olds 307 and 403

I can hardly wait for that bill😢. Goverment hand outs have made machine shops extremely busy, Kevin from Manitoba on here waited 7 months for his 350 build. I have been waiting 2+ months for my block and no hand outs for me during this Pandemic, more work then necessary for me. The N crank is for security on your hard earned money being spent, especially since you have it and plan on running hard. My old Boss at the garage had a 85 Tornado, it would have had the tiny solid balancer all 307's except the Vin 9 had. If I remember correctly, one day it would not start. He pulled the motor. The crank was snapped in half😱.

antzahh

To your comfort, for example the part that cost like 200$ in US, we pay like 250-300$ here in the parts store. If you order on your own from like Summit or Jegs the last price can easily be like 2x the part price....
And what comes in the longetivity for the parts to get done is loooong . This engine what im into now, its been on stand like 1year and 3months, just for heads and intake to be done. Other project block has been like 5 months in the machine shop.. I pulled the N crank from the donor block and the mains are 010 and rods 020 under. Easily usable stick. Necks looked really good with eye, gonna have it checked on Monday.
And what a tragedy your boss had!

olds 307 and 403

We also pay a lot more for parts but we are right next to the US, makes it much easier to get parts shipped cheaper from there. Of course there is the exchange rate, so add 20 percent. The 307 crank was many years ago now. Just a good, real world example of the strength of the later cranks. Very few of these Olds powered cars left on the road, even here. Glad you found a suitable crank.

antzahh

Here the rate is 24% i think.. Glad that i didn't need to order a new crank.. just pull the donor engine from the barn and spend 2 hours to disassemble it.

VORTECPRO

I never understood why Olds owners wanted 496s. Copper Cutlass's performance proves 7000 RPM and gear/TQ converter TQ multiplication makes his 350 Olds one of the quickest on here, something to think about.

VORTECPRO

Lets see pictures of the heads?

antzahh

I dont have those 7a heads atm in my place if you meant my heads.. but i think that those will be here in like week or two..
"Looks good" said the machine shop guy today when he measured the necks.. tomorrow i get that crank back, he do polish the necks tho.
After that i take crank balancer flexplate to balancing guy, he can do the job like in a week..

antzahh

Any damper suggestions? I was going to use stock damper but one folk told that its the weak link right after the stock rod bolts which has been changed..

coppercutlass

I use a stock balancer to 7k. Next engine is getting a bhj

antzahh

Thanks!

Bernhard

Just keep in mind stock balancers can come apart and that the rubber becomes brittle with age.

antzahh

I took a look to the rubber and it seems to be fine. No signs of brittle or any other damage..

66SportCoupe

I agree an aftermarket balancer SFI approved would be something to consider here.

antzahh

Yep but i think its fine at the cam break-in and cruising. I'll be getting a new damper when its racing time.

coppercutlass

You can't just swap the balancer out. Usually the rotating assembly is balanced as a unit. I'm very picky about using old balancer's and I usually inspect and make sure there is no cracks in the rubber but even then the rubber can crack as it's brittle. Just know the risk. I spin mine to 7k.and it's lived but I got a very nice balancer.

antzahh

Well i need to figure something out in the future.. but just now i don't have time to wait the new damper because in the worst case that would take like 2 months to arrive..

antzahh

As im waiting for the parts to get done, i read and watched some footage of Joe Mondello's block prepare work. So i started working on the lifter valley oil return holes and it went really good.. I'll be grinding the return holes from the heads too when i get my hands on em.. I think it's a good idea?! Any opinions? Of course the good cleaning after that is must.

Bernhard

Not a good source of information IMO.

antzahh

Yeah i dont know if those are good or bad infos.. But im only gonna just improve the oil return to the pan.. not gonna mess with mains, bearings or with the restriction stuff like he did to most of those bbo's he build.. RIP.

coppercutlass

The mondello tech book is a good reference. I wouldn't die by it but it does have some good info. Same for the BTR high performance olds v8 book. Some great info and bill is a phenomenal builder but something you have to take with a grain of salt and choose at your discretion

HighwayStar 442

Pro Street Ky here in Finland - https://www.facebook.com/people/Pro-...00057160312238
Has pictures of ported heads on Facebook. Very nice. Can not wait to see yours. Please take many clear pictures. Too bad the valves will be in.
Thank You!

antzahh

Yep. Thats the guy right there!

antzahh

Does anyone have the experience with the main cap girdle? Does it effect to the main torq specs?

olds 307 and 403

Torque will be the same. Are you running main studs or bolts? An align hone is necessary with a stud vs a bolt. My block is getting an align hone since I am running a 4 main, 1/2" thick Halo. Ford 302 main studs fit 1 through 4 mains, exact same length and are available 1/2" longer for a girdle.

antzahh

I do have studs and if i remember correctly, 2 years ago when this engine first started and run for half a year with milder setup, there was no problem without the align hone.. Today i installed the main bearing, put crank in place, caps, girdle, torque em down and the crank spun freely with all mains torqued down.

olds 307 and 403

The bearings looked good on the old crank? I you had even wear, then you should be fine. ARP wants their lube applied when torqued to spec.

antzahh

Yup they looked, i also can remember wrong that the mains ARE align honed.. I used ARP's grease on every friction point and threads ofc.

antzahh

Got the damper, crank and flexplate back from the shop, front of the crank balance was off about 25 grams and 55 grams on the back. After rebalance 1.3 and 0.33 grams.
The whole setup was balanced so that in the future it will be possible to change the damper without no rebalance, like for example 25oz fluidampr..

olds 307 and 403

Nice, you have a stronger set up to rev to use that Victor!

antzahh

Today was THE day..

bad pics.. exh

more bad pics.. exh

antzahh

more.. int

int

olds 307 and 403

You definitely have the meanest looking intake of any small block on here and it is purpose built with those long curving runners. I will be curious how tight it is under the hood, what air cleaner are you running? Curious to see what experts think of those ports, the numbers were certainly impressive for SBO iron heads.

HighwayStar 442

I am not an experts. Does the intake port rough finish help gas -air mixing. I left mine rough also, I do think it helps. Did make the exhaust ports smooth. But have seem other's intake and exhaust that are smooth. My valves were undercut. Yours are not, now I wonder if that hurts flow.

antzahh

Well thank you, first of all the the machinist told the same, runners are pretty long but the straightness of them does affect positively in this case. And what comes to the fitment under the hood, im pretty sure that i need to cut a hole.. Also the car is not Oldsmobile where the engine is going.. (Sorry for the purists). Im running the same as in the picture on top of that 750 holley.

antzahh

Yes, rough helps the gas air mix, but what i have heard and read, the smoothing does not affect quite as much as people think. And im not sure if undercut or straight cut makes any big differences?!?

antzahh

Yesterday measured the new pushrod lenght and surprise surprise, it will take like 3 weeks the partstore to get ones.. Well i got a lot another things to do at the meantime..

antzahh

Got my hands on the pushrods this week.. Started to mock up the parts and it is sure really precise job to do. Need to check every clearance like on the rockers, pushrod holes, guide plates etc.. Taking some pictures on the way when getting engine together.

antzahh

So much other things on the list right now, but trying to get something going on with this thing too...

olds 307 and 403

Looking good👍

antzahh

Today i got some extra time to do something to this.. I had to wait the paint to dry in the chassis where this is going.. So i slapped intake, front cover and damper in. Carb and valve covers are there just for the looks and blocking the extra dirt from going in the engine.