Olds 307 burns serious oil

T

TheDauntless78

Newbie
I have an '87 LeSabre Estate Wagon with an Olds 307 and the 200-4R transmission. The transmission runs perfectly... the car only has 86K miles. The engine, however, burns oil like crazy. One quart per 100 miles. The previous owner only changed the oil when the idiot light would come on. This, of course, ruined every gasket and seal inside the motor. The freeze plug is also leaking. This is my daily driver and I have kids, so I am highly concerned for their health in relation to the fumes our Buick spews.

From the factory, this engine supposedly had 140 HP. This doesn't move a 2-ton brick very efficiently. Therefore, instead of rebuilding the engine, I want to swap it for something compatible with my transmission.

I have been interested in purchasing an Olds 455 for $450 that I found close by on Craigslist. I have very limited funds, and this is much cheaper than any crate motor.

Does anyone foresee any problems with this swap, beyond the extra weight, exhaust manifold spacing, and decreased fuel economy? Any better ideas? I want the total build to come in at less than $3000 and I need to do this before the winter comes. I'm not a racer, just a cruiser who wants to occasionally surprise unsuspecting kids in their Hondas when my heavily patina'd Big Brown Wagon shows off her taillights at intersections.

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a Buick would also bolt up to the trans, but there are several things on a Buick that are backwards to an Olds ( starter and distributor placement, for two ).

so, the BBO 455 would probably be your best option for simplest upgrade. a BBO is supposedly just a tall deck SBO.

of course, Olds guys would be the best to ask about this. you may want to try something like

442.com

or

realoldspower.com


don't be surprised if you don't lose any fuel mileage. oil in the combustion chamber is not good for efficiency. you could probably even go taller with the ring / pinion and really get your cruising rpm down.
 
The problems I have run into with the 307 Olds as far as oil burning/use issues is the WRONG PCV valve. After it was replaced with the proper PCV valve the oil burning issue almost was COMPLETELY eliminated. As far as an engine swap, it would be easier to swap in an Olds 350.
Just my thoughtsas having done this on numerous occasions.
 
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