sbc 307?

[drewdude92]

what do yall think about this motor? half decent or junk?

[big_al_71]

My truck came with one and I took it off within a day or two after I got the truck and sold the motor right back to the guy I bought the truck from as it would not fit into what I wanted to build. With the amount of 350's out there I would not waste my time with either a 305 or 307....

[turp mcspray]

It's about 93 ci. too small. Haha!

[69GMCor70Chevy]

We had one in a truck that we have had in the family since 69. It has never had anything done to it but regular maintenance. While it has been a very durable motor it is a long way from powerful...

[suprachrgd82]

That all depends on what your goal is.

If you want to ugrade from an I6, it's a great motor.

If you are looking for power and overall bottom end strength, It's an intermediate choice.

The 307 came into existence in the late 60's/early 70's when Chevy was pressed to begin a phase of gas efficient, low emissions engines. Most were equipped with a 2 barrel carb and lousy heads, and low perfomace annotations. Of course any engine can be built well, but the 307 is a lesser foundation than the 350. In most builds, the overall costs are greater than a 350 build. 350's are common with good reason.

If you have a good price and it fits what you are looking to do it it, there is nothing wrong with a 307.

[monte0185]

If you throw the original heads away and put in a decent set of flat top pistons a medium cam and a decent set of heads you cam match any 350 built with similar mods. Plus it uses a 327 crank. You can bore it from a stock 307 to a stock 350 and use stock 350 pistons. Lots of great options for an under appreciated motor. Dont get me wrong Id take a 400 over it any day of the week but everyone and their neighbor has a 350 nowadays and the 307 is way more durable.

[big_al_71]

the 307 out of my truck ran like a sewing machine, the guy I sold it to is using it on a 32 roadster set up as a cruiser. If you want to just have a nice driver then there is nothing wrong with it, now If you want to haul ass you go with a small block 400 like I did...

[69GMCLonghorn]

I agree with the above comments. A similarly built larger displacement engine will run away and hide from it, but the 307 can deliver slightly better mileage. I used to get around 14 - 15 with no OD in my old '69. The original engine had a very hard 150,000 on it when my dad rebuilt it. The rebuilt engine made another 12 years and 200,000 miles (the owner/my neighbor ran it for several years with no air cleaner and finally sucked something down the chute and scored a cylinder!!). The third engine is going great and the truck has around 425,000 miles on it!

[brothers69c-10]

I also agree they don"t have much power at all, but my brother did mangae to blow the rearend out of our 69 with it.

[mike16]

its the base v8. if it runs good your bucks ahead. They dont tax the drivetrain. Any 350's gonna need a rebuild and you can never just leave it at that so cost's 'll soar. then there is fuel. How many people wanna bet gas will go past 4 bucks again. I just bought a 72 with a 307 and 88172 miles on it. A new timing chain set, oil pump and damper is all its gonna see. Maybe a set of dual exhuaste.

[nickp51chevy]

I'm using a 307 in my '51 and I did some research and with a few mods I can get 300hp out of it. It's stock at 200hp, and I'm only building it for a cruiser. From what I've heard from a lot of the older fellas that I worked with is that they used a 307 in their race cars and they never have any problems with them. They can rev up high and they said that the 307 is pretty much bullet proof.

[silverstreak]

I friend of mine had one in his Nova back in highschool. It had a 4 speed, 4 barrel carb, intake, cam and headers. He was running the 1/4 mile in the low / mid 14's. I can still remember the last day of school of senior year. He did a burnout for about 100 feet.

[screamin_c10]

I'm not gonna get into a pi$$ing match with the 350 fan boys but I do know that I have a set of back tires that frickin' hate my 307....

[68Stepbed]

The 307 was a way to use up 283 blocks and 327 cranks laying around when they used 327 blocks and 283 cranks to make 302's for the Z28 Camaros.

You can bore a 283(or307) block out .125" over, which would make it a 4.00" bore. With a 3.25" crank, voila! You have a 327.

Also, 307's came from the factory with flat top pistons. The biggest downfall to them was the wheezy heads that came on them. A good set of heads, cam, headers, intake, and right sized carb, it should make a decent screamer.

[redbaron69]

im gonna rebuild the one that came in my 69. lots of people hate these motors,and i dont know why. they are tough and dependable. i have owned a few in these trucks with 307s and YES they are NOT fire breathing dragons. but i just like to cruise. you can make one sound good with a little cam and headers. just my .02 cents worth

[drewdude92]

yup all im needing is a cheap motor that will get decent mileage and be able to drive around with a hay bale on the back. Im building my dad a new truck. His truck that he started to haul hay with caught on fire almost a year ago. He had the truck for almost 35 years...

[special-K]

I like`em for what they are.They are fun to pep up,too.They are 1/2 decent.

[chevy72pu]

Originally Posted by drewdude92

what do yall think about this motor? half decent or junk?

Had 307/3 ott in a'71 chevelle. Wore out several sets of tires, had to reline the brakes, broke the shifter collar on the column from power shifting. Traded it with 85,000 miles, and had never touched the engine. better than half decent in my book.

[shortbed70]

A while back I was looking for a 307 to use the crank out of it in my 361 sbc.
350 block 307 crank 327 pistons and 5.7 rods and you have yourself a 327 four bolt main. .030 over 332ci .040 333ci .060 337ci.

[71tahoe]

Originally Posted by 68Stepbed

The 307 was a way to use up 283 blocks and 327 cranks laying around when they used 327 blocks and 283 cranks to make 302's for the Z28 Camaros.

You can bore a 283(or307) block out .125" over, which would make it a 4.00" bore. With a 3.25" crank, voila! You have a 327.

Also, 307's came from the factory with flat top pistons. The biggest downfall to them was the wheezy heads that came on them. A good set of heads, cam, headers, intake, and right sized carb, it should make a decent screamer.

Since 283s and 327s get loads of praise I think it makes a 307 half excellent!

Parts for a 350 will be cheaper and you would probably be better off in the long run with a 350 but if you have it, use it.

[69GMCLonghorn]

Originally Posted by 71tahoe

Since 283s and 327s get loads of praise I think it makes a 307 half excellent!

Parts for a 350 will be cheaper and you would probably be better off in the long run with a 350 but if you have it, use it.

True, but a lot of parts are interchangable between the 307 and the 350.

I think one of the best and most accurate comments is that a 307 is less taxing on the entire drivetrain because it's a little less potent. The '69 that my dad bought with a 307 is now owned by my neighbor and has something over 425,000 miles on it. 1st engine made 150,000 miles of being constantly loaded (wish I was!), but well maintained. The 2nd engine made about 250,000 miles of total neglect in terms of maintenance. Now the third engine has about 20-30K on it. What's more impressive is the SM465 and Eaton rear ends have NEVER been opened up! Both are still in fairly good shape!

[jim zag]

I put 305 4 barrel heads on mine with a crane 274 Energizer and it ran real good. It is still in my garage and will make a good engine for a Cheap project.

[drewdude92]

alright thanks everyone ill go through with the 307 are the parts about the same price as a 350?

[nickp51chevy]

I've looked at Summit for some parts and they are the same price for any SBC. But I'm not gonna say that's true 100% of the time.

[68Stepbed]

Stock rebuild stuff should be similar in price. Most companies aren't gonna have hi-po 307 pistons laying around on their shelves. A good set of pistons may set you back more if you would actually go that route.

Anything else is gonna be standard sbc stuff.

Also, check around with some local machine shops. Sometimes, they have stuff laying around that someone ordered but never used or paid for.