same old question with a twist

[Tommy]

I have seen dozens of threads on various forums about building 307's and it just irritates me that every other poster says toss it and build a 350 because of cost and horsepower.. I completely understand that and agree to a point but most of the people asking seem to be wanting to keep their engine and that is of no importance to the people replying.. With that said I would like to ask the same thing in a different way. Lets say you bought a Nova,Camaro or big car or even a truck in 68 with a 307 and a few months later you get the bug to go faster and sound better. What did you guys do back then? You might not have been thinking of the numbers on your block but maybe you wanted to keep the original mill in the car. short of buying a 350 or swapping in a big block did you guys just swap heads and add headers or did you pull the engine and play with the bore and stroke and how did things play out back in the late 60's and early 70's.. You all have to understand that I am not interested in todays technology in a 40 year old car. I missed this stuff when it was new and have been playing around with these cars since the late 80's while my friends were buying the newest car on the lot. So now you all understand the question I guess ... I do have a 68 Nova with an all original drivetrain and it is a 307, so with the original block in mind what would you have done after buying a 200 horse slug way back then ?


I do have a "CE" coded LT1 in the garage if I change my mind....


Tommy

[Smokey]

Dad found the LT1 and a M22 for his 68 in 73 from a wrecked camaro and gave it a set of blackjacks and a set of thrush turbos. Think if I remember right he got the M22 for like $85 and the LT1 for $350 back then.

[Nova Jed]

Tommy, take that 307 and slap in a .440 lift crane cam and a set of headers with a good performer intake, and 600cfm 4brl. I had a 307 in my first Nova with a turbo 350 and a 2.73 open rear. It also had an HEI ignition in it that would fire up without a full turn of the key. My best time was a 15.1 at 95mph. If you read about the 325hp 327's of 1969, my car was about 4 tenths off. I was running street tires and no traction bars. And I had highway gears, not 3,55's.

Just something to think about. Remember, you have a destroked 327 in that car. Don't do the 1/8th overbore or you will scrap the block.

The car will sound good, and it has a little pep to it too without getting all crazy.

[ORIGLS6]

Tommy, I'm in exactly the same position you're in. I have the unrestored '69 Nova with a 307 PG. I also have a fresh LT-1 sitting on the stand waiting for final assembly. Built it to go in my '57, then figured I'd put it in the Nova.
Now I'm thinking I'll just do a cam 'n lifter swap in the 307, throw a '67 vintage L-79 intake and a small Holley on it, maybe some shorty headers, (all this stuff already in the garage)and do the Drive-in thing. (BUT; against all good advice, ........... I'm puttin an old 097 solid cam in it! )

[Schonyenko2]

A better cam for that is the L79 hyd. Early 65-66 194 dbbl hump heads,(small CCs) Holley contender intake,(same as an LT/1,) and small tube headers. It won't be fast, but it will be fun. I had a similar setup like that in a 71 RS camaro. Ran well for what it wasn't.

[Plowman]

Put a 400 crank,mains cut .250[to fit],and small rod,s cut offset. Try that! Paul

[Tommy]

Well, here is what I had planned for the 307 to start things off and then see how it runs. I have a very nice Weiand "WCVSQ"(say why-and ) with the oil filler on the intake as well as a Holley 3310 (early one) and I am thinking about running the 3030 nostalgic cam from Comp. I like the manifolds but will probably add some headers. That should be it for a while but I think some decent heads will help the little engine too. I want to stay period with those too of course, so I am thinking 461's,462's 186's or 291's.. I have a set of 487's if I want them.. Other than that I am going to swap in a taller rear gear and add a shift kit and stall converter.


Tommy

[Tommy]

I added a set of duals last week and used a set of NOS Hollywood Deeptone mufflers and I really like the sound of they make. They are pretty mellow with the stock engine but have a neat sound on acceleration. Yes, I know I should have cleaned the undercarriage before the new pipes went on but I was getting real tired of that single tailpipe.. All I could hear before was the whine of the transmission...


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Tommy

[Nova Jed]

Who needs a radio when you got some great exhaust notes???

[Tommy]

The AM radio picks up very well when your not under the power lines.... But your right, the engine is just as good .


Tommy