Help with Olds 307 Project

[yitzac1990]

Hello all! New guy here. I am helping my neighbor with his Oldsmobile 307 engine, to drop into his 1986 Cutlass. I know nothing about olds motors, and very little about classic carb'd motors to begin with. I am an LS guy. I am hoping I can get some help identifying exactly what motor this is, any and all details possible. We are not sure what year the engine is exactly.

What I know:
Olds 307
A4 intake manifold
7A heads
roller lifters

What else it came with:
used Holley 4 barrel carb
350 sbc long tube headers (I think they are SBC 350...honestly my neighbor doesn't know too much about cars, so he just bought whatever)
MSD (I think?) distributor

We ordered the following parts for it....can anyone confirm these will work?

1986 OLDSMOBILE CUTLASS SUPREME Fel-Pro MS96039 Fel-Pro Valley Pan Gaskets | Summit Racing

Free Shipping - Fel-Pro Valley Pan Gaskets with qualifying orders of $109. Shop Valley Pans and Gaskets at Summit Racing.

www.summitracing.com

1986 OLDSMOBILE CUTLASS SUPREME Fel-Pro 260-1477 Fel-Pro Engine Gasket Kits | Summit Racing

Free Shipping - Fel-Pro Engine Gasket Kits with qualifying orders of $109. Shop Engine Gasket Sets at Summit Racing.

www.summitracing.com

OLDSMOBILE COMP Cams K42-229-4 COMP Cams High Energy Cam and Lifter Kits | Summit Racing

Free Shipping - COMP Cams High Energy Cam and Lifter Kits with qualifying orders of $109. Shop Camshaft Kits at Summit Racing.

www.summitracing.com

I know I will be switching from roller lifter setup to flat tappet, this should be fine, right? With that cam, is a spring upgrade really needed? or can I keep the stock springs? I will also need to order new push rods, as 4 of them are currently missing, so we ordered some pushrod length checkers as well.

My neighbor is looking for something that'll just sound good, mainly. I am excited to dive into something I have not worked on before, Its always a learning experience.

Thanks in advance for the help!

 

[Olds 307 and 403]

It should be an A5 intake, otherwise there will be a port mismatch. You need a roller cam, flat tappet lifters are smaller than your roller lifters, it won't work. A Vin 9 307 HO roller cam is a good upgrade, you can reuse the factory lifters. You can't use anything Chevy on an Olds V8.

 

[yitzac1990]

He isn't looking for a stock cam, he wants some lope at idle. All the cams I found for Olds 307 in the aftermarket were flat tappet...any idea where I could find a roller cam?

How bad of a mismatch would the ports be with the A4 manifold? Are the A5's hard to find? I doubt he will want to spend the money on an aftermarket manifold...

 

[Rocketman269V]

I have a factory A5 intake. Comp Cams has several hydraulic roller cams for the 260-455.

 

[Rocketman269V]

How bad of a mismatch would the ports be with the A4 manifold?

Like running into a 300# lineman!

 

[yitzac1990]

I have a factory A5 intake. Comp Cams has several hydraulic roller cams for the 260.

How much would you want? I checked Comps website directly and found a few choices, but no springs! Any idea where to get upgraded springs?

 

[Rocketman269V]

For A5, email me for pics, etc.: [email protected]. Thanks, Bob.​

Valve springs @ Summit​

COMP Cams 995-16 - COMP Cams Valve Springs​

Valve Springs, Dual, 1.437 in. Outside Diameter, 402 lbs./in. Rate, 1.020 in. Coil Bind Height, Set of 16
Part Number: CCA-995-16
Estimated Ship Date: Today
$99.99

 

[Olds 307 and 403]

He also has a barely 8 to 1 307, the 194/210 .435/.438 Vin 9 cam is nice upgrade, most of the 30 hp gain on the 442 package. Any cam big enough to add some lope and it might not get out of it's own way. A D5 high stall converter, stalled around 2000 rpm behind the 307 HO and 3.73 gears were a big part of the improved performance of H/O and 442. Good luck.

 

[yitzac1990]

thanks everyone, I will see what my buddy wants to do here!

 

[yitzac1990]

Like running into a 300# lineman!

Would the valley pan that I had selected (first post) work correctly?

 

[Rocketman269V]

Would the valley pan that I had selected (first post) work correctly?

Yes, it would work with the factory A5 intake, NOT an A4. BTW, post some pics of the headers and distributor and we can tell you if they are for Olds.

 

[yitzac1990]

Thanks! I will try to get pics by tomorrow. Also emailed you about the intake.

My neighbor decided to just stick with the cam thats in the motor now. Apparently it has a "nice cam" in it already. Fine by me. We still need some push rods though...does anyone know the oem pushrod length, or have a link to a new set?

 

[Rocketman269V]

............ Also emailed you about the intake............does anyone know the oem pushrod length, or have a link to a new set?

I responded to your email with price/shipping and pushrod source. Thanks, Bob.

 

[yitzac1990]

I responded to your email with price/shipping and pushrod source. Thanks, Bob.

Thank you sir, I will get back to you!!

 

[yitzac1990]

I have some pictures here....first the carburetor:

Then the headers that he bought:

The distributor is not MSD, I believe he said he wanted an MSD, that is probably what I was thinking of:

And the distributor base, which is broken:

Any input on these items is appreciated!

 

[Rocketman269V]

The Holley carb is generic, will work with any engine; but will need an adapter plate to work with the factory intake. The headers are Olds for sure; don't know what body/engine they're for. The distributor cap is for a stock HEI distributor, again generic. The rotor appears damaged. The distributor is a factory HEI Olds for a computer controlled vehicle (two plugs).
Edit: I just noticed in the image of the distributor, you can see what I was talking about with regard to the intake port mis-matach. Look at the size of the openings in the intake gasket compared to the ports in the heads. That gasket is for the A4 intake.

 

[yitzac1990]

i see what you are talking about with the port mismatch, haha!

since the distributor needs replacing, what distributor, cap, and rotor would you suggest be bought for this engine? I am not sure if the vehicle it is going in (1986 Cutlass) has a computer.

 

[Olds 307 and 403]

The cheap chinese Ebay distributors are fine, it must be for an Olds V8. Yeah that is a computer controlled distributor, will not give any advance at all. Those headers are the cheap Chinese stainless steel headers from Ebay, they will not fit his 86 Cutlass. They are actually BBO headers but are so affordable and well made, I plan on a set for my 70 Cutlass S. If he can't get rid of them locally, I would be interested if the price is right and willing to ship to Canada. He needs Hedman G body Olds headers for the 260 through 403 Olds V8, part number 58076.

 

[yitzac1990]

He needs Hedman G body Olds headers for the 260 through 403 Olds V8, part number 58076

What about the 58070 part number? They seem to be the same, just un-coated...

 

[Rocketman269V]

i see what you are talking about with the port mismatch, haha!

since the distributor needs replacing, what distributor, cap, and rotor would you suggest be bought for this engine? I am not sure if the vehicle it is going in (1986 Cutlass) has a computer.

The cap and rotor are the same, whether computer controlled or not. The '86 came from the factory with a computer unless it was a diesel; however, with the changes that you're contemplating, you want a non-computer controlled distributor. Any early HEI distributor (single 3-wire plug, '75-'80), any size Olds V-8 will work. I have several used early distributors, if interested. I may also have a cheap set of used G-body headers that will work for you.