Olds 307 to Olds 403 engine swap info please?

Wanna laugh? So most of you know I bought this car last summer, from the Texas hill country, in a county that did not have exhaust emissions testing. The car had just been inspected when I bought it, and I ran on that inspection all this past year since I knew it would not pass the smog test we have in the larger Texas cities.

The car never ran right when I bought it. It ran so rich your eyes would water, would diesel, and smoked black when first started, stalled, it was a mess. Last spring I found out someone had pulled the check engine bulb and there were a lot of issues under the hood.

Well if you remember I had the carb rebuilt twice, replaced the intake gasket and then the intake itself, ALL the vaccum lines were done, and a few sensors, which got the CE light out, and on the way home from the shop, after the car being IN the shop for months, is when the engine lost oil pressure and started knocking. If it was any other car I would have shot it right then.

Well the inspection was up in July. Today I took the car for inspection cold....and it passed emeission!! Hahahahahaha! It runs great now. It's still gutless, but it's smooth, quiet, runs clean, and drives great.....until it warms up and the oil pressure goes away and it starts knocking!

The inspection place is a mile from my house. Car was not knocking yet when I get there, they put sniffer up the tail pipe, and it passed easy as can be. Amazing. Motor is shot but passes smog.

I've got a nice new inspection sticker on the windshield....time to yank the engine!

-Mike

 

Why can't I ever be that lucky! Hope everything goes well on your swap, mike. Should be an improvement that you will enjoy a lot!

 

Ok the weather cooled down to 94 degrees today....figured it was time I went and picked up the '71 350.
Backing into the driveway with the new toy on the motorcycle trailer...with my father wondering what new POS I've drug home now...ha!

It's home.



Tags from the rebuilder on the freeze plugs, both on the block and heads..from 2004

Not too bad. Not spotless but no sludge either.

#7 heads with hardened valve seats. They breathe well and are unleaded fuel friendly...good deal!

Getting ready to take off the trailer

On the stand in my garage



Got to find some valve covers and tape it all off so I can clean it up really well, and then start gathering the rest of the parts for the swap.
Engine in the garage and safe, took the motorcycle trailer off and put the boat on.....it's hot and I need a break. Heading out for some R&R! Have a great weekend all!

-Mike

 

Your stories and pics are the best Mike! Keep 'em coming!

 

So do I paint the engine black like the 307 that's in my car now or it's original 71 Olds gold??

Lots of cleaning and parts gathering to do!

-Mike

 

Olds gold would be my choice.

 

Yeah I'm leaning that way too.

 

------Okay gold it is. But what about emissions next year? You going to have to stick the 307 back in and get it tested again? HA!

 

Sadly all the computer stuff is getting hooked back up....have to do that for one more year. After that I'll pull off all the emissions stuff and buy an Edelbrock carb. For now I'm just re-sealing and making the 350 pretty, pulling out the 307, detailing under the hood, and dropping in the 350, and then plugging all the speghetti back in.

We do what we can!

-Mike

 

-So far here in the boonies we have no testing. But don't tell anyone in Tallahassee.

 

81X11, I haven't seen one of those in a looong time.
Both the Olds V8 and the Honda CT 90.
I have good memories of them both!

Hey: Are those AC sparkplugs in the engine?
I am one of those people who use AC plugs in GM cars, Autolite in Fords, and flint and steel for Mopars.
( I lied. I almost never work on Mopars.)
Anyway, that indicates that the last person who worked on that venerable iron V8 didn't just buy the cheapest parts he could find....
Good luck with this weird project.

OH: I vote for Olds Gold.

 

Gold for sure. It would be too much black, seeing as how the car's black already.

 

Yup....gold. If you paint it black people are going to think there is a 307 in there. Do you really want that?? Unless the 403 is built and you want a sleeper.

 

So....I'm confused. Isn't it a 350 that's going in there (even though you wanted a 403)?

 

I guess that all depends on how picky they are for emissions testing. Might be better if it were black so as not to arouse suspicion.