laxs1308

hey guys i got this 68 442 and i am doing a frame off resto. i can't figure out what engine this is and it is really bugging me...any help would be awesome. here are some of the numbers...

vin 344878m257519

top of engine 411929 and Y4119800

Oil filler tube 4584677

water pump shelf 395558

im going to post pictures for help too.

thanks

laxs1308

okay none of my pictures are being allowed to be posted...i don't know why.

2blu442

Check this thread, it shows the location of the block casting numbers/letters. If you have the original engine (1968 400) it will have a large letter G at the end of the numbers between the waterpump and the intake manifold. It will also have the vin number on the pad under the #1 sparkplug and behind the power steering pump. Photos of that location are also in this thread. John

https://classicoldsmobile.com/forums...s-engines.html

Bluevista

Those photos are great John, pics are worth a thousand words.
The one block is a '68 350 with the 395558 casting number on it. I looked at the Olds FAQ Wiki and it says that number can be a '68-'76 350? Every time I use that info I'm corrected so double check back here if you do.

Best to post the pics and the info off of the left side pad.


http://www.oldsmobilewiki.com/index.php/Category:Blocks

2blu442

Hello Allen
Your right, his engine is a 350 motor from the casting number. I'm so focused on the large letter or number after the long number that I didn't look for the reference number he posted! My identification of the casting numbers are the years of the engines I photographed but they do run for several other years. Laxs1308, the head casting number by the #1 spark plug may give a clue what year or range of years your engine came from, as long as nobody switched the heads which may have happened. Allen, I've not experimented with text and photos in a post, so there's a way to put the text next to the photos instead of under or above? John

wmachine

350 for sure!

Bluevista

This is like the blind leading those who can not see.

I think if the pics are as wide as the page the text will always be under or over them? With the smaller pics it comes up right next to them after you type the text after or before the "insert image" pic link. The image is like text and takes up all the height so nothing can go above the line it's on?

I'm an Otter. I'm an Otter.

It's a 350.

joe_padavano

The car is a real 1968 442 Holiday Coupe, built in Lansing.

Where on the top of the engine is this number?

Is this on the intake manifold? Is it possibly 411880? Does it have EGR? Does it say OLDSMOBILE on the front runner? If so, it's a 74-up 350 intake.

Engine unit number. The leading "4" would indicate the oil fill tube came from a 1974 motor. This would be consistent with the intake manifold being a 411880 casting.

Yes, it's a 350 block. The VIN derivative will tell what year. Could be 68-76. Clearly this is a replacement. I'm willing to bet that the heads are #8.

laxs1308

man that sucks, the guy that sold me it swore it was a 400. I really was hoping it was a 400...I thought they only made 400's and 455's in 68 442's??

laxs1308

it does say OLDSMOBILE on it and there is an EGR...how does that work?? I thought they started emissions in 70, does the EGR need to be utilized? and why would anyone ever put a 74 intake on this block?

2blu442

Laxs1308, if you read through Joe's post you'll see it's probably a 1974 engine. The 1968 442 only had 400 engines put in them. So somewhere along the way it's been replaced with a newer 350 engine. If the seller assured you it was the correct engine, he either didn't know or wasn't being truthful. John

rocketraider

Because the whole engine has been switched in this car, and my money says it is a 1974 350. It probably replaced the 1968 400 when a rod went thru the side of the block.

If the guy put in writing it was a 400, you have a legal case against him. If all he did was tell you it was a 400, then 1) he did not know/care what he was talking about, and 2) you're stuck with a non-original engine.

I had one try to pass off a 403 as an original 1968 400 on me a couple years ago, but when I asked if he'd put in writing that the car had its original 400 engine, that car disappeared off his lot real quick. 'Course I think someone put a bug in his ear he had a hardcore Olds guy looking at the car and it had better be what he claimed it to be.

BTW, all 1968 442 came with 400 G-block engines. No 350's, no 455's.

joe_padavano

Yes, although technically a 1968 H/O would have a 442 VIN (344...) and came with a factory installed 455.

tlm1762

joe_padavano

Welcome to the site. You DO realize that this thread you dug up is a decade old, right?