skinny

Ever since I was little I have wanted a "muscle car". While it would have been nice to just buy one already rebuilt, I also liked the idea of building one myself, so I could make it how I wanted. Finally, I came upon a car for what I think was the right price (almost nothing). I know it needs a lot of work, but its a long term project, so there is no rush to get it done.

The problem is that I did almost no research prior to buying it. I was told it is a 71 Supreme with a 350. I have not got to the body plate thing to see what options it is supposed to have, and the VIN is partly unreadable at the moment. I also don't know if its the original motor, or if its been changed out. I don't have a lot of room to work on it right now (that might be my first project, build a shop), so I am trying to decide if I should just quicly throw some replacement parts on the motor to get it running, or wait and pull the motor, and rebuild it properly. Any suggestions?

I set up a page with some pictures, wondering if anyone can fill me in on the details I need to know. Pics of the car.

After spending the afternoon researching these cars, this is easily the most informative forum I found. I am really hoping to be able to pick the local brains for everything I can, and will pass along what little knowledge I have back to everyone else.

Oldsguy

Looks like you have a good project on your hands. That is a Small Block Olds (350) and since the interiior and the engine are incomplete and the back bumper needs some attention I would just spend my time on it and rebuild it slowly if I were you. If you really want a daily driver then get something that is ready to drive now. As far a potential goes, that car represents a lot, especially for free. I recommend that you make a plan with lots of small intermediate goals that you can accomplish say,,,,monthly and pick something to do first that you can accomplish immidiately. Something that is visual to the casaul observer is usally the most motivating and also will get some compliments from others, this will give you additional motivation to keep at it. Good luck!

skinny

This is the most important part, as my wife thinks I am insane for wanting a car like this.

Where is the best place to find parts for that motor? I am not worried about keeping it original, and wouldn't mind adding some power to it. Is the small block Olds the same as a small block Chevy?

Oldsguy

You can get most of the parts required to rebuild your engine from the standard suppliers, mail order catalogues, auto parts stores, specialty outfits Mondello or parts resellers like Greg Godon over at Realoldspower.com (FCR Performance). The last rebuild kit I bought was from Summit I think. If you do it yourself you can take that route or if you have a machine shop do your block they will be able to get the bearings, rods, pistons, gaskets, etc etc from their normal suppliers.

No the Olds 350 is not the same as the chevy 350........it's better. Actually they are not the same at all.

edit: I bought an O4B aluminum intake manifold from an auto mechanics professor at my son's college. You can find intake manifolds on ebay every day for the SBO. I recommend you get a good rebuilt carburetor from a reputable source instead of buying an old core. Or buy a new carburetor from one of the sources I mentioned.

skinny

Thanks for the replies so far. Now for the next question. The trunk lock is punched out. How do I get the trunk open to make sure there are no dead bodies in the back?

Oh, and how do I figure out what kind of tranny is sitting in my passenger seat?

Oldsguy

Sometimes you can open the trunk using a small straight-blade screwdriver to turn the mechanism behind that opens the trunk. If there is no hole/the hole is too small/or there is no mehcanism that you can see then you might have to access through the back seat area. If there were a dead body it would be smelling by now.
As for the tranny, ask him what country he comes from, that might give you a clue.........er, umm did you mean transmission? Oh ok. The easiest way would be to take a photo and post it, many of our members could probably recognize it right away for you. Good luck.

edit: I just realized you already have a picture of the tranny. I looked at it again and it looks to me to be a TH400. That orange looking round device, is that a vacumm dashpot? If it is then you have a TH400.