The "Rodney Dangerfields" that you don't want.....

In the last post I talked about some engines that sometimes got an undeserved bad rap, that could be viable powerplants for your musclecar-especially if you already had one in the car. There are others, however that DO deserve their bad reputation, and that are worth nothing to a musclecar owner even if you have the engine in the car. I'll list them and and then explain why they should only be used as boat anchors.  #1. 305 or 307 Small-block Chevy V8. These share no parts with the legendary 302 Z/28 engine of 1967-69. That was a pure hot rod engine that used a 327 block and a 283 crank to get it under the 305 inch limit for Trans-Am Racing. With Four-bolt mains, a steel crank, 11:1 forged pistons, 202 "Corvette "fuelie" heads, a hot mechanical cam, and a 780 Holley 4bbl on an aluminum manifold, this was a beast that could rev to 7,000 rpm all day, and was grossly under-rated at 290 hp. Buff magazines of the day put it's true output at at least 350 hp. Both the 305 and the 307 use two bolt mains, a cast crank, and have about 8:1 compression, and never made more than about 150 hp ( Except for the L69 and LB9 versions in Z/28's and Trans-Ams from 83-92 ). They acheived nearly the same displacement by slightly different means.  The 307 uses a 283 bore and a 327 crank, and was used from 1968-73,  the 305 uses a small bore and a 350 crank, and was used from 1976-92. The thing they have in common is they share the dual bad attributes of no power and crappy gas mileage. Chevy car and truck owners quickly realized that a 350 got similar gas mileage, but had substantially more power. You can't even really hot rod a 305 or a 307 if you wanted to, because the big-valve heads necessary to make any real power can't be used-the valves will hit the block. Further-building a 350 or even a 383 costs no more in parts to build or re-build, yet they make about double or triple the power depending on equipment. The TPI ( Tuned Port Injected ) 305 engines used in T/A's and Z/28s from 1985-92 made 205-230hp-but if you have one of these cars and the engine needs a rebuild and you want more power-the easy way is to drop in a 350 or 383. The TPI system will bolt up, and Edelbrock, Trick flow, and others offer ported baseplates, larger runners, larger throttle bodys, and higher lb per hr injectors to feed an engine up to 450 hp. The bottom line is a 350 costs no more to buy or build, but makes substantially more power. And-no one really cares if you have a numbers-matching 307 motivated '69 Malibu or a 305 powered '77 Camaro. The car will actually be worth more with the larger, more powerful "non-original" engine. # 2. 301 Pontiac V8. This was a lightweight "economy" motor used from 1977-81.  Except for the water pump, nothing interchanges with the "traditional" 326-455 inch Pontiac V8s. They only made about 150 hp, except for the ill-fated "Turbo" engine used in 1980-81 Formula Firebirds and Trans-Ams. These were rated at 210 hp, but had nowhere near the power of the 400 Pontiac that was rated at 220, or even the 403 Olds that was rated at 185, that were used through 1979. Popular Hot Rodding's 400 powered '79 Formula test car ran a 15.04 in the 1/4.  Hot Rod tested a 1980 Turbo model that ran a 16.3. Big difference for supposedly losing "only" 10 hp. The problem was the fledgling electronically controlled spark and carburator. If you set the timing where it would run decent, it would try to ping itself to death. If you backed the timing up where it didn't ping, it had no power. Same thing with the carb-if you set it where the car would run-it wouldn't pass smog. If you leaned it out to smog- it wouldn't run. The Buick T-Types and Grand Nationals didn't get badass untill they got Multi-Port Fuel Injection in 1985. Their carburated,1984 and earlier models were pretty much dogs too.  You can't hop-up the Turbo 301's by turning up the boost-because they are a lightweight, economy engine to begin with-the crank, rods and pistons can't take the extra pressure-you turn the engine into a grenade. And there's no aftermarket heavy-duty replacement parts available. As for a normally aspirated one-same thing-no hot rod parts available. On the upside-the motor mounts are in the same place as the traditional Pontiac engines-so a 350,400 or 455 will drop in it's place pretty easily. That's the way to infuse power into your 301 Firebird, LeMans or Gran Prix.  If you have a 1980-81  "Turbo Trans-Am" and you want it to be actually turbocharged and have some balls-I'd look for a wrecked Grand National to pull the engine and tranny out of !!  # 3. 307 Olds V8. Same thing-a lightweight, "economy" motor that never made more than 150 hp,and really has nothing in common with the "real" 330-350-403 Olds "small-block"  V8. There's not much aftermarket speed equipment out there for the 307. I've seen people try to adapt Edelbrock aluminum heads, and other stuff,  but why? A 350 or 403 will bolt right in and have substantially more power either stock or modified, and theres lots of parts available. Or if you want to be really badass-you could get a beefy 350 diesel block and stroke it to 440 inches-or you could just build a 455.  But the 307 Olds is not really any better than a 301 Pontiac-a doorstop.  # 4. 351 / 400"M" Ford V8. Used from 1975-82, these have the triple-axel of being big and heavy, having no power, and getting crappy gas mileage. Really. They weigh as much a 429 /460, and suck gas like one, but don't have near the power of even a 351W or 351C. They were used primarily in trucks and "big" cars-so unless you have a 1976 Torino with one of these slugs-you needen't worry-they were never available in Mustangs, Cougars,( before 1976 ) Montegos, Fairlanes or anything remotely resembling a performance platform. I wouldn't even take one for free. A 351W or 351C can be built way cheaper, and there's tons more speed parts available. Or if your going to spend big dollars on a heavy engine then I'd certainly build a 460 and get the monster power and torque to justify the expense. Hope this helps you not spend money on a boat anchor.  Mastermind