I didn’t immediately give up on the original 2 barrel. But after a few days of Googling for a HeliCoil kit to repair the 1/4-32 threads I resigned to the fact that I’d have to order a new carb. I debated over whether to get another Rochester 2 barrel or upgrade to a 4 barrel. I liked the idea of a Rochester Quadrajet topping a 307, just like when I was 16 driving a 1983 Oldsmobile Delta 88.

This picture was taken before we donated the old girl to the Stafford High School Auto Shop. Keep in mind this picture was taken after my sister and brothers had ridden that poor Olds hard and put it up wet. But those stories are for another time…

Going the Rochester Quadrajet route proved to be expensive so I settled on an intake/carburetor combo from Summit Racing. It included:

• Edelbrock 2101 aluminum intake
• Edelbrock 1405 four barrel carburetor
• Summit Racing air cleaner
• Adapter plate and various hardware

In a few days all kinds of boxes arrived on my doorstep containing testosterone drenched performance parts. I immediately went to work removing the carburetor, distributor, coil, and the original intake. Here you can see the original cast iron unit in that gorgeous Chevy orange.

Next we drained the radiator to remove the upper radiator hose. Here the intake has been removed, revealing the valley of lifters.

Nothing left to do but scrape the old gasket surfaces and install the new one.

All was going smoothly until I stripped the holes for the thermostat housing. Do we see a pattern developing? Yes, I am using a torque wrench. Unfortunately I was using the shop manual that assumes a cast iron intake. I guess aluminum just won’t tolerate 25 ft-lbs. No problem, I have some HeliCoils that will make it stronger than bare aluminum. Since I have no torques specs for aluminum I’ll just cut the cast iron values in half. That ought to work right? Wrong. The Helicoils cut those fresh threads out. Dang, now I need a new intake.

The next day I called Summit Racing while waiting for Vista to finish an upgrade. The good people at Summit Racing said they’d ship one out that day. All I had to do was box up the damaged intake and wait for UPS to pick it up. Sweet! We’re back in the game!

OK, note to self, only hand tight on the thermostat housing and use high temp RTV on both sides of the gasket. The next photo shows the Edelbrock 1405 sitting on top of the new intake. Yep, I opted for the electronic choke kit. Pray for no leaks!

Well that was too much to ask for. The thread sealant on the heater hose outlet wasn’t holding up. And I’m not torquing it down any tighter! Time to drain the radiator and replace the thread sealer with teflon tape, lots of it.

The several wraps of teflon tape are holding up and the 307 is purring like a kitten. Now I just need to fabricate a new throttle rod assembly. The original was 1/4 inch and the Edelbrock is 1/2 inch. After a few minutes Googling I came upon a Ford enthusiast site that describes how to build your own. Time to order more parts and wait for the big brown truck.

Following FordMuscle.com’s plans I built my own, and I must say it is pretty freakin cool. See for yourself.

So after many trips to auto parts and hardware stores and the internet I finally have a four barrel carburetor that can really feed those Hooker Super Comp headers.

There are still a few miscellaneous items to finish but I’m too busy driving to even finish this blo…

I got the complete header back kit from Magnaflow for 66-72 Chevy C/10s. Everything is included including the pipes, mufflers, and mounting hardware. Every component is stainless steel so it’ll last until the Second Coming. Look how purty those mufflers are gleaming.

You can’t see it very well, but the piece de resistance is the true X tube at the front of the bed. This will help with exhaust gas scavenging.

My plans for this weekend include installing my set of Hooker headers and the Magnaflow exhaust kit. It’s a shame I didn’t get the ceramic coated headers to match the stainless steel exhaust. The simple black painted headers saved Susan about 230 bucks though. She bought them for our first wedding anniversary. Nothing says love like a set of headers.

My dad told me my truck was loud enough with the 2 inch exhaust and “Blue Streak” glass pack mufflers it arrived with. Don’t get me wrong, the glass packs sound pretty darn good. But the headers, a 2.5 inch exhaust and Magnaflow mufflers are gonna be freaking great. The neighbors will be yelling “Honey grab the kids!” as I rumble down the street. Jamie eat your heart out.

It is a 1970 Chevrolet C-10 shortbed. The power plant is a 307 small block mated to a THM-350C. Overall it is in great shape, even the original paint.

The `7o Chevy category will contain updates on where it is, and where it is going. Currently it is sharing daily driver duties with my `88 Cherokee.

Future projects include installing headers and rebuilding the tranny. Eventually I’d like to rebuild the 307 or replace it with a ZZ4 350 or the new HT383.