[jdorour]

Jeff,
If your car has air-conditioning the alt should be on the drivers side of the car if it has an Olds engine.

If it is an Olds engine the oil fill should be a tube with the oil cap on the right / front of the engine just to the left of the A/C Compressor. In the flat spot that this tube is located in (on the front top of the engine block) there will be a series of numbers cast into the metal. Give me those numbers and I will be able to tell you what engine is in your car. If it has a Chevy or Pontiac Engine I will tell you where the casting numbers are located later.

FYI Olds engines for 1978 88's are 260cid, 307cid, 350cid and 403cid. All of the Olds engines look the same. GM also installed the Chevy 305cid and Pontiac 301cid engines that year. The Chevy engine will have the oil filler cap in one of the valve covers and the exhaust manifolds curve down under the spark plugs on each side. The Pontiac engine will have the intake manifold raised up off the engine block. There will be a space under the intake and a cover over the lifter valley. It is possible that some one has replaced your engine with a big block Olds engine (400cid, 425cid or 455cid). These engines are about two inches wider/taller than the small block Olds engines listed above. They look just like a small block except they take up a lot more room in the engine bay. There where also some cars with the Buick 231 and 252cid V6 engines.