Hi , my name is Tommy and I live in Belgium ( Europe )
I am new here ...
For almost a year now , I have a black Trans-am 1979 6.6 litre (Bandit)
with an Olds 403 engine ! automatic , A/C , cruise control , T-top roof ...
It's my dream-car (Smokey and the Bandit) ,
but my first oldtimer , and I don't know much about engines ...
it's my first project !!!
I had some problems with the engine so I'm gonna rebuild the 403 Olds !!!
I am glad I have found this site and hope to get some advice for my project !

 

Welcome to the site Tommy.
If the car is original and you want to keep it that way then rebuild the 403. If not you might consider putting in a different engine as the 403 from the factory was more about gas milage and smog concerns than the earlier engines, and because of that it didn't make as much power as the earlier engines. I believe there are ways to improve the 403's performance so if your going to keep it this might be a good time to research that. John

 

Welcome to the site Tommy, you have one of my favorite cars there good luck with the rebuild.

 

Welcome Tommy. Shouldn't it be Smokey? scum-bum or screaming chicken at the least.

Does it have the rare factory Delco CB radio? They had to modify the 403 Blackbirds to be able to do the smoking burnouts in the second movie.
Now you need a Kenworth and an elephant..

 

Welcome aboard.

I'm sure there are experts here to help you.

 

Welcome to our site Tommy. I say one thing if you plan to have your engine rebuilt. Do all your homework and have everything ready for your machinist before you start. I anticipate that trying to work on an American engine over in Europe would present some difficulties that we don't experience over here so being prepared might pre-empt some of those troubles. You have come to the right place for help though, as Jamesbo has said, we do have a lot of experience here.

 

Welcome to the site Tommy aka Bandit. enjoy you ride and you get the advice you need on this site

 

Thanks for the nice welcome guys !!!
see ya around ...

 

For my 403 Olds engine rebuild project , the bottom block is at the machine-shop today and is getting a bore of 0.20 !
The pistons , segments and bearings are being done . Standard rebuild .
The rest of my list of parts that I'm going to use to rebuild the 403 :

Edelbrock carburator 750
Edelbrock manifold 2711
Edelbrock camshaft 3712
Edelbrock timing chain 7813
B&M converter bmm 20412
Pioneer flex-plates pio-fra-102
Hedman headers hed 58078
Magnaflow exhaust kit mpe 15899
HP oil pump ses-7-60-08-01
Modine radiator 01319-12

What do you think of the list ?

I have read that the 350 Olds heads are the best to get the compression up !
Is there somebody who can tell me where I can buy some 350 Olds heads from '68 #5 or '72 #7 for my 403 Olds block ?
The other parts for my build-up of my 403 olds are set ... except this !!!
One thing : I live in Belgium !
But I have an address in Texas where the heads can be send to and then shipped to Belgium !
I can't seem to find them here in Belgium so please help ...

Please comment ...