86 442 307 cam swap

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Old July 8th, 2021, 03:29 PM
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86 442 307 cam swap

Done. Used a Comp 262 with a 7.700 pushrod to get lift at 0.478 vs the 9 cam lift of 0.438. Still has nice idle. This cam took the 0.050 duration from 196/210 to 210/216. Power change won't blow you away but noticeable... it is a 7A headed, 5 miles of vacuum tubed LG8 smogger!
At the same time, added Cloyes double roller chain and gears, high flow water pump, and a Cold Case 2 core aluminum radiator (this fit perfectly, and in the Texas heat stays at 180 degrees).
Exhaust, due to the transmission crossover, retains the 2.5" crossover and downpipe through the <deleted> cat, now has a true "Y" vs "y" split to the 2.25" dual outlets with 40 series mufflers.
I have a Jet Stage 2 chip for it, have not run it yet with the new top end. Previously, it seemed to add some spunk, transmission shifts were harder... I'll try it for a weekend, but I liked the stock chip fine enough with the original setup.
That will mark the end to the mods on my 60k mile W42.
Needed to get this out there to the folks that want to keep, not swap, their 307.
I will say, at 60k miles, the original timing gear still looked good, and the original cam showed no visible wear between lobes, nor on the lifters or pushrods. All are being vacuum sealed and put away.

Last edited by 86 Olds 442; July 8th, 2021 at 03:32 PM.
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Old July 8th, 2021, 08:09 PM
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Take a pic of the exhaust, anything has to be an improvement over the stock crossover into a manifold and dumped out a single 2.5" down pipe into a single cat. That sounds like a nice improvement, a track run would really tell you the gain. The later Vin 9 swirl port 442's ran high 16's to low 17's stock from what members have posted. The 5A non swirl port ran high 15's to low-mid 16's. Heck you might be an 80's or 90's 5L HO Mustang fast, remember when they were the water mark for a fast car🤣
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Old July 9th, 2021, 06:36 AM
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Originally Posted by olds 307 and 403
Take a pic of the exhaust, anything has to be an improvement over the stock crossover into a manifold and dumped out a single 2.5" down pipe into a single cat. That sounds like a nice improvement, a track run would really tell you the gain. The later Vin 9 swirl port 442's ran high 16's to low 17's stock from what members have posted. The 5A non swirl port ran high 15's to low-mid 16's. Heck you might be an 80's or 90's 5L HO Mustang fast, remember when they were the water mark for a fast car🤣
My Father had a 1989 Mustang H/O with the 5 speed manual gearbox, think it was rated 225 HP and 300 TQ. Quick for its day. Ironically, the Ford heads were not that much different port wise that the Olds 307
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Old July 9th, 2021, 06:45 AM
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Sounds like a good swap. Dothe late model timing chains still have nylon covered teeth like the 60s n 70s ones do?
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Old July 9th, 2021, 09:19 AM
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Yeah, the 307's I have pulled apart did.
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Old July 10th, 2021, 03:49 PM
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Cherry on the sundae

I reworked the timing back to original spec 20 degrees for good idle, then added my old Jet 58606-S Stage 2 chip to it.
The chip made a standard Vin 9 worse.
It is the cherry on the sundae for the 262 swap. No harsh shifts, nice torque at all speeds. 70 MPH at 2500, add pedal and almost new vehicle response w/o lag or downshift.
Still outta breath between 4200-4800, cant change that, but is she a beaut through 4000 now.
Long Live the LG8... especially the LJ9-W42 (thats my new plate, named after my mods. Its that good people.)
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Old July 10th, 2021, 06:08 PM
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I am kicking myself for not buying a 87 442 for 4 grand 5 or so years ago, so close to going to look at it. I saw it two years later for the same 4 grand but the 3rd owner drove it in the Winter, holes in the rockers, I lost my nerve with the rot. You have the true Oldsmobile's, the last full frame, Olds V8 powered, 2 door performance coupe with a performance calibrated trans and heavy duty 8.5" rear end. Any pics of this car?
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Old July 11th, 2021, 05:43 AM
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Originally Posted by olds 307 and 403
I am kicking myself for not buying a 87 442 for 4 grand 5 or so years ago, so close to going to look at it. I saw it two years later for the same 4 grand but the 3rd owner drove it in the Winter, holes in the rockers, I lost my nerve with the rot. You have the true Oldsmobile's, the last full frame, Olds V8 powered, 2 door performance coupe with a performance calibrated trans and heavy duty 8.5" rear end. Any pics of this car?
here are a couple. Did i mention, i grew up just down the hwy from you in Neepawa, MB


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Old July 11th, 2021, 09:12 AM
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Not all that far from me in Two Creeks, Manitoba. Our farm was a half mile from 83 Hwy North. Basically right across the big brick Ross school that now burnt down🙁. Mom taught there, coming from around the Selkirk, Manitoba area. She came to teach in Rural Western Manitoba. Dad purposed to Mom in that school. We came to Saskatchewan due to government offering 15K for us to move for 7 years service, that was 11 years ago. Same colour scheme as the 87, I almost bought, didn't realize you were fairly local, very cool.

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Old July 11th, 2021, 10:57 PM
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Does it need a new trans cross member in order to add better duals or headers?

Change carb and distributor to drop computer and miles of hoses?

Joe Mondello has an interesting article on 307 mods. Sounds expensive.

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Old July 11th, 2021, 11:01 PM
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I can't get article to paste. Search for Mondello giant killer or Olds giant killer.
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Old July 12th, 2021, 06:43 AM
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Yeah, no G body came with a dual hump crossmember. GM was too cheap on any car to run dual cats and dual exhaust. Even the FE3X prototype had ram air, shorty headers, a y pipe with a single Corvette cat back into the stock Vin 9 dual outlet exhaust. It gained 30 hp and with the 5 spd would have made the 442 much more competitive. People forget automatic 5L Mustang's ran a 15.2 in the 1/4, not far off our heavier 442's. I did this with the exhaust on my G body with Sanderson shorties.

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Old July 23rd, 2021, 01:11 PM
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Originally Posted by 86 Olds 442
Exhaust, due to the transmission crossover, retains the 2.5" crossover and downpipe through the <deleted> cat, now has a true "Y" vs "y" split to the 2.25" dual outlets with 40 series mufflers.

Needed to get this out there to the folks that want to keep, not swap, their 307.
The VIN 9 307 makes for a nice engine. The exhaust is holding her back though. I have an 87 442 with just about every known tweak under the sun. 15.1 @ 89 MPH in the 1/4 at 3560 LBS test weight. It takes around 200 flywheel HP to see those numbers.

Originally Posted by olds 307 and 403
a track run would really tell you the gain. The later Vin 9 swirl port 442's ran high 16's to low 17's stock from what members have posted. The 5A non swirl port ran high 15's to low-mid 16's. Heck you might be an 80's or 90's 5L HO Mustang fast, remember when they were the water mark for a fast car🤣
Yes a good solid pass will paint a clear picture. The Comp 262 makes nice power on a 350 with special heads, intake, and headers. Around 350 HP @ 5300 RPM.

With regards to rolling with a 5.0 Kick *** car in its day and still a nice mover today IMHO. I think my 87 could probably run with a bone stock max weight excessive wheelspin late 80s Stang. I'm thinking 86 Olds 442 will be quicker but again the exhaust is neutering power.







Originally Posted by Oldcoyote
Does it need a new trans cross member in order to add better duals or headers?
Yes, unless you have it notched and boxed by a professional as I did.

Last edited by 69CSHC; July 23rd, 2021 at 01:15 PM. Reason: pic added
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