so i am tearing down a 455 that has been rebuilt and starting over with mostly new parts. depending on what i have that is i was told it was "built" and pulled with only a few thousand miles which has an endless amount of meanings depending on who you ask. due to the fact that it was poorly stored and missing the dist. and carb and has a stock intake on it i am starting over. it is an "F" block ('68-'71) with "J" heads

is there a way to identify if the cam is stock? ie: markings or measurements that i can take to identify.

also helpful would be the stock crank journal measurements, both main and rod.

rod length, piston diameter, cylinder diameter, int/exh valve diameter, etc if anybody has these

if anybody has a link or other information to find specs that i can use to compare the parts i have that would be awesome!

 

 

You forgot, valve sizes...J heads have a 1.995 (2 inch) intake valve and a 1.68 exhaust valve.
This will differ between castings (I have seen J's with different size valves), but for the most part-you start with a 2 inch intake valve. The factory 2.07 can be installed in it.
Jim

 

so my cylinder bores measure at 4.155".
pistons at 4.125.

crankshaft marked with a big "N" and 397368. rod journals measure 2.490. mains 2.980

the cam is marked on the distributor end in paint pen with "460" and a check mark. marked in paint pen "425" on timing end. cast in between the lobes is 3894 10 7 CFD. anybody make sense of this? is there a way to find out the grind of this cam

so im taking it that the cylinders are bored 30 over, and all journals on the crank are turned under. the bearings on the rods are stamped ".10". i should be able to order new bearings matching the ones im taking out and drop the crank back in after the block is prepped. my main concern now is to use the cam or not to use the cam?

 

anybody able to decode my crank # or cam#?

 

Crank should be 397363 not 8. I'd look again.
That's a 455 crank.

As far as cam info, they're all listed in this Mondello book


I wouldn't bother learning the specs if it's stock though, as the factory cams are way outdated nowadays.

 

If you go to the cranks section in the Olds Wiki it has the numbers and what to look for. Should have the cam I.D. stuff in there too.

http://www.oldsmobilewiki.com/index.php?title=Main_Page

 

sorry, yes the crank is #397363.

 

according that book the cam castings for a 455 68-71 are:
400117
400165
402486
402569
406768
409691
409759

 

cast between the lobes of my cam is "3984107 CFD" and i haven't seen this number anywhere i have looked. due to the CFD and the spoked wheel looking symbol that follows im assuming its a stock cam made by olds(as i have seen these marks on my block, crank, heads) but since the motor was rebuilt before and bored .030 over i am hoping i have a cam worth reusing but regardless would like to identify it and know what its specs are. any tips?

 

Are you sure you read that casting number correctly? Casting blank number 389410 was used for 5 different factory performance grinds in 1970 alone. It was probably used in other years, too; I just don't have all the data.

Those five 1970 grinds were:
400165 -- W33, W34, and all automatic 442s (including W-30)
406768 -- manual 442s, except W-30
402194 -- all W-31s
402569 -- manual W-30s
393859 -- manual 350s with 4 bbl (except W-31), mid-year introduction.

On a 402569 W-30 cam I have, the last three digits of the part number are stamped on the rear face: 569. It also has the digits of the casting number, 389410, cast between the lobes as you describe. If you find numbers stamped anywhere on the cam, there's a good chance that will tell you the part number, and from that we can determine the application.

That W-30 cam I mentioned also has the two green paint stripes mentioned in the cam chart you will find in some factory literature. The stripes were painted between the lobes. You may need a bright light to see them.