He is correct but I live Buick so it's Buick on all levels. If you have an olds car it will be better if you lift the hood and say that is my 403 Olds engine and not a Chevy! or a 455 Olds but not a Chevy. Hell if you want to do an everybody else put a Rousch ford in it. I was going to upgrade the Regal with a 403 but it's a Buick and it needs a Buick engine in it. So the 403 is for sale. Here is a pic of the block. Look how big the cylinders are. That's bigger than my 455 Buick.
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- Thread starter Dripz1985
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Why do people claim an LS engine is some super simple cheap a$$ swap and think that's the best route for an INEXPERIENCED hotrodder to go? LS engines are great engines, but you don't just pick up one from any bonyard for chump change ( which are nonexistant around here and when one pops up they ain't cheap ) and simple 'slap it' in your car complete with fuel injection to boot. Sorry, but it's WAY easier to drop in the type of engine the car originally came with AND if you find a decent running engine to swap in, it's cheaper too. Will a decent LS engine out perform a used ( or even fairly built ) old school engine? Yep, it probably will. So what. It's not about having to have the best most up to date drive train available. Primarily, it's just about having fun with our older cars and it certainly isn't fun when you can't drive your car because a noobie get's frustrated on figuring out how to shoehorn that LS into his G-Body. For experienced hotrodders and those who don't mind having to deal with all the little things ( and some not so little things ) to get one up and running properly, maybe an LS is a good option. For a noob with little money, they most certainly are NOT the best choice IMO.
I was happy with the performance out of my 5A head 307's. As said, give it a good tune up and make sure your choke is set right. Dual exhaust and headers will sound better and give a little performance improvement. What transmission? If it is the TH2004R over drive transmission, upgrade to 3.73 rear gears. If it is a regular TH350 trans go 3.23 gears. With a lock up torque converter on a 3 spd trans, go 3.42 gears. This will make your car much more fun to drive.
X2 Double V and olds 307 and 403. Well said. Dripz the goal is to get it running right, then improve it. We are with you on this so just pick our brains. We got your back so to speak.
Did you find any info on how to set your carb? Olds has the oldest choke and fast idle set up. Why? Because it work very well when right. If your still having issues I'll try and find some illustrations to post.
T
Did you find any info on how to set your carb? Olds has the oldest choke and fast idle set up. Why? Because it work very well when right. If your still having issues I'll try and find some illustrations to post.
T
Looking at this drawing, the choke and the fast idle screw is what you will be looking for. it may be a phillips head screw, but it also may be a torx head screw. I cant remember if it's a T15 or a T20 torx. The choke triggers the fast idle.
The engine has to be cold when you set it. With the carb in front of you, press the throttle down and let go. The choke plate on top should close shut. If it is not fully closed, then that has to be adjusted first.
The choke in your car is not the electric one, but it is adjusted the sam way. The Olds choke is just as good as the electric one. But it has a plastic cover that is brittle, so be careful not to hit it. It has a big flat slot for a screwdriver to turn the cover for adjustment. First you must loosen the 3 hold down bolts locking the cover in place. You can see the 3 screws in the drawing on the choke assembly. one is down, and the other two are up at the corners. The screws are in the same spot on your carb. Loosen them til you can turn the cover by finger. Do not take them out!!! Turn the cover to close the choke plate on top of the carb. then give it a bit more to put tension on the plate. Then tighten one of the screws. Press the choke plate in to test the tension. It should snap back quickly, not too hard, but kinda hard. When you get that kind of tension, tighten up the 3 locking screws.
While the engine is cold the choke is tightly closed. Allowing the engine to start without pressing the gas pedal. Note: if your choke was not closed when the engine is cold, you would have to pump the gas pedal several times to get it to start.
The engine has to be cold when you set it. With the carb in front of you, press the throttle down and let go. The choke plate on top should close shut. If it is not fully closed, then that has to be adjusted first.
The choke in your car is not the electric one, but it is adjusted the sam way. The Olds choke is just as good as the electric one. But it has a plastic cover that is brittle, so be careful not to hit it. It has a big flat slot for a screwdriver to turn the cover for adjustment. First you must loosen the 3 hold down bolts locking the cover in place. You can see the 3 screws in the drawing on the choke assembly. one is down, and the other two are up at the corners. The screws are in the same spot on your carb. Loosen them til you can turn the cover by finger. Do not take them out!!! Turn the cover to close the choke plate on top of the carb. then give it a bit more to put tension on the plate. Then tighten one of the screws. Press the choke plate in to test the tension. It should snap back quickly, not too hard, but kinda hard. When you get that kind of tension, tighten up the 3 locking screws.
While the engine is cold the choke is tightly closed. Allowing the engine to start without pressing the gas pedal. Note: if your choke was not closed when the engine is cold, you would have to pump the gas pedal several times to get it to start.
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Great diagram. It will help explaining adjusting the choke. If the choke plate doesn't close with reasonable tension, it needs tightened. The hot air choke is tougher to set right, you must make sure it fully opens when warm. If you adjust it too tight, it will not fully open. The choke pull off opening screw also needs to open a certain amount, somewhere around a quarter inch open, running. I set mine by eye, have done it plenty of times.
An inexperienced hotrodder should also want to enter the game learning some newer technology, just like an experienced hotrodder would. Trust me I WAS YOU AT ONE TIME. A NEWB in every sense of the word. Do your own research. Listen to guys building 307s like fools and you'll be chasing 30-40 HP like it stole something from you. And for the guy talking prices with his 307 cutty, I bought a running 90k 5.3 from a 02 Tahoe with the harness and cpu for 600 with all the front accessories. Cam and springs were $330. I spent roughly another grand on a 4l60e and small things like motor mounts, fuel pump/lines, and a LS1 intake and relocation bracket. i mod'd my harness for a four wire setup and saved myself $700 on a harness. I could've done this for under $1600 if i wanted to be cheap but i build for HP AND reliability. Does it outperform a Old/Buick/Chevy Gen1...yep..does it off better gas mileage..yep. it's a no-brainer for a guy with a brain. a guy without a brain hunts for 5A heads and posts about his 15HP gain that he paid $300 for to restore his nostalgic heads.
Get the car running for as cheap as possible and save up. I don't want to sound negative but yes get the car running for what you need. But by no means put no real money into a 307. I would've given my 30K 307 to someone if they needed it. but i sold the entire motor and trans for 200.
Get the car running for as cheap as possible and save up. I don't want to sound negative but yes get the car running for what you need. But by no means put no real money into a 307. I would've given my 30K 307 to someone if they needed it. but i sold the entire motor and trans for 200.
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