"Best" stock 307 Olds motor?

[wordy1]

AM looking for a low mile Cutlass and am wondering if there is a "special" car I need to look for... From the research I've done, for some reason the 1985 442 is the one I wanna look for... Yes I know this is a Buick forum... but this motor was used in the Regals too..

 

["Turbo-T"]

Most of your 307's only made 148 hp. They were a vin code of Y. Looks like the one you are looking for is the 180 hp version with a vin code of 9 and were found in 1983-87 Hurst Olds and 442 models.

Below is some reading I found you might like:

The LG8 was a modern 307 in³ 5.0 L High-Output derivative of the LV2 produced from 1983 to 1987. Performance modifications included a "hot" camshaft (in reality, the base model 455 camshaft), stiffer valve springs, heavy-duty exhaust valves, the larger vibration damper from the 350, a Y-pipe dual-outlet exhaust system, and richer secondary metering rods in the carburetor. It was offered in the Hurst/Olds version of the Oldsmobile Cutlass Calais and in the 442 version of the Oldsmobile Cutlass Salon. Output for 1983-1985 was 180 hp (134 kW) and 245 ft·lbf (318 N·m). Revisions to the engine for 1986 included roller lifters with a slightly smaller camshaft, new heads with smaller, swirl-port intake runners, floating piston pins, and larger piston dishes for lower compression. These changes increased torque to 250 ft·lbf (325 N·m) but lowered power to 170hp, while lowering the RPM at which peak horsepower and torque was achieved.

Applications:

* 1983-1984 Hurst/Olds
* 1985-1987 Oldsmobile 442
* 1985-1988 Cadillac Sedan Deville Brougham w/ VIN 9

Source: Oldsmobile V8 engine - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

[turbodave231]

In either form, the 307 is a pooch!! I'd replace it with a Olds 455 or better yet...........86-87 turbo package!!

 

[Pronto]

I vote 403. Same size block and heads.

 

[forcefed3.8's]

They are all slow, and have windowed mains which suck for high rpm performance. In 86 they added roller cams, which was good, but the heads marked 7a were horrible. Earlier 5a heads flowed better. Putting together a 86/87 roller motor with a 442 cam, and 5a heads probably wouldn't be too bad, but would still only run 15's.
You can drop in an early 350, or a 403 with little effort, and have it still look stock. I had an 84 Lesabre that I swapped the 307 for a 76 350 with an Edelbrock cam an intake. I painted everything black, and even hooked the computer back up. It ran mid 15's with crappy 2.56's and a slipping 2004r.