rocketraider

Look at the tie rod ends. Saginaw units will have a flat bottom cap (where grease fitting goes) with an S stamped in it. Thompson (TRW) the bottom caps protrude a bit. Never understood why Olds did that. All it did was make servicing the car more difficult than necessary, and both versions work exactly the same. And then you get into 1st and 2nd type oil pans on the 394 cars <img src="/ubbthreads/images/icons/confused.gif" alt="" /> , each of which uses its own specific center link.

Not sure on the wh/wm, unless it might be a date or assembly plant code. Olds big-block heads are identified by a letter cast into the bottom left corner near the spark plug hole. B are 1966-67 400-425 heads, C are 1967-69 400-425-455 and came in small (2.00") and large (2.07") intake valve versions. D are special heads for 1966-69 W30 and Hurst/Olds and are rare. C are generally acknowledged as the best overall head for any 400-425-455 cid Olds engine. A (1965 400-425), B, E (1970 455), and G/Ga (1971-72 455) are also good choices. J (1973-76 455) are decent enough for a street or stock engine but don't flow as well as the others and are prone to exhaust valve seat cracks. H, K and Ka (1972-74 manual trans 442 and marine 455) are other variants but not common. D and F (both W30-only) are cost prohibitive and in my opinion suitable only for a 1000-point restoration.

What's sad is that it didn't even get a bid... now it will probably end up in the shop dumpster thanks to an idiot trying to satisfy his own ego . Must be a monstrous one too.

Don't have a source for you just yet, but here's the GM part number. 587777- engine timing cover 1963-64 394 engine. Good luck.

Tahi, you should be able to find a factory issued service manual thru some of the big US automobile literature vendors. It will be Oldsmobile-specific and will be invaluable as you service and restore your car. Hemmings Motor News lists the vendors. You may also find one on eBay online auction. GM sold the F85 in Canada so you may even find a French language edition. I've seen owner's manuals in French, so it would appear the service books would also be printed in French.

People very knowledgeable on the Rallye have told me the decklid spoiler was optional, but I've never seen one without it. I think the package also included F41 suspension. Interestingly, it carried the same option code as the 68-9 Hurst/Olds- W45.

Brad, let's compare apples to apples. What you're doing comes under the guise of upgrading since almost everything you've mentioned is correct-for-the-era GM. We're talking about guys who gut the drivetrain in favor of a crate engine/Turbo 350, toss the original suspension in favor of a late model clip or aftermarket IFS, chrome and polish and billet everything, toss out the original interior ifo custom made door panels and seats- in other words you wouldn't be able to tell what the car was originally, which is what's happening to the Buick that started this thread. I don't care what people do with their own car and money. Being an historian (and an opinionated one at that) I do care when a reference item gets altered. Somebody, somewhere, is looking for that information to make their car like THEY want it. As far as restorer vs rodder mindsets, they're different. A restorer wants things like they were originally made, and if that means commenting on someone's half-hearted effort to duplicate that standard, it's a fact of life. Rodders don't have to worry about that restoration standard as they make their own standards during construction. If you set your car out to be judged by people knowledgeable about the marque, don't [censored] and moan when they point out the car's shortcomings. If you're serious about putting the car back to its original as-built state, you'll swallow it, make the upgrade, and come back next year. If you want to rod the car, it doesn't need to be put on a showfield full of restored-to-original cars. Take it to a cruise night or rod run where it will be appreciated. And yes, believe it or not, I like rods and customs. I've had altered cars in the past and may have one again. I like original cars- I must, I have 5. I even like old tractors and farm machinery and aircraft. I'm a gearhead. Ya wanna know a little secret? That 1976 Ninety Eight I have, has big-azz chrome tailpipes sticking out under its bumper.

The 1976 Ninety Eight went to Fall Charlotte and back in the rain and sat on a muddy showfield in between. It cruised at 70+ mph with its Tempmatic cranking to keep the windows clear. The 69 Toronado was driven from here to Springfield IL in rain. They get dirty, I wash them. They break, I fix them. I have time, I drive them. Sometimes not even once a week. But when I do, I drive them, and hard. I enjoy every minute of it. And haven't had to modify anything to keep up with modern traffic, except my attitude when some idiot in a Honda or Volvo cuts me off. Besides, what do you want? A Buick or a bastard? You stick a Chevy drivetrain in it, you sure don't have a Buick anymore. Why not <span style="font-weight: bold">dare to be different</span> and use a Buick drivetrain? 455s and Nailheads are reasonably plentiful and can be tricked out as neat as any Chevy crate engine extant, with a WAY bigger wow factor. You ever seen a Hilborn-injected Nailhead? You want thoroughly modern power? Use a supercharged 3800 SFI for crying out loud. Anything but a boring 350 Chevy crate engine. But it's your car, do what you want.

There's a place for rods, and a place for originality. A 40k unrestored original car in this condition is NOT the place for a rod. Even most hard-core rodders I know will admit that. If it had 100k on it, been painted a couple times but still reasonably straight, and needed drivetrain and interior work anyway then yeah, have your way with it, I could not care less. But don't bugger a car that could be used as a restoration reference. And if you do bugger it, don't make so damn many mods that it can't be returned to as-manufactured condition. It goes back to "my car, I'll do what I want with it". Plus I know for a fact some rodders will modify a car like this just to [censored] someone off. Some of you seem to be more concerned with the financial return end of it than anything else. Why do the rodded cars bring more than an original? Simple- someone's finally made it and has a wad of cash burning a hole in his pocket, and wants the car he couldn't have when he was a snot-nosed kid. He can't build it himself, so he pays out the butt for someone else to do it. A lot of it is "you need to realise I can afford to have this". Conspicuous consumption, folks- outdoing the Joneses. And in the quest to have an individualised car, you end up with no individuality at all- Chevy 350/350, components from all the same aftermarket manufacturers, and painted Porsche Guards Red. Nah- the originals weren't perfect, but they're a damn sight more interesting than a cookie-cutter, billet-drenched red rod. Now, if you're willing to dare to be different, and use something else besides the aforementioned components, you might get my attention and even a compliment.

Could also be an ignition switch problem since you mentioned turning it off and back on started the car. After thirty-seven years, it's possible. Wouldn't hurt to replace the battery-to-starter cable if insulation is missing. It usually rots off from oil soaking. It could ground out and make a mell of a hess.

It can be done, though a 350-403 would have been easier since it would have dropped right in on the 260 mounts. You may have to experiment some with mount locations. Alt, A/C and PS will bolt right to the 455 and I think you'll have enough fan-to-radiator clearance; if not, ditch the fan and use electrics. The stainless roof trim was part of the Y76 Marketing Group Car option. I don't see many G-cars with it. This covers both sail panels and goes over the top, right? Y76 cars were called by many names the years it was offered.

All 1965-up BOP-Caddy trans bolt patterns are the same. Pontiac was using it earlier than that. Did that LeSabre have a Chevy engine in it? Sometime in the late 70s, Turbo 350s started using a universal bolt pattern that fit both Chevy and BOP-Cad engines.

Just a reminder- the OCA Atlantic Southeast Zone Show is this weekend at Fall AutoFair, Charlotte Motor Speedway, Charlotte NC. We're sold out of show spaces, but come on out and look at 75 Oldsmobiles (we had contracted for 105, don't ask what happened but it has to do with a local Pontiac club and its steamroller president <img src="/ubbthreads/images/icons/mad.gif" alt="" /> ) and take in the AutoFair swap meet and car corral. Look for Oldsmobiles near the white Pavilion Tent in the Pit Road apron.

Forgot to mention- try www.inlinetube.com for your new brake lines. Just installed a set on a 64 Oldsmobile. Good fit and quality, and I didn't have to bend and double-flare. I'm not sure if they have them for 70s GM B-body but the website will tell you.

Actually, the theory is valid. Production may be a different set of dogs. Anytime you increase the surface area of a combustible substance, whether by pulverising as in coal or super-fine atomisation as in liquid fuels, efficiency and BTU extracted from the fuel increase exponentially <span style="font-weight: bold">up to a point</span> . Past that point it levels off. It is not possible to get 100% efficiency from any fuel, though pure elemental hydrogen comes close.

You need a 1973 Buick factory Chassis Service Manual, though I doubt it will go indepth on replacing brake lines. It WILL go indepth on all other repair aspects of that car and is a book well worth owning, along with the Fisher Body Manual. You can find both at swap meets or e-bay.

More to the point, some people just don't care about intrinsic value or preservation.

These cars could be had with a Chevy 305 from the factory, so you need to find a set of motor mount perches and engine block mount plates for a 1978-87 GM A-special or G body car that came with a Chevy 305 or 350. The 307 mounts will be way different. For that matter, Oldsmobile design engines are way different from Chevy design engines. From experience converting one of these cars from Busix to V8- you need a parts car that has the engine combination you're swapping. That way, you can get all the little pieces that nobody thinks about or makes all in one spot.

I have had the pleasure of riding in that car. An even greater pleasure would be to actually drive it <img src="/ubbthreads/images/icons/ooo.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/icons/wink.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/icons/cool.gif" alt="" /> , but I doubt I could ever talk Rooster Bush into that. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/icons/frown.gif" alt="" /> It's only a couple hours from here. Once me Pace Car is done, I want pics of the two together. Couple years back I took the Hurst to a local show in Stuart VA, figuring I would have the only Indy Pace Car replica there, much less one documented as having been at Indy for the 500. Placed it on the field and be damned if the local Chevy dealer didn't trot out a Brickyard Monte Carlo and set it right next to me. And most people didn't even realise the Hurst WAS a Pace Car, since the door graphics were lost in a late 70s repaint. Anyway- the show promoters and sponsors got some mileage out of their little Blue Ridge Mountains show having two Indy Pace Cars on the field.

Several of the Olds Technical Information Bulletin sets I have go into detail about transferring the original component numbers from the part being replaced to the replacement part. They especially emphasized this procedure for warranty claim items. Not only engines- carbs, alternators, etc.

www.fusick.com and www.antiqolds.com for Olds specific NOS and reproduction stuff. www.usapartssupply.com and www.kanter.com can supply mechanical parts but are sometimes expensive. Suggest joining both Oldsmobile Club of America and National Antique Olds Club for advice and parts sources. Welcome aboard!

When I spoke with him over a year ago he hadn't set a price but said it would probably be over $30k. That would be reasonable all things considered. $55k is a little out there, even for rare de la rare. One of two things will happen here. 1) he'll keep the car till he's dead and the kids will sell it off cheap to get rid of it, or 2) someone will buy it at that price, it'll go in the price guide data base and then everybody with a 65 Starfire of any description will try to sell their ride for that money.

Or, in the case of recently departed Plymouth and Oldsmobile, the mfg is still in binness but has its head too far up its corporate arse to realise it cut the wrong division...

Did you remove the bolts attaching the torque converter to the engine flexplate? I have no idea how many there might be.

500 ft lbs of torque is the norm for a 455. And all in by 2800-3000 RPM. To give you an idea of 455 capability- 1968-70 the 2-barrel single exhaust cars were rated at over 300 hp. The 1968-70 Toronado W engines were rated at 400, and they were by no means the hottest ones the factory made. 370 hp out of a W30- yah right. The base Toro 455 was 375, as was the Starfire 425 1965-67. So you see you can build a very mild 455 and still have a stomper in the right car. A 77 Cutlass is heavy but 455 was available thru 1976 so it will be a near drop-in. Use 73-76 Cutlass 455 motor mounts. 455 may stress a Turbo 350 a little. Either build it to take the punishment or get a Turbo 400. All the 350 accessory brackets will bolt on. Any 1968-76 455 block will do what you ask. Look for an F or Fa cast into the block between the intake and water pump. Best heads are the factory C castings but there are big-valve and small-valve versions. B & E are also a good choice. D, F, H and K are great but cost prohibitive and in my judgment suitable only for a 1000-point show car. A are 425 heads and have to be modified in the pushrod area to work on a 455. J are common as dirt but not suitable for all-out performance. Worked, they're fine for a street engine. 10 to 1 aftermarket pistons combined with C heads usually yield a true compression ratio of about 9.25 which wil tolerate pump gas easily. Be warned that overbored 455s tend to run a little hot so make sure cooling system is up to the task. Cam is a personal choice. There are several good grinds for BB Olds out there. You want something with a powerband about 2500-6500 to take advantage of the engine's low speed torque capacity and keep the redline sensible. Olds do not like to rev much over 6000. You can use stock rods and crank up to that point, but you should restrict oil to the top end of the engine for such use. Kits are available. You can use stock valvetrain or get an adjustable one. Not a large intake selection. Edelbrock offers Performer and RPM, and Offenhauser has a couple including a dual-quad. You can always use an old Torker or O4B if you can find one. Holley or worked QuadraJet for carburetion, around 750-850 cfm. A 650 may work better in a heavy Cutlass. Use 1-5/8 headers for street, 1-7/8 for drag racing thru 2-1/2 or 3 inch pipes and Flowmasters. DynoMax also work good on an Olds. Enuff to get ya started? <img src="/ubbthreads/images/icons/cool.gif" alt="" />