therealmikeb98

Hey everyone, so me and my buddy are working on a 1987 cutlass supreme but when we bought it there was an engine swap done (very poorly might i add) and all they said was it was a 350 oldsmobile engine so after doing some research on the casting numbers and such we've came to the conclusion it is a 350 rocket. it has the edelbrock carb on it but thats about it and it smokes really bad well long story short we will be pulling the engine and buying a rebuild kit from summit racing http://m.summitracing.com/parts/fem-205-6310m000 this is about the only one i can find for this motor, but i came here to see if anyone has any experience with these motors and what it all takes to rebuild one of these? We just want to get it running the way it should be again and will probably put new headers on while we have the engine out of the car. Any information will be helpful and very much appreciated, thanks in advance.

oldcutlass

Welcome to the site. There are some goofy things that can cause an engine to blow smoke that are not very expensive to fix. Have you troubleshot the engine to see if it actually needs a rebuild?

therealmikeb98

thanks, and the engine is in pretty rough shape it seems like we have tried to fix it a few times and it never works so instead of blowing more money we are just going to do a rebuild on it. I'm going to post a few pictures so you can see what the engine looks like they are not the best pics but better than nothing

therealmikeb98

here are some pictures

oldcutlass

What carb and distributor is on it? I don't see an egr so I'm assuming no catalytic convertor and home made duals.

Octania

"instead of blowing more money we are just going to do a rebuild on it"
=======================
Interesting use of the word "just"
you have heard of Shipwright's disease, right?
The "mitaswells" ?
Might as well rebuild the heads while they are off [$400-1000]
Might as well do the freeze plugs
Might as well get a line hone and clean the block
oh damn a broken piston/ scored wall now it needs a bore job
might as well change compression ratio
might as well get a new cam to suit
That old carb seems inadequate now
The factory A4 intake will hold her back....
Ought to put in a higher-stall converter to take advantage of that cam...

an so on, well past $10,000
"just" a rebuild, you say.

$250 for a rings/ bearings kit
"Engine Re-Ring, Moly, 4.057 in. Bore, Standard Rod, Standard Main, Oldsmobile, 350, Kit"

PS you may wish to dismantle and measure and see if Std size parts can still be used at all before ordering same. Bad crank/ spun bearing and your std bearings are useless...

find out what the problem is first.

therealmikeb98

lol thats a bit ridiculous, we went from a few hundred dollars too 10 grand? we know oil is slipping past the rings and thats why its burning so while we had it that far down we were going to rebuild the rest. like i said we just want to get the car running dependable and steady for now no changing compression, cams, etc...

70cutty

10k is a bit exaggerated, you can get a 496 for that much, but I do agree with Octania, open it up and check everything before you start ordering.

csouth

You beat me to it regarding the 10k cost. You can have a performance 350 build for half that. IMO, If you want the peace of mind knowing the motor is new, get the motor rebuilt. Set a budget. Asses the problem and find out what you need to get where you want. Figure out what solution will fits within your budget.

oldcutlass

To answer your original question, I don't know if that Summit kit will work because you don't know whether your engine has been rebuilt already. I would do some simple troubleshooting prior to pulling the engine.

What color is the smoke? What does the smoke smell like? Is it coming from both sides? The pictures of the engine look like a normal engine. I'd do a compression test and a leak down test to see whats going on first. Is it running hot?

Fun71

That looks like a minimal kit - it's lacking a timing set and intake manifold gasket, for starters. I would also recommend cam bearings and freeze plugs as long as you have it apart. Maybe an oil pump, too.

joe_padavano

I think Chris' post was a bit tongue-in-cheek about the MIGHTASWELL disease that many of us suffer from. How a simple job turns into a body-off restoration.

therealmikeb98

Yea I know all about the "might as well" lol my personal car started out as just doing a simple bolt on ended up changing the heads intake manifold cams compression etc... But putting that aside we really just want the thing to run like brand new again so we are going to pull it and rebuild it. Now being that my experience is in ford motors I came here for a little knowledge on these motors and anything to watch out for

Octania

OK, maybe you are better at resisting the mitaswells than others are

You still need to measure your parts before ordering.

What if the crank is in need of a grind and therefore the std size bearings are now of no use to you?

"just" buy more new ones ?

Fun71

well, it's basically a V-8 single cam, pushrod operated overhead valve engine, so your knowledge of the Ford engine can transfer over. Olds crank thrust bearing is at the rear instead of in the center, but other than that it's your basic V-8 engine. Oh yeah, and unlike Ford, the drivers side cylinders are odd numbered and the passengers side are even numbered.

J-(Chicago)

An olds and an FE aren't much different from each other as far as design goes. Big iron air pumps like all the rest of em'

captjim

While it is true that they are similar, there are differences in design, particularly the heads, that will affect cam choice, etc. IMHO, the best bet is to find an existing build that meets your goals and budget, and copy it.

olds 307 and 403

I see it has the A4 intake. What block numbers in front of the intake? What is big number on the heads?

therealmikeb98

What is the A4 intake ? We were thinking ab getting a edelbrock high rpm intake or whatever I don't have the link infront of me at the moment

Fun71

Post up the numbers on your engine and we can give you a better idea of what parts might be suitable for you build. This pic shows where to find the head casting ID (350 will have a number instead of a letter) and the block stamping, with the year of manufacture:

johnnyjaws

piston walls are shot need to bore it 30 over valve job valves leaking cam shot lobes worn away and lifters new bigger pistons timingchain clean out oil pump and carb rebuild ur dreaming if u think thst kit is all u need

captjim

Nice post...........
Mike, IMO you would be crazy not to change the cam, the factory one is VERY mild. A realistic stock-ish rebuild with pistons (assuming it needs to be bored) is going to run you around 4 grand, maybe a little less. Again, as the others suggested, tear it down, see what you have, determine your performance goals and budget, and go from there. There are a couple of good Olds vendors who post here frequently that can help you put together a good combination of parts that will work well together and with the gear/converter that you have.

therealmikeb98

Ok thank you i will get those numbers whenever we go pick up the car later on today. Going to start pulling it out of the car

therealmikeb98

We are not focussing on performance as much as we are getting it running right for now. We are going to get it running efficiently again before we dump performance into it and being the budget were on that's what agrees with us most right now. We will tear it apart then order the parts. This isn't even my car I'm just helping out a buddy so I just do whatever he says too as far as ordering stuff and when to do it.

captjim

The thing is, a "performance" rebuild is not that much more than a "stock" rebuild. If the bores are worn, tapered, scored, and will require too much honing to clean up, then re-ringing is kinda pointless. One issue is the piston choice, you DO NOT want to use the pistons in a cheap rebuild kit, they will murder your compression. A basic valve job with seals and guides is going to be around $500. Cam and lifter kit is not an expensive upgrade, at all. IMHO, if you try and do it as cheaply as possible, you are not going to be satisfied and will end up doing it correctly the second time. Just trying to save you the headaches and $. Let us know what you find when your tear it down.