Not a Truck but a 307 chevy

Ah, my first car, 1980. Muncie 3 speed, '71 350 four bolt the Alaskan dealer put in two weeks after purchase, Heavy Chevy package, Competition Orange.

Oh, where was I. Sounds like that engine is going to need a lot of work, and the 307 for 72 was a poor excuse for a v8. Even the Turbofire 350 for that year only had 175 GROSS HP. Given the conditions you have to work with, and the problems you are likely to encounter (bent valves, cracked pistons, etc), I'd either have him fix it, and replace the pistons with something having more compression (the originals were only

7.5 to 1, IIRC), Or I'd put another motor in it. A hot stock 350 will lift the front tires with a set of slicks you keep at your cruisin buddy's house ;)

What kind of condition is the car in? Is it an SS or Malibu? 2 door or

4? If it's in nice shape, changing the original motor for something else will lose you money in the long run. If it's a 4 door Malibu, the 305 wont hurt it. And don't go for the Big Block, you won't like the way it handles after driving it with the 307. If you do decide to do it yourself, buy or make a transmission jack. Cheapest way to do it is to buy one of those 19.99 2 ton floor jacks, and weld about a foot square piece of 1/4" sheet metal centered on the lifting pad. Pop slots in the side for straps, or holes in the corners for chains, and you don't have to worry about the tranny falling. Most of those jacks have a cotter pin holding the plate in, so you could pop it out and weld a dowel to the plate instead and have a multi-function jack. Easiest way for the home DIYer to get the tranny out, BTW, is to push it forward and take it up through the engine bay.

. Not a Truck but a 307 chevy Group: alt.trucks.chevy Date: Wed, Sep 17, 2003, 2:15am (CDT+5) From: snipped-for-privacy@REMOVEworldnet.att.net (KJ)

I have a 1972 chevelle with a 307. The timing chain failed while I was traveling about 70MPH on the highway. I had a local mechanic replace the gears and chain with steel ones, but it still wouldn't turn over when he tried it. He took the valve covers off and found 5 bent rods and 1 snapped rod. Here are my questions: I'm $350 into the engine already. Would it be more cost effective to: a: pay him 350 and do the head work myself b: pay him 1000-1100 to do it for me c: drop in a 83' 305 from a gmc jimmy I have access too (I have been told that it would go in, I remember reading that any engine within a few years (like a 6 year span from say 69 to 75 or whatever) would go in, not go in based on size) d: buy a rebuilt crate engine and drop it in myself

Any ideas, CRITISM, etc would be GREAT. ^ ( he didn't.........yeah he did..) (ya'll heard him......)

Thank you. KJ

Also: any do's/don'ts and or tips on getting the drive train IN an 85' K5 on a dirt driveway working alone? Planning on chaining the tail to the crossmember bolt holes and jacking up the front, so I can get a floor jack on a piece of plywood under the tranny. Don't have the strength to put it on the jack underneath the car or a means to make the truck tall enough to put the tranny on the jack outside.

Thanks. =====================================

KJ, :)

critism?

any?

you sure?

:)

I admire your spirit dude.........I mean....... you dah man..........

I mean........on a dirt road.......no way to jack the truck up..............chain the tail house to the crossmember bolt holes??..............just you ..... no help?.............

rotflmao........

you really gonna do this?......... by yourself?...............

I bet it rains.........

rothflmao......

Can I buy a ticket? Can I bring Willy?

any whooo...............

About your car. I got all confidence in ya bud. I agree with John on the replacement engine. If you got the finances, you're planning on the keeping your classic ride, you want to stay stock on performance for now.......get you a "crate engine" and put this one behind you. I think your mechanic should have been a little more thourough in his initial diagnosis before spending $350 of your hard earned money. I'd let him know it too. (but that's just the way I am) Install the motor yerself if you want to save a few a bucks and gain some bragging rites at the ole work place.

About your tranny job...................

:)

MAKE A FRIEND.......and fer God sake buy him some beer and get him to help you.

plywood under the truck...so yer jack will roll

regular ole floor jack

2 jack stands (not chain, not brick, not block.... if you can fork over the money fer a motor... you can afford a set of Walmart $20 jack stands)

transfer case off the tranny

dangle the tranny filler tube up near the engine so its close enougn to get it in when you start forward with the tranny. use some kind of wire or piece of "cloths hanger" to secure it at the neck so's it don't go fallen every time you bump it.

find the "ONE" elongated converter bolt hole on the flywheel and point it straight down. You can tighten that convertor bolt first.....and all the others will be aligned perfectly as you install them. (don't do this and you'll be cuss'n....if yer the cuss'n type)

bolt an offet wrench ( s-shaped, the bigger the better) to one of the bellhouseing bolt holes, and use the wrench to keep the convertor from sliding out while your positioning the tranny on your jack. Take the wrench off AFTER you have the tranny up to where you're going to start to go forward with it. ( in case it falls off the jack before you get that far)

center the tranny...and get it forward enough you don't have to move the floor jack too much.

shove the tailend up as high as you can and stick a jack stand under it.

you AND YOU"RE BUDDY....heft the front of the tranny up and stick the other jack stand under the tranny....just in front of the pan on the case....OR...just on the front edge of the pan where the bolts go. In either case...one guy balance it while the other guy gets the floor jack under it. And be CAREFULL. You will need 2 big ass pry bars of some type to use in moving the jack around while're stabbing the tranny. Anything you can get under the metal frame of the jack to use as a wedge to lever it from side to side and forward and back. This will prove a lot easier than trying to push the jack around, and the tranny will fall off the floor jack less often than if your jerking the jack around. (yes....I said less often)

get yer tranny as close as you can, then take the wrench off that kept the converter from falling out when the tranny hit the ground those

3 times, which would have fubared your pump bushing and seal. (and maybe crushed yer fanger when you tried to catch it) Lmao

line er up....

start yer filler tube in the case...

check fer wires yer fix'n to pinch around the top of the engine....

stab er.....

"START" a couple bolts......

make sure the converter will spin.....

"SNUG" (do not tighten) the top two bolts. if you feel "ANY" resistance on the bolts...STOP, and make sure your convertor is spinning and is inserted all the way.

tighten the bolts if alls well and the convertor is turning free.

muscle yer transfer case up and stick it on.

tips......

use a screw driver to pry the converter forward before you start tightening the converter bolts.

the oval hole in the flywheel aligns the other holes pefectly, so you can tighten that first bolt down tight. The holes will not alighn if you tighten up on one of the other holes first.

if you have the solid alluminum dust cover that bolts on the front of the tranny.....drop the exhaust if at all possible. If you can't drop the exhaust.....set the dust cover up before you start stabbing the tranny. In this case, you'll need to turn that "ovaled" convertor hole in the flywheel to the side where you can start your convertor bolts.

if you have the "long" filler tube...I would suggest inserting it in the hole before you get the tranny all the way bolted up.

get you a cheap wrench that you can cut off short, for using on the transfer case bolts.

GET A BUDDY TO HELP YOU......after all..... someones got to call the ambulance........

Scribb Abel admires determination

In a pinch...............wet boogers make for a good adhesive.......when allowed to dry for a period of time.

the 307 was an odd duck

it used the 283 bore of 3.875, but the 327 stroke of 3.25

the reasoning was that by keeping the ratio of cylinder wall area to cubic inches as low as possible, that smog generation would be reduced

this was back when the concensus held that smog was caused by incomplete combustion near the outer edge of the cylinder due to the cooling effect of the cylinder wall

I'd find a 350, or a 305........Good God, anything but a 307................

Scrib;

please e-mail me

G

I hope you do not mind me being honest? If you have the time, tools, very clean area to work and have a good machine shop, I would say build a

350 or 383. The 307 is awfully under powered for a 72' Chevelle. I would do a crate motor. I would suggest a crate motor unless you have all the tools. IMHO, I would not use the mechanic you are using now. I say this because he should of removed the valve covers first to assess damage.

At 70 Mph you would have to have incredible luck not to have push rod, valve spring, valve and cam damage just to mention a few. If it were my motor with all that debris circulating I would not even do just a top end rebuild. If you had a very rare Chevelle I would say keep it to keep matching numbers. You will find most all crate motors come with a warranty and depending where you order from, it has been on a dyno and/or broken in. Good luck.

Regards, Chuck

78' Chevy 1 Ton 4X4 Van

Yes I am.

Drive way.

Already done, want pictures?

Yup.

No, but the day after it did.

Put your ass back on its disgusting and hairy and the dingle berrys smell.

I could use the cash.

Yes, the last job he did left me a bit cross. I believe the last time he'll see me is when I hand him a check.

Not old enough to buy beer.

I did manage to get a piece of that.

I can't fork over any money for any motor, let alone the fix for my motor. Jack stands are out of the question.

My chain method worked just fine

Did that - layed it on my abdomen and used my legs/back/body to do that. But I also used a floor jack to lift up the lobe that the front drive shaft attaches too. It was a pain to get it between the duel exhaust/cats.

Or a ratcheting box-end wrench.

Parents.

Thanks.

Will an 83' 305 fit onto a 72' tranny.

307................

Ya, just for fun I checked AutoZone. $850 (after core) for a 307 with a 2 year warranty, unlimited miles. I can't get the core back if I get anything besides a 307.

I was hoping that because it was such low compression that it wasn't a contact engine.

I don't think they made chevelles with 307s, mines a malibu. I always call it a chevelle because it has a chevelle trunk and I only recently learned that malibu's are "chevelle malibu's" but "malibu's" and chevelles are just chevelles.

any chevy smallblock V8 and 90deg V6 and 366,396,402,427, 454,502, and 572 bigblock will physically bolt up to your transmission. I'm not sure if the

348 or 409 would bolt up. the bolt pattern hasn't changed... ever. the ones that won't bolt up are any Olds, Caddy, Pontiac, or Buick V8 which use the BOP pattern. the chevy pattern comes to a point at the center of the bell housing, the BOP pattern is swooped between the top two bolts.

HTH, Bret

KJ;

E-mail me, please.

Yes, 283,307,305,350,327,400 are all interchangeable. The only Small Block V8's you'd have a problem with are the Olds and Pontiacs (well, those that didn't come with a Chevy engine).

Unless you are lucky enough to score a tranny that has the universal bell housing. It will accept any BOP or Chevy. Mine is out of a 1979 Cutlass. But I know, that is not the point of the thread.....

KJ...been there, done that. There are few who dare attempt to accomplish what you have done. Now invest in the tools to do it right the next time.....do what I did. Get paid to do side jobs in tools and equipment instead of cash. I scored an engine hoist for an engine change, a compressor for a tranny change, swapped a set of rims for an engine stand, and got jacks, jackstands, torque wrenches, air tools, etc for other jobs. Now I make cash with the tools...just to reinvest in more tools.......ah..the viscious cycle....