Greetings,  

   Just wanted to drop you a line in regards to your constant trashing of the "lowly" Chevy 307.  Being the kind of guy who has to "run-what-you-have", I have had great results from this smaller motor.  In fact, given the choice between a 305 or 307, I'd take the '07 every time.  Some of the merits of this motor include; Bigger bore and shorter stroke than the '05.... cheap and in most cases FREE, from the uninformed masses, and usually in good condition, as many people simply leave them completely un-touched.  I suppose since the factory never offered a 4 bbl., or factory "performance" version of this motor, everyone thinks it is junk...

   I got mine from my cousin who thought he was buying a 350... but one look at the thin balancer and casting number, I knew what it was.  I got it for 150.00, complete with aftermarket Weiand intake and cast Edelbrock valve covers.  It was also recently rebuilt too! He was so disgusted, that I got it for much less than he paid for it.. he thought it was junk, like everyone else.

   I'd like to see Car Craft actually do something good for this motor... like a gradual performance style buildup.  How about a set of Vortec heads and matching modern intake, to take advantage of the larger bore?  Adding a decent carb and testing several cams?  How about off the wall Fuel Injection set-up? Didn't you (or was it Hot Rod..?) do a similar build-up of the bread and butter 318, with some very interesting results?

   Keep in mind this motor has to be paired with a lighter car and decent gears, but my particular combo (3300 lb. Camaro, M20 4 speed and 3.73 posi), makes for some "spirited" driving.  It would also be good in a Nova 68 to 79, as well.  It's no super killer car, but it is cheap and fun.  Best of all if it does break, a replacement motor isn't too hard to come up with.

   I think this motor has a lot of potential, but BEST of all... when you dust that mustang and the driver asks "What do you got in that thing!!?"  You can tell them that:  "It's just a 307".....

"Just wanted to drop you a line in regards to your constant trashing of the "lowly" Chevy 307." 

Oh, there are some small-blocks "lower" on the pole... 262, 265, 267, 283 and 305 (IMO).  And then, there are some higher on the pole. 

Oh, there are some small-blocks "lower" on the pole... 262, 265, 267, 283 and 305 (IMO).  And then, there are some higher on the pole. 

Good point,  Your list is just like mine... but there just ain't no excuses for the creation of the 262 and 267.... What were they thinking?? NOTHING is useable from this pair of boat anchors! .. (maybe the HEI dizzy or the pulleys..**LOL****!!!) Has anyone out there even attempted to fool with one of these turds?  The 3o7 has the upper hand here amongst these....

Yes, I had a 78 z/28 4spd. I got it cheap from a friend that blew the 350. I went to the junkyard looking for a 350 that was in good shape, but no luck.The only thing available was a 262 out of a 75 monza.I was not thrilled with that idea,but it ran and didn't smoke. 99 bucks. I swapped it in with all the same gear the 350 had edelbrock streetmaster single plane Q-jet headers pep-boys cam stock 305 not sure of specs. the old cam had six lobes that were totally round. I drove the car for 7 years and beat it to death, it never broke.The only things that went bad was a fuel pump which broke in two at the mount while seeing 5000 + rpms for a bout a half mile and a starter.It was sluggish at low speed,but if you rev it up and dump the clutch it made lots of smoke and noise. it was alot of fun to drive.Everyone thought it was a 350.  

307s are actually pretty cool. They are just a 283 block (3.875 bore) with a 327 crank (3.250 stroke, large journal).

The only problem is decent pistons if you're gonna rebuild one. Here's a combo I came up with a few years ago:

KB piston PN KB165 (6cc dish) or PN KB166 (4cc dome) are for a 283 and have a 1.805 compression height. You can use them in a 307 by using short 400 rods (5.565 inches) to make up for the 307's quarter-inch-longer stroke. The rod ratio is still 1.71:1, better than a stock 350. Mill the block 0.025 and the 4cc domes give 311ci at 0.030 over and compression of 10.0:1 with 64cc chambers. Pretty cool.

DF  

307s are actually pretty cool. They are just a 283 block (3.875 bore) with a 327 crank (3.250 stroke, large journal).

The only problem is decent pistons if you're gonna rebuild one. Here's a combo I came up with a few years ago:

KB piston PN KB165 (6cc dish) or PN KB166 (4cc dome) are for a 283 and have a 1.805 compression height. You can use them in a 307 by using short 400 rods (5.565 inches) to make up for the 307's quarter-inch-longer stroke. The rod ratio is still 1.71:1, better than a stock 350. Mill the block 0.025 and the 4cc domes give 311ci at 0.030 over and compression of 10.0:1 with 64cc chambers. Pretty cool.

Hi Dave,

Thanks for the combo.. I was wondering about the piston issue... I was thinking maybe PAW offered some pistons to suit the 307.  Interesting note however, this weekend the summit 1103 cam and lifters went in (.442 I. .465 E, 214 I 224E, 112 LSA), what a BIG difference!! Bad thing is, number 8 is dead.... plug not fouled, traded wires on it, checked for full rocker arm movements.. both are adjusted and work fine... what is it?? It runs really good on 7, can't wait for all 8 to go!! YOWZA! Any chance of any of the magazines doing a story on the '07? 

BTW.. food for thought.. offset grind the crank .10 to small journals.. use 5.7 ctr. 327 sm. journal rods with the pistons you mentioned... If I did the math right, it comes out to 321 @ .030 over.. and 326 @ .060 over, while having a 1.7:1 rod ratio... interesting stuff.

Take care,

Mike

Bad thing is, number 8 is dead.... plug not fouled, traded wires on it, checked for full rocker arm movements.. both are adjusted and work fine... what is it?? It runs really good on 7, can't wait for all 8 to go!! YOWZA!

UPDATE!! ... Problem solved... a mild backfire during initial start-up, blew the rubber plug on the vacuum port/tree located in/over number 8 intake runner.... the massive vacuum leak caused all sorts of headaches. 

Kinda like when the rubber line pops off the vacuum modulator on your Turbo 350, down under the car.   

 How many times does something this stupid get ya? Sheez!

 Next stop is a friends Sun machine/scope to optimize the setup!!

Why run a 307 for a performance engine unless you already have one or get one for next to free?  Its not like a 350 costs much to buy.  Bolt-ons cost the same for a SBC whether for a 307 or a 350.  More 350s are out there than 307s.

In the case of a 289/302 versus running the bigger 351W, I can see why the smaller motor makes sense.  The 351W takes unique parts and is not as common as the 302.  The short stroke and smaller bearings of the 289/302 might work better at higher rpms

Just wondering why a 307?

Tom

I'd say its just for the fun of it. why build a 396, when you can build a 454? its all the same, its just for fun.  

Why run a 307 for a performance engine unless you already have one or get one for next to free?  Its not like a 350 costs much to buy.  Bolt-ons cost the same for a SBC whether for a 307 or a 350.  More 350s are out there than 307s.

It was a cost issue....

    I got the 307 for next to nothing, and I was bucks-down at the time and needed a good motor.. my cousin bought it under the impression (or was "told") it was a fresh rebuilt 350... It indeed was rebuilt and extremely clean with only a few hundred miles on it, but it was a 307.  He was SO disgusted finding out it was'nt a 350, he gave it to me for a song... So I threw a Summit 1103 cam in it and had a nice street engine for my Camaro for next to nothing.  Now let me tell you, the 307 kicks a$$ in the car, with a 4 speed and 3.73 posi... not a stormer, but fun to drive. I'd take an '07 over a 305 anytime!! It has a bigger bore and shorter stroke... I know there are those that would disagree, but the 307 got a real big bum rap... the factory motors were choked with #### heads and a weenie cam, 2 barrel and single exhaust.. what do you expect?  I did eventually end up with a 350 short block at a good price, but now my son will enjoy the 307 in the camaro as his first car. And yes, when he pieces together a 350, maybe the good stuff will come off and go onto a 350 (or 400). 

Here's a cool low buck combo I came up with the other day for a 307 stroker.  Using a 3.48" stroke 350 crank, 5.565" 400 rods, and off the shelf .030" over 307 pistons, you'd end up with 333 cubes.  With this combo, the pistons end up .020 down in the hole so just have it milled to 8.980" for 0" deck height.  Sure its still cheaper to just build a 350 but weird combo's are cool and this is the only real good use I can think of for those 400 rods I've got sitting under the bench.  

307's Rock mine has dusted many a mustang and camaro in it's time unfortunatly it's time is slipping and there is little room left to get it machined again. Eight years four intakes two sets of heads three carbs and two hundred and sixty thouasand miles of hard driving, it's held up better than the bodie by far.  I would like to see some 307 builds in print as well they spin up nice and quick compared to 350's and big blocks as well, at least compared to the ones Ive lined up next to.  

I think they have.....but to be real "out there " I think they should do a piece on the even lowlier 267ci V-8 in my `80
Camino.  

I`m not hip I guess to the 262 but my 267 takes a beatin and runs great....for what it is. With the small bore it hard to achieve any kind of performance, but they are fun to beat on.
By the way, gm built these motors for economy and dependability in our cocaine crazed emission conscious 70/80`s
Aint nothin happin`n with these for performance tho,....
M