The company that built it is famous for lightweight sports cars, yet this all aluminum BIG BLOCK weighed 550 pounds. Arias in California actually mounted the DOHC heads from this engine on a 502 Chevy block and it made 550 hp while passing California emissions with smooth idle and perfect driveability. What engine is this? Do a video on the Porsche M28 engine. There's your challenge....
@@googleusergp I didn’t know that, I just know that thing was quick, you know I was familiar with 350’s, but I thought the 307 was a truck engine, man GM produced a bunch of engines, but again that’s good information, our family was mostly Ford people and our neighbor was a MOPAR guy so I knew a lot more about those two brands. Like the LS everybody swaps in, a guy we go to Church with had a GMC pickup with a LS, I drive it and compared to my 2.7 Ecoboost F150 it felt really slow and I wondered why the LS was so popular, but admittedly I didn’t get on it at all, just felt like it didn’t have much get up and go for a bone stock engine, but I have a friend with nearly 400,000 on a LS powered Silverado, smoke a little after sitting, but that’s a ton of miles and even though I hope my Ecoboost gets there m, I doubt it could, but what a fun little engine to get on. Thank You for the info.
@@poppyneese1811 The 307 Chevrolet V8 was used in both trucks and cars. Other divisions (Pontiac off the top of my head) used it as well. Yes, GM produced a bunch of engines and if you don't know them, they can get confusing. Tell someone that you have a "350 in that 1978 GM vehicle" and it could be a Chevrolet 350, Buick 350, Olds 350 or a Pontiac 350. Even Cadillac got into the 350 game using an Oldsmobile designed, but Cadillac marketed engine for a time. You had to be on top of your game in the parts world then. I came into the parts world in the 1980s but by then I was already well versed in GM's engines and what vehicles used what.
@@poppyneese1811Chevrolet's 307 was a great engine, far better than their 305 that replaced it. Not sure if that was done for emission reasons, or what
It doesn’t have to make crazy horsepower but at least 200 to 300 horsepower with some performance parts by the crank I prefer fleet engines because they’re more around and cheaper
I know it sounds crazy. By 1987, the T package on the G body Regal could be ordered without the turbo 6. You could also order a turbocharged engine in any Regal, without checking the box on the option sheet for a T or Grand National package. It was rare, but there are a few factory T Types with the 307, and a few Regal Limited's out there with turbo engines.
Oldsmobile was pretty much done with B and D bodies by the time GM put TBI on their formerly carbureted V-8's. Even the 1990 Custom Cruiser still had a 4bbl carb.
@@milfordcivic6755 I understand that. But it's nice to do what if. Just curious if it could have coexisted with the Chevy V8 since by that time the engines were no longer attached to their various divisions. If it would have fit, it would have been a good choice instead of the Cadillac 4.1-4.9 engines since it was MUCH more robust. Wondering how much improvement the fuel economy would be had it been injected vs carbureted
They could have easily slapped a TBI on it. I think at this point, though, GM wanted everyone but Chevy out of the 8 cylinder motor game. Olds was working on the Quad 4, and Buick was concentrating on V6s.
@@basilcarroll9729 I wish the 330 + 350 olds engines got more love than they do. Both were wonderfully smooth but had that wonderful oldsmobile torque curve !
@@Fred_NaughTBack in 1975 I replaced a 350 low compression Rocket in my 71 Cutlass S with a 330 320 horse from a 67 Delmont 88. From a dead stop till 25 mile per hour it was slightly less powerful than the 350,no tire spin.But at 25 it was like getting hit the rear by a fast train! Incredible acceleration!
My great aunt by marriage bought a 1988 Cutlass Supreme Classic brand new with the 307. She still has it today and it's in excellent condition.
And what about the 403?
@@mykec.selene8302 what about it?
Ask your aunt to sell it to me when she retires it. I still miss mine and it came with ttops.
I drive daily a 1982 Olds 98 Coupe. It has over 300k miles and runs beautifully. Idles smooth, fires right up every morning. Ive taken her all up and down the east coast and always got home.
I had a 1985 Buick LeSabre with the 307. The engine was so smooth and quiet you couldn’t tell it was running.
I always thought the 307 was quieter under full throttle than the Chevy 305 and certainly the Ford 302 which was downright raucous by comparison. Maybe the Olds 88 it was in had better sound insulation. You could stand on the throttle and engine noise was very muted. It had a very distinct sound that I can still hear today. Completely different from the Chevy 305.
Driving on currently maybe three weeks worth, tinkering on this n that it’s becoming a real fine motor! We got the roller cam model to, instant throttle response down low!
307 Olds was a great V8, dependable and bulletproof. Ran forever!
Not very powerful. But it was bulletproof. It ran forever.
I must have gotten a bad one in my 86 Caprice wagon. It didn't last.
@@douglasb9105 I would not doubt it because there are always examples of an engine with a good reputation failing early as well as examples of an engine with a terrible reputation that lasts and lasts.
@douglasb9105
The 307 is a great engine for the G-bodies. They struggled a little bit in the heavier cars. But, with proper maintenance (and bypassing the emissions🤫) they would hold their own regardless of what vehicle they were in.
Things that underpowered usually live for a while as they can't hurt themselves
I had the 307 in my '87 Cutlass salon. Engine wasn't the fastest but had decent pickup, solid torque and was absolutely bourbon smooth. I remember traveling the long uphill grade on I-70 just north of Fredrick MD, passing trucks that were climbing the grade slowly with their blinkers on. I was going around 80 with the A/C on and the secondaries on the quad open. Fuel economy on the grade not the best but that 307 made easy work of it all while sounding like smooth, V8 authority. Great car. Great engine.
I was in high school when my mom bought a new 1982 Delta 88 so that car got lots of abuse. It had an idle and stumbling problem from day 1 that was never resolved. It would balk and stumble when floored. Pinged and dieseled if you didn't use premium gas. I had the carb cleaned and adjusted many times but it never ran right. My friend had an '84 Cutlass that ran flawlessly.
😎
@@AlexanderCrumpjust came across a clean 83 delta 88 and planned on building the 307 just a bit for my 86 camaro just because anythings better than the 2.8 in it😂. hopefully it isnt as much trouble as you have suggested lol
@@hakaii__1816 I've seen one video on UA-cam of a guy who put an Olds 307 in a Camaro. I'm curious how it works out for you. Please keep us posted!
Ihad a 1985 Buick LeSabre Limited Colector Edition with the 307 4bbl. Damn good engine
Had a nieghbour that had 2 Dr collector edition 85' Buick two-tone brown
I have a Y code 307 in my 84 LeSabre coupe. Very reliable. Keep it up and itll go forever
Note: all small blocks Olds engines from 260 to 403 used the same 3.38 stroke. Bores changed for displacement.
Had one in my toronado. Worked well, quiet, no problems.
As a kid we always use to tell my dad to 4 barrel it. He had an 86 olds cutlass with the 307 V8. That car had such an awesome sound when he floored it. Nothing ever sounded like a 4 barrel carb again.
I had one in my 86 Cadillac Fleetwood Brougham. Great engine. Better than the HT4100 crappy Cadillac aluminum block v8 from 82-87. 403 was a great engine too.
Yeah it’s ashame the ht4100 and 8-6-4 ruined the reputation of those full size Cadillacs. Which were otherwise really good cars.
Yes the 403 Olds has had a come back in recent years , people understand more about what makes a motor go good , the 403 has the biggest bore of almost any American production V8 be that big or small block with the 460 Ford only 0.009 bigger. And these days we know big bores and short strokes are the way to go ! A few upgrades like cam and intake really wake it up , and don't worry about everyone going on about windowed main webs, the LS/T GM motors have windowed main webs too and no one says they are weak.
Had 2 307's..one was 84' Electra wagon.. other one was 84' LeSabre sedan.. Awesome motors!! Thanks for this video!!
My dad's only reliable transportation was a 83 cutlass 4dr with a 307/200r4. 350k miles when the 3rd trans went out.
Loudest quadrajet I've ever heard when the lid was flipped.
I am glad that so many of you have had good luck with the 307 engines. I have owned an 85 Cutlass Supreme Brougham where GM replaced the engine with the newer version with the roller rockers and cam, it did run great, I own a 78 Cutlass Salon with the 260 V8, very smooth but gutless and still better than the available 231 Buick V6. My 85 Custom Cruiser, I am on my third engine. The first was a smog bomb that CA didn't like so I commissioned a rebuild. That engine had suffered from extremely poor parts. Especially the valve pushrods and the final nail in the coffin was the number seven piston shattering just below the rings. Second rebuild, I just got it back last week after nearly ten months of waiting for the rebuild and the installation. It is hard to find mechanics willing to work in so many shops today. I have only driven it home so far as the weather has been bad. It seemed to be much smoother than before. We did install hardened piston rods to strengthen the bottom end of the engine. The cam was turned, and the heads reworked, new water pump, distributor and PCU. Let's cross our fingers for a long enjoyment of the Custom Cruiser and its new engine. I do enjoy the Oldsmobile cars. Last year I bought a 78 Delta 88 Holiday coupe. It has the venerable Olds 350 engine that was rebuilt by the previous owner after the car had sat for years in storage. It seems to be a very reliable and clean car with less than 50K on the odometer. I plan on taking this to Reno's Hot August Nights this year. Only my 78 Cutlass Salon Brougham has been entered because of the 1979-year restrictions. I would like to enter the Custom Cruiser someday too.
These were relatively reliable (at least by 80’s standards) and pretty smooth. The biggest issue was the lack of low end grunt. They were decent in the smaller cutlasses but in the big B and C cars or even worse the wagons they were dogs.
This was surprising because the olds 350 that was sunset in 1980 felt so much stronger, even though the 307 was only 14% smaller it felt vastly slower. The 305 versus 350 Chevy of the same era had a similar difference in feeling. Perhaps those smogger era V8’s made such low horsepower that the torque did all the work and the reduced stroke killed the pull.
One thing to watch for if you have an original car today with a 307 is the Catalytic converter, they were very prone to blockage by 60-70k miles. You’d lose a lot of power and mpg. They respond really well to removing the cat (or replacing it with a modern low resistance cat). But if you do you’ll need to go up at least one size on the primary and two sizes on the secondary jets-metering rods to take full advantage of the freer cylinder scavenging.
Still have my 90 Oldsmobile custom cruiser 307
That's my dream car...Right On!! Awesome cars..bet it's fun to drive that around..Oldsmobiles are my favorite
Love those!
Currently drive an 86 Fleetwood Brougham. I'm very surprised by the engine. Its 38 years old, done 62000 miles, spent 13 years sitting in a scrapyard on an island off the coast of France and all I've had to replace is the choke pull off, a couple of vacuum hoses, the HEI module and a spark plug (because I broke it). Been a daily driver for 14 years. Its the most reliable car I own or my family owns. Its just a pity that there isn't an aftermarket for this engine.
There is an aftermarket...
@@buzzwaldron6195 Then its well hidden. Plus, I live in the UK, so its very far away too.
@@radeakins 1964-90 Olds 260,307,330,350,403 Are all small block olds. Yours has a roller cam and small port heads designed for fuel mileage at part throttle.
@@wildrosegarage4208 The 307 with 5x heads, also with no cats or smog. I get 30 to the (UK) gallon out of it too.
@@radeakins 30 miles per imperial gallon? That's unreal. I am Canadian so I understand all measurements. Even 30km per imperial gallon would not be to bad.
The last car that my grandfather (mother's side) ever bought was a new 1987 Chevy Caprice coupe. His had the 307 Olds V8 in it. What a really nice car....it rode and drove like a dream. I really miss that car.
My dad ordered a 1979 Olds Delta 88 Brougham. The 307 was one of available engines. Instead he opted for the Olds 350 4bbl instead. It was underrated at 165 hp. I can tell you, that it was a factory hot rod. It also got 23-24 on the highway. Just remember, where ever an Olds V8 was installed, a B.O.P. big block would fit.
You couldn't get the 307 V8 in the 1979 model year. It was first used in 1980. Also, no such thing as a Pontiac big block.
@@googleusergp I stand corrected. It was the 301 that the salesman gave him the choice. As far as the Pontiac, I know it’s all the same size block, it’s the cubic inches I was referring too.
@@josephnash3015 Yes, the 301 V8 (likely the "L27" VIN code "Y" engine) was what they were offering. That was popular with other GM divisions. Some also offered the "L37" which was the "W" code four barrel 301 Pontiac V8. You just meant to say "BOP" as a pattern because even if it's a Pontiac 455 V8, it's still never a big block.
@googleusergp Oh Christ, here we go...... Pontiac's 265 & 301 had a much shorter deck height, so if people want to use the terms "big block" vs "small block", it's just fine. Yes I know, you authored some damn catalogs.........
BTW, Olds can have big vs small blocks too differentiated by short and tall deck heights.
Get over yourself 🤡🤡🤡
@@johneckert1365 God has nothing to do with the Pontiac V8. However, Oldsmobile did have a small and big block and Pontiac did not. Of course if you were actually in the know about Pontiacs (which you're not), you'd know that anyone in Pontiac circles never calls them "big blocks". It makes you look like an asshat.
Yes, you actually have to know what you're doing to write parts books. I can tell you've never worked on the manufacturer side of the auto industry, so we know you couldn't write a children's book, no less a parts book.
I love my ‘83 Delta 88 Brougham coupe with the 307. Black, sand gray interior, factory rallye wheels, and 27,000 original southern miles. It’s a true pleasure to drive.
But my ‘77 Ninety Eight Regency (firstborn red/white top) with 57,000 miles and a 403 is just as much fun to drive.
You can definitely feel the difference between the B and C body. The ‘77 is the smoothest car I’ve ever owned - and I’ve owned a lot of full size GM RWD over the years!
I run a few olds motors at the track. I have played with them all but never built a performance 307. I think I could get a hp per cube no sweat. Left stock they moved a olds98 just fine and got good mileage, ran like silk, and lasted forever. I think a late roller 307 with a set of #4 330olds heads and a mild cam would do it. I would re ring, new bearing and gasket the stock bottom end and reuse the roller lifters and use a mild howards roller cam with just under .500 lift ,little duration on a 109lsa. With a swap meet alum intake and 625cfm afb. Through a set of headers and 20" extensions I cant see how it couldnt make 307 hp.
Heck, I remember those engine were everywhere in the 80s & 90s before Olds called it quits. Those engine were found in some Buicks, Pontiacs & Cadillacs Even Chevrolet had their own 307 motor. That is why GM made transmissions called BOP which stood out & was interchangable too. My late Mom's wagon(1970 Chevy Malibu Concours) had the Chevy's 307 motor in it with 350th transmission. I wish Chevy would bring it back this century.
The 307 "LV2" VIN code "Y" engine didn't really "replace" the 260 VIN code "F" and VIN code "8" engines. The 260 was last used in 1982, a full two years after the 307 came on the scene. The 307 wasn't just used in the 1990 Custom Cruiser, as other GM divisions used it.
One thing is clear---the 307 wasn't a powerhouse and had the power curve of a Briggs and Stratton equipped lawn mower, but they would run, run, run, run, run, run, run, run and run some more.
I’ve always been fond of the Oldsmobile engines the 350 455 403 and 307 my dad owned plenty of them back then I remember seeing the last Oldsmobile v8 from 1990 it’s in the R E Olds museum in Lansing Michigan it has all the assembly workers signatures all over it
they all shared the same block, just different bore and stroke.
Had one in a 1985 Delta 88, ran it for years, and sold it to a lady who ran it for several more years, also had the 260cu in and it was a great engine.
I was given an 85 Delta 88 by a family member with a 307 when a university student. It had 169000 km when i got it, and 312 km when i gave it back because i could afford mh own car. It ran about the same when i returned it.
The Caprice wagon came with these. Maybe the same assembly line as the Custom Cruiser? GM just called it 5.0L so Chevy buyers thought they were getting a 305.
Yep. They soon found out when they went to Pep Boys and tried to put an air cleaner on it for a Chevy V8. Not sure the air cleaner parts were different but many parts were.
There's one in my folks 87 Pontiac Parisienne wagon and one in my 84 Olds Custom Cruiser. Had good luck with them. It tows my folks 21' trailer. Smooth. Keeps going with maintenance. Not going to win land speed records but wasn't designed for that. Great for cruising.
It's not forgotten; it's sitting in my garage. Original owner of an '87 442.
Same here. I'm just the second owner.
I still have one in my 1981 Pontiac bonneville. 135,000 miles and it runs perfect and doesnt use oil.
My Dad bought an 84 Delta 88 in blue with this motor. Loved it's simplicty and power vs my 82 Mercury Grand Marquis Coupe with the 302 it had. ❤
That '82 Mercury would have had the miserable variable venturi carburetor. But Ford would soon make up for it by moving to EFI across the board and engine performance of the Panthers would be much better than cars still using the carbed Olds 307.
These 307 olds are torque powerplants. Not a high horsepower engine. But lives for ever.
Great turbo powerplant.potential..😊😊😊
Must be kidding. Also probably never seen the main cap webbing in an late 70s and beyond Oldsmobile. The good Olds small block engine to build is the DX diesel block. You can drop a forged 425 crank into it, bore it 0.125" over and make a nice little stroker. The diesel bottom end has 2-3x the metal in the lower block and has very wide, beefy solid mains as opposed to the windowed mains of the later 307, 350 and 403.
My uncle spent his whole working life at Oldsmobile's Lansing engine plant. He had funny stories about it.
I have an 86 Regal limited with a 307 in white. Been inside it's whole life, never seeing inclement weather.
Take care from the southern interior of BC
Grumpy
What killed a lot of those was the E4ME Carb. The way they worked is that the computer controlled a metering rod that would essentially plug the jets (on the primary side) allowing the mixture to be controlled electronically. The solenoid that computer controlled would move a rod downward when energized, thus leaning out the mixture. The jetting was never really "right", it was stinking rich or slightly lean, and relied upon the computer pulsing the solenoid to hit a reasonable mixture for general operation- and that was the problem. 1980's era GM electronics weren't known for their reliability, and when the system failed, the mixture would either default to ridiculously lean or pig rich.
The cars that had a failure that resulted in lean mixture were actually the ones that got off easy. They'd usually stall, stop running, or be so down on power that the owners would take them in for service. The cars where the metering rods failed in the "up" position weren't so lucky. Aside from a drop in mileage and some drivability concerns (high idle, dieseling after shutoff) the owners usually continued to drive them, and the ridiculously rich mixture would dillute the oil, and cause the cats to overheat (thus causing the engine to run hot). Most of the time the only complaint on the work order would be for a bad rotten egg smell, and maybe a footnote about the drivability concerns. By the time the cats started failing, and got bad enough for them to have it looked at, they'd like been driving around with washed down cylinder walls and a crankcase half full of gasoline for months- add overheating and high exhaust gas temps (and backpressure) to the mix, and you can start to see why these engines usually had an abbreviated existence.
Damned shame, because while they were never hotrods, they were a really nice little engine for just getting around, and didn't have a whole lot of issues otherwise.
I had an Olds 88 with the 307 and fixed all that. I discovered that the 307 could be easily back engineered to a pre-smog system. I went to the junkyard and scavenged the carb and HEI distributor from a '75 Olds Cutlass with the 350. After taking out the rest of the smog stuff and putting that in, the 307 ran like a champ.
@@BlackPill-pu4viI went a step beyond that. Pulled the Vin 9 307 out of my 88 Fleetwood and put a 403 from a GMC motorhome that was pulled at low mileage to install a 500 Cadillac. I put W31 350 heads on the 403 after drilling out the head bolt holes and a custom mondello cam. Added some headers and an edelbrock performer rpm manifold. Car ran great after that.
@@chrisreynolds6520 Now that's what I'm talking about! Good conversion.
A friend of mine in high school beat the crap out of their mom's 84 Delta 88. Good engine 👏
Because they were simple reliable and unbreakable and carbureted until 1990 as there were no fuel injection versions of the 5.0 litre Oldsmobile
Nice history lesson. It is hard for me to imagine a 307 making less than 200 HP.
U kno what's crazy these engines are still in sum of these cars today and there are still millions of them running or on sale on ebay 😅thats wild😂
Had a 1988 Fleetwood with a Vin 9 307. Gladly swapped it for a 403 with W31 heads and a Mondello cam. The 403 in the real world got the same mileage as the 307 and actually ran cleaner.
Meant to add that the Cadillac Vin9s had a single snorkel air cleaner, did not get anything special on the secondary metering rods (mine had DD, the leanest of the lean) and worse were straddled with a 2.53 rear gear and the same tight torque converter that came in the Y cars. The base cam would have run better in the Cadillacs. The Cadillacs really needed the 3.73 or perhaps a 4.10 gear and the 2,000 rpm converter to get moving with the HO cam. There was also a 6 or 6a forget which, cylinder head casting that came on the early roller cam engines prior to the 7a swirl ports. The 7a head engines ran as smoothly as some fuel injected engines of the time. That being said a good running LE9 or L69 305 Chevy would walk away from the Oldsmobile and the Chevy would live longer. I had multiple 305s that ran over 350K miles. Same cannot be said for the 307s that generally gave up around 200-250K.
i had one in an 83 custom cruiser wagon..perfect engine
I had a G body Buick Regal with the 307. It was a really nice car that ran great! Only downside was the 2004R transmission. It wasn’t strong enough to handle the power of a V8
I think you are mixing up T200 and T200 4r , they are two different Trans , the T200 4r is almost twice as strong as T700, most builders prefer the T200 4r over T700 as better gear ratios , as far as how strong GM thought it was , well they put them behind Turbo Buicks at 400 + HP. I have a T200 4r behind a 403 Olds and it never misses a beat .
I had this engine on booth a delta 88 coupe and a cutlass Supreme very smooth engine not that fast but still can smoke the tires on the starting line. Great low end torque.
100%
I’ve had 2 olds 307 powerd custom cruisers a 1986 and currently a 1988
I have one. Very reliable
They should have fuel injected it like they did for the chevy 305 and chevy 350. The olds 350 was fuel injected for some cadillacs back in the late 70s
You can do it now with the sniper efi quadrajet kit it cost a good penny but it's worth it I got one on my oldsmobile 350 engine I got it in a 84 olds 2-door g-body👍🏾
Very good engine. Mine last over 400K and probably would still going strong if I wrecked it. Even in it's later years, it was still as smooth as with I got it, had no problem running 70+mph for hours, and would start with just the bump of the starter once warmed up.
what oil & weight did you use with that engine?
@kushandflightscrew
Rotella 15w-40. And once it started really getting into the miles, I added a bottle of Lucas Oil Stabilizer to it. But, I always changed the oil and air filter every 3000 miles like clockwork.
@@Chris_Troxlermechanic recommended i use vavoline 20w50 but i figured that would be too heavy so i may go with the 15w40 like you
do you use t6 15w40 or t5
@@kushandflightscrew T4
And don't forget the Y code 307 Olds mill was offered in GM's front drive E-bodies with the exception of the Cadillac Eldorado. In the early 1990s I had an '83 Buick Riviera with said engine. Made for a wonderful combination with the chassis and drivetrain. Never needed to add oil during the time I had it; the only real issue with the car in my case was rust.
I completely forgot about those! And they were solid motors. Underpowered by today's standards, but pretty bulletproof.
I had a Riviera with one. I think it was an 84 or 85. It had a factory 2bbl on it. The 2bbl was a Q-Jet body with the secondaries completely cast shut. Smooth but gutless. Luckily I grabbed a Q-Jet off a similar year 307 in the wrecking yard and bolted it right on after going through it. Ran a lot better with the OE 4bbl.
@@chrisreynolds6520 Not a 1979-1985 Riviera then. Those would have had true Quadrajets on them as all the V8 offerings in those years were four barrel. The "Half-Jet" you're talking about was used on some 1977 Pontiac 301 (and other) engines. It was a Q-Jet casting with the secondaries sealed off.
@@googleusergp It was an 84 or 85 Riviera, I know what I am talking about. This 307 OLDSMOBILE had a CCC DualJet on it, the type with the secondaries cast shut. It was a low mileage, undisturbed car. I know what I am talking about, if you cannot understand that I do and want to argue, get lost.
That was alao not the only example of that car I have seen with the 2bbl. I was searching around and found 5-10 examples of the same setup in other Rivieras.
What was the 307 based on? Oldsmobile's own 350? Or was it a totally new block, etc?
Good engine couldn't kill it . I had one in a 87 regal
Along with the 1990 Oldsmobile Custom Cruiser, the 307 was also offered as the standard engine in the 1990 Cadillac Brougham. In 1991 it would be replaced by the fuel-injected Chevy 305 as standard and both Cadillac model years had a fuel-injected Chevy 350 as an optional engine.
The 307 was the standard engine in all of the B-body wagons (Chevy Caprice, Olds Custom Crusier, Buick Estate Wagon) from about 1986 through 1990. The Caprice sedans got the Chevy 305. I assume this was done to reduce assembly costs.
My Buick has this engine and runs good
I had 2 of those. First was in a 81 Olds 98, the Second was in an 86 Cadillac Fleetwood Brougham. Both engine were long haulers, over 300,000 on the Olds, and 500,000 on the Cadillac.
In Canada the 307s did not get the Electronic Carb or the Computer Command Control System, they used a regular Q-Jet and a Mechanical/Vacuum Advance Distributor. The 307 in the Canadian Caddys did have the CCC, when the 307 was put in the FWB
Most Caddys had the lower power version. I have actually never seen a the higher HP in a FWB
My 88 had the Vin9, in reality GM shoved the last of the Vin 9 long blocks that had been built to go into the Cutlass 442s when they went away into some Fleetwoods in 87 and 88. The Fleetwoods only got some of the goodies. No dual snorkel air cleaner, still had the leanest DD secondary rods, it got a Vin9 specific EPROM and gained an idle control stepper motor rather than a Idle Load Compensator, still had the single exhaust, still had cast iron exhaust manifolds, still the same old low stall torque converter and still had the snail paced 2.53 gears. The only thing it did was make the car a dog at lower rpm and rev out a bit higher. IIRC the car shifted out around 5,000 rpm with the pedal on the floor.
The VIN code "9" engine was used in Cadillacs, but mostly the commercial cars. It was paired with the RPO code "M40" THM400 transmission.
Great 😊 ! My 1981 Oldsmobile Delta 88 has the Y 5.0 V8 ( 307 ) . This engine is very reliable and bulletproof but lacks horsepower. 😂
Exactly. They didn't breath all that well, but they just kept going and going.
I had one in my '84 Hurst Olds , it ran damn good at sea level (Orlando) , i didn't believe it was the original engine when i bought it , the service manager at Oldsmobile said if the eighth digit on the vin was a '9' its original, i thought it was 400 , i had several short stroke 400's back then .
I remember working on Cadillacs with this engine. Did a few intake manifold gaskets.
My 1983 Delta 88 got 18-19 mpg on 100% gas.
I have a 1989 Cadillac Brougham Hearse with the 307, that engine has no problem moving a 3 ton car a 100+ miles an hour, great engine
Your Caddy does not weight 6,000 lbs 🤨
Olds 307 was a good Engine had 1 in my Delta 88 Brougham
I had one of these in a big 83 Buick LesSabre. Pretty good power with wind but nothing as soon as you saw the grass swaying in the wind. But it ran nice. Just had to start off a little earlier if you were bucking wind lol. Oh and I had it back in the shop many many times and it never had more.
I saw these engines when i was mechanic at a Chevy dealer. They were the only engine for the Caprice station wagon
Got one in my garage with transmission attached. Want it?
They remained carb in Canada until 85 I think. While the US got the computer version
they did what they needed to do.nothing fancy. kind of like the pontiac 301.
Had one in my '82 Buick Riviera. Only thing on the car that didn't fall apart.
307 with a 455 cam and fuel injected would be a great olds stroker engine. Even turbo has so much potential..😊😊
307 is a lightweight, windowed main garbage casting. If you power from an Oldsmobile, start with a DX diesel 350 block. Can slip a 425 forged crank into it and it can generally take a 0.125" overbore, it also 2-3x the metal in the lower end, big beefy solid mains rather than the frail window mains of the later 70s 350, 403 and 307.
Have one sitting in my garage now!
We would tear 307s out, throw them in the scrap, and slam in a 403 with a cam back in the 90s.
Never been a fan of the siamesed center exhaust ports of this family either.
While the 5-A and 7-A marks are easily visible on the corner of the head, the easiest way to tell between the two is that the 5-A engines used cast exhaust manifolds and the 7-A engines had welded steel exhaust manifolds. This is assuming that someone has not mixed the manifolds up. Also note that the number one problem that causes rich running on these engines is a failed fuel vapor canister purge valve. ( the black plastic thing atop the front of the engine that has 3 or 4 hoses attached it it )
My very original Vin 9 7a head 1988 Cadillac engine had cast iron exhaust manifolds on it. The tubular steel were only used in some applications. Come to think of it I have never seen them on any Cadillac 307.
@@chrisreynolds6520 There might have been some mixing that I'm not aware of. In the day when sourcing a used engine it was always asked if cast or welded manifolds / hear number.
@@bobroberts2371 GM definitely had some mixed up setups. I had an 84 or 85 Riviera with a 2bbl 307. GM put some of these 307s out with a Dualjet that was a Q-Jet with the secondaries cast shut. Luckily a factory 4bbl was a bolt on swap with zero other changes to those.
@@chrisreynolds6520 That blocked off Q jet was found on the 260, I never seen one on a 307. The heads and intake on a 260 have an intake port that is about half of the height of a 307. .
@@bobroberts2371 I have seen those 260 manifolds. IIRC they are similar port size to a 7A head, the port is just opposite the 7a port. If you picture a normal port, 7a had it on either the top or bottom and the 260 had it opposite. Been a while since I have been into either. The Riviera definitely had the stock carb, it was dolled out with the CCC setup, ILC and had the correct rochestor number and julian dates to tell me it was factory for that year car. It had a little more power with the 4bbl and atleast it sounded better like it was doing something when I planted my foot through the firewall to try to get on the highway.
I've had a couple of cars with this engine. Super durable, well-built engines. They were quite slow, however lol
the 350 was real , the 403 was something , the 455 was war zone.
Having driven a Cutlass powered by the 260, I can tell you: This is what the 260 should've been. Few things as frustrating as having a V-8 that made less horsepower than the '94-03 LN2/Vortec 2200, and had a torque curve that the V-6 for the same year could out-pull.
I honestly never could figure out what they were trying to do with the 260. The tradeoff between efficiency and power just wasn't there.
😂 a buddy of mine put a W30 cam into a 260 somebody gave him. It sounded awesome but still couldn't beat my 87 regal with an Olds 307 in it !
@@rporestorations I figure they were trying to make the "perfect" engine for their traditional customers (Smoothness & drive-ability being key) that also achieved "good" fuel economy, while meeting ever increasingly stringent emissions regulations by highly embracing proven methods of control.
@@Fred_NaughT That's because--as a friend's father's friend learned... the hard way--the factory compression ratio was so ridiculously low (for emissions reasons) that it was a poor match for the cam's profile, which was designed with a high compression ratio (10.0:1 > 7.5-8.0:1) in mind. That, and the ports of the 260's heads were shorter in height compared to the standard of heads slated for other Oldsmobile "small-block" V-8s, making for flow restrictions that clearly couldn't allow enough to work with such a radical cam design... nor allow use of any intake or exhaust pieces used by larger SBOs, either!
@@rporestorationsChevy did it too, with those 262 and 267 V-8. Ford had a little Windsor from that era too, 255 I think.
What rear axle options are the best for 7A heads 307 and 200R4 (say on a G body)? Some say 3.73:1 is best because O/D, but revving higher on an engine having a low RPM peak torque seems pointless to me.
I've driven several in the 2.XX range and owned a 3.73. In my opinion, the 3.73 is probably the better option. With the overdrive, it's very usable at highway speeds. Plus, there is a noticeable improvement in acceleration.
I had a 1985 Olds 88 with the 307. I can tell you from direct experience to stick with the original 2.73:1 rear end it normally came with. I ordered the optional 3.23:1 rear end to make life easier on steep mountain roads. But, on flat roads, the 3.23:1 only revealed the short-winded nature of the 307 and the powerband just didn't match up like it did with the 2.73:1.
I know this because my neighbor had an Olds Cutlass Supreme of the same year and power train but, his had the standard rear end. The 307 just felt happier because the powerband could work with the TH-200-4R gear ratios better.
@@BlackPill-pu4vi thank you for sharing your experience, that makes total sense.
@@rporestorations The Olds you drove with the 3.73:1 was very likely the Hurst Olds Cutlass model with the "9" code 307. That engine was stretched to its limit and was able to rev a bit better. The grocery-getter 307s were short winded and the lower rear end gears (2.73:1) were better matched to the engine and transmission.
Having owned a 7a head Vin9 Cadillac, the gears need to match the cam. Cadillac really messed up the Vin9 cars keeping the 2.53 gears in them. They needed 3.73s or 4.10s and the 2,000 rpm converter to get the Vin 9 cam into its powerband. The Vin9 Cadillacs actually ran worse than the VinY units. I happily pulled that 307, threw it in the scrap bin and put a 403 with W31 350 heads and a custom mondello cam into it. Same fuel mileage and 2x the power of that junk 307.
I had it 4bbl on a 83 Buick Riviera. It wasn't like 455,403 I got used to. In 74 my dad bought me a 70 GS STAGE 1,4SPD. My dad had a 73 Riviera GS Stage 1, no comparison. In 76 he got an Eldorado with 500cid fuel injection. I had a 76 Electra Landau coupe. Da Buick 455 for dat year had da most hp of all other sis division. Even da carb Caddy 500 only had 190 vs 205Buick. 307 was quite decent in MPGs, decent highway passing, but, it was no big block. Da Buick dealers were pushing their V6 turbos. I, just couldn't go a long with a 6cyl on a luxury car. Kept da car 3yrs, maintained every 5k miles, spark plug, filters, synthetic oil (mobil 1), it clock 59k miles. Gr8 engine, only time I did repair was charging da A/C compressor. BULLETPROOF lil V8, worked nice with da 4spd auto. Very few Naturally Aspirated V8s now, with da modern fuel injection & size ,would be a gr8 choice.
Very understressed engine at the time. It was also used as a stop gap for platforms that had life cycles extended beyond their original expiry dates (B-body wagons, G-body coups).
307 was a great engine.. i had a 403 go 330k miles on the original long block..
Whoa! That's impressive. As long as you kept those 403's cool, they were runners.
@@rporestorations yep.. it was a great engine.. it was in a 1978 Olds 98 Regency.. my dad bought it new.. then he gave it to me with 200k on the odo.. i put another 130k on it.. it was tired, but still running great.. it only had one kind of oil in it from new.. exxon uniflow.. it was my dad's thing.. so i kept it up.. eventually, my son and i put rings and bearings in it, valve job.. did the typical cam/springs/intake/carb/headers... then swapped it into a 79 trans am that had a blown 403 in it.. i built a turbo 400 for it.. it was a fun street car.. hell, it might still be running as far as i know.. lol
Had one in my 83 Olds 98, it was OK, seemed to run fine. Had to change the water pump once, was a bigger deal than it needed to be overall the engine was OK, seemed to get around 18 mpg. I have a 93 Buick Roadmaster now and I enjoy the Roadmaster much more then the old Olds.
Brackets on top of brackets.
Much agreed the durability and smoothness was never a question however noted that earlier 84 and older slightly more power than the later ones. Decent enough in a cutlass but the wagons and 98s park avenues and 86 and newer broughams really seemed to struggle. Very little passing power worrisome merging into freeway traffic especially if car is loaded. In comparison the big fords 86 and newer had port injected 302 much stronger. My 88 country squire wagon much better road trip car than my 89 custom cruiser 307 4bbl.
I still own an 84 toronado that came factory 307 with fwd, engine is dropped in straight like a truck
Useless trivia: roller tappets used in Olds v8s are the same.as ford/IH 6.9, 7.3, 6.0, and 6.4 diesels. I think there are others that used them too.
I had that motor in a 1983 Buick LeSabre
A very solid and bulletproof engine!
Agreed!
My Grandmother had a 89 Brougham d’elegance with that 307. Great car, only issue it had was later in life the auto leveling started acting a little crazy. She had it until she was t boned by a teenage girl in a Ford Probe. Downgraded to a Crown Victoria.
My 307 gave up with 317,000 miles
Great video! And I'm going to pose you a challenge.
Trivia: There really was no true Oldsmobile big block. All their modern V8's were essentially the same block, from the 455 down to the 260. A friend of mine described it as an "intermediate block", since it could actually go to 455 cubic inches, but was smaller than other GM big blocks of the era. Only slightly larger and heavier than Chevy's small block V8.
-Want an idea for a video? I know of an official "big block" engine that is not American. It comes from Germany, and NO it is not a BMW or Mercedes Benz product. It was offered in 2 valve and 4 valve per cylinder designs, with SOHC and DOHC variants. The company that built it is famous for lightweight sports cars, yet this all aluminum BIG BLOCK weighed 550 pounds. Arias in California actually mounted the DOHC heads from this engine on a 502 Chevy block and it made 550 hp while passing California emissions with smooth idle and perfect driveability.
What engine is this? Do a video on the Porsche M28 engine.
There's your challenge....
A buddy of mine had a probably late 70’s Nova with 307 and it was strong, a lot faster than my 72 302 Mustang.
Someone swapped that in as you couldn't get a 307 Olds V8 in a late 1970s Nova. The only V8s were Chevrolet small blocks.
@@googleusergp I didn’t know that, I just know that thing was quick, you know I was familiar with 350’s, but I thought the 307 was a truck engine, man GM produced a bunch of engines, but again that’s good information, our family was mostly Ford people and our neighbor was a MOPAR guy so I knew a lot more about those two brands. Like the LS everybody swaps in, a guy we go to Church with had a GMC pickup with a LS, I drive it and compared to my 2.7 Ecoboost F150 it felt really slow and I wondered why the LS was so popular, but admittedly I didn’t get on it at all, just felt like it didn’t have much get up and go for a bone stock engine, but I have a friend with nearly 400,000 on a LS powered Silverado, smoke a little after sitting, but that’s a ton of miles and even though I hope my Ecoboost gets there m, I doubt it could, but what a fun little engine to get on. Thank You for the info.
@@poppyneese1811 The 307 Chevrolet V8 was used in both trucks and cars. Other divisions (Pontiac off the top of my head) used it as well. Yes, GM produced a bunch of engines and if you don't know them, they can get confusing. Tell someone that you have a "350 in that 1978 GM vehicle" and it could be a Chevrolet 350, Buick 350, Olds 350 or a Pontiac 350. Even Cadillac got into the 350 game using an Oldsmobile designed, but Cadillac marketed engine for a time. You had to be on top of your game in the parts world then. I came into the parts world in the 1980s but by then I was already well versed in GM's engines and what vehicles used what.
@@poppyneese1811Chevrolet's 307 was a great engine, far better than their 305 that replaced it. Not sure if that was done for emission reasons, or what
That engine,was the swansong of the rocket Olds gas engines.
Firethorn red - my smartphone changed the spelling!! Lol
It doesn’t have to make crazy horsepower but at least 200 to 300 horsepower with some performance parts by the crank I prefer fleet engines because they’re more around and cheaper
Chevy used to have a small 262 V8
262 was for Monza. 267 was used in the 80's.
I remember the 267 small V8..some Cutlass's had those motors
@@hotpuppy1the 262 also went in Novas for 1 year. 1976 I believe.
Imagine this motor with TBI or even better, some kind of port fuel injection????
Regal T were turbos V6. Never heard of 307 in T. Ordinary Regal saw those. 4:53
I know it sounds crazy. By 1987, the T package on the G body Regal could be ordered without the turbo 6. You could also order a turbocharged engine in any Regal, without checking the box on the option sheet for a T or Grand National package. It was rare, but there are a few factory T Types with the 307, and a few Regal Limited's out there with turbo engines.
The 307 had good torque in an '87 Gutless
That electric quadrajet was troublesome
Yeah, but I lot of that had to do with a lack of knowledge when it came to tuning them.
I have one I just put back in my 81 impala
I thought 403 was made up until later than 1979 although might have been exclusive to Cadillac limousines or funeral cars.
I wonder what would have happened if they’d offered it with fuel injection like they did with the Chevy V8? I think they would have had a winner 🏅
Oldsmobile was pretty much done with B and D bodies by the time GM put TBI on their formerly carbureted V-8's. Even the 1990 Custom Cruiser still had a 4bbl carb.
@@milfordcivic6755 I understand that. But it's nice to do what if. Just curious if it could have coexisted with the Chevy V8 since by that time the engines were no longer attached to their various divisions. If it would have fit, it would have been a good choice instead of the Cadillac 4.1-4.9 engines since it was MUCH more robust. Wondering how much improvement the fuel economy would be had it been injected vs carbureted
@@milfordcivic6755Olds did have fuel injection on their 350 in the late 70's for some Cadillacs.
They could have easily slapped a TBI on it. I think at this point, though, GM wanted everyone but Chevy out of the 8 cylinder motor game. Olds was working on the Quad 4, and Buick was concentrating on V6s.
They got those quadrajet efi kits now holley makes them 👍🏾 you can slap that on top of that 307 now.
Damnskippy!
Was there a turbo trans Am?
Yes there was a turbo trans am.1979 to 1981
How do you spell dog? Turbo trans am
There was a turbo trans am in 1989.
Intercooler Sequential Fuel Injected 231v6 turbo
@@jamesfair-sh5yj Not correct. 1980-1981 with a Pontiac 301 turbo V8 and in 1989 with a Buick 3.8L V6 engine, same as the 1987 Grand National.
Its a fantastic engine to replace with something else
Yes, Liked replacing small engines with bigger,305 to 350. 307 to 403 or Hi compression 330 and 350. If mileage and emissions are not your thing.
@@basilcarroll9729
I wish the 330 + 350 olds engines got more love than they do. Both were wonderfully smooth but had that wonderful oldsmobile torque curve !
@@Fred_NaughTBack in 1975 I replaced a 350 low compression Rocket in my 71 Cutlass S with a 330 320 horse from a 67 Delmont 88. From a dead stop till 25 mile per hour it was slightly less powerful than the 350,no tire spin.But at 25 it was like getting hit the rear by a fast train! Incredible acceleration!
You didn't buy a 307 V8 for power. You bought it for economy and smoothness. Something it did rather well.
Exactly!