67 Olds 442

I'm new to the olds big block world. I'm looking to get a new performance intake for my car. I don't know much about the motor other than what I was told by the previous owner. He said the car is a 455 big block with the stock 400 heads and is cam'd. (off topic, but I still have the original 400 block)

What do I need to look for on the block/heads/intake to find an aftermarket intake that will work in place of the one that is on the car?

Will a standard 455 intake work, or do I need to find something specific to my 400/455 combo?

Any help here is appreciated, I'm trying to learn more about these cars by getting my hands dirty.

Also, Should I replace the Carb too?

Thanks.

droptopron

400's & 455's have the same block & head castings so they take the same intake. W'out cam specs it is hard to recommend an intake. If you are unsure a Performer is a safe bet. You should look for a large letter towards the front of the head and a number on a flat pad on the front of the engine block behind the water pump. Post that here and people will be able to tell you what block & heads you have. Its unlikely but not impossible that your 400 was turned into a 455. Reason being that it isn't cost effective to do so.
As far as carb goes, what do you have? is thre any reason you are unhappy with it?

67 Olds 442

This is what I found:

Block (behind water pump)- 396021 F
Head (behind AC) - V208508 G
Intake (Firewall Side - Behind Carb) - 390390


The Carb is working fine, just wondering if its something worth upgrading when I do the intake. Like I say, my knowledge is limited on these motors. All I can see on the carb is the Quadrajet stamp on the side.

67 Olds 442

I think I have the cam paper work, I'll have to take a look at it and post it tonight.

Also the car has Jet coated Hooker Competition headers.

67 Olds 442

Cam sheet says:

Valve lift 496in/512ex
Running duration 266in/274ex
Gross cam lift 310in/320ex
Duration @.50 226in/230ex
Lobe centers 110

Now i hope thats all the info you need to help me out

67Olds442X2

You got a 455 block for sure. The heads are big valve "C" heads (67 442). The intake is stock of course. The "Torker" is a decent intake or a "Performer", there's a new "Air Gap" also. Each one has a different RPM range. Maybe a "Performer" is best. I'm no expert by any means.

67 Cutlass Freak

I'll try to help you best I can.
Your block- 396021 F is 455CI used between 1968-76.
Your heads- V208508 G # is not correct. 400's were letters A,B, or C. The 400 heads used casting #s 383821, 389395, 394548. All Olds big block head casting #'s start with a 3 or 4. The large letter in the corner also helps to identify these.
Your intake- 390390 is correct for 1966-67 4BBL including W-30.

"He said the car is a 455 big block with the stock 400 heads and is cam'd"
This statement to me is comical. I love it when guys try to talk up their engines like this, or when they say "it's got a 3/4 race cam". I'm such a ball buster, I always ask what happened to the other 1/4 of the cam. Let's hope it's "cammed" or it really wouldn't run now would it? Truth of the matter is, 90% of these guys could not recall a spec, or know what it meant anyhow.

Cam sheet says:

Valve lift 496in/512ex
Running duration 266in/274ex
Gross cam lift 310in/320ex
Duration @.50 226in/230ex
Lobe centers 110

This cam appears to be JM20-22. It is a hydraulic cam designed for street use. Not very much larger than stock. Recomended use Semi hot muscle car street cam, good power & torque. RPM range 1400-5800. Book suggests using an Edelbrock Torker or Performer manifold. Carb should be 650-750QJ. Compression ratio 9-10.5:1 Torque converter 2000-2200 stall, gear ratio 3.03-3.23
These specs were taken from Mondello's catalog.
The stock intake that you have really isn't too bad. The Perfomer manifold, being a dual plain, would probably be your best choice for the street. You should find out if your going to have any hood clearance issues for whatever manifold you choose.

67 Olds 442

Thanks.

Paperwork says its a rochester quadrajet 800.

2400 stall.

No idea on the gears. Just know the paperwork says a modified ford 8.8 rear end.

67Olds442X2

I think the "G" is part of the number on the front pad of the head. "V2xxxxxG" would be correct for 67 442. Could be wrong.
The new "Air Gap" may work. A little pricey though. As mentioned by cutlass freak, hood clearance issue.

67 Olds 442

So something like this: http://www.summitracing.com/parts/EDL-2151/

What should i expect for performance increase?

Ill have to measure the a/b measurements.

Edelbrock says a 750-800 performer or thunder avs series carb. Sound about right?

2blu442

I agree, if the Vxxxx number is stamped instead of cast into the head that's the original 442 head. It should have a large C cast next to the #1 and #8 sparkplugs. John

67 Cutlass Freak

You might want to hold off on buying that intake until after Mark's comparison dyno testing is done-
https://classicoldsmobile.com/forums...omparison.html

Mark is also very knowledgable about cams. He's helped a lot of folks choose the right modern grind for their setups. You really do have a lot of choices for the big block intake-
1) Stock 4 BBL - heavy but gets the job done.
2) Edelbrock 04b - Aluminum, old design, similar to stock.
3) Edelbrock Performer - (Idle - 5500 RPM)
Patented Dual-plane, low-rise design with a 180º firing order greatly improves torque over a wide rpm range for excellent throttle response from off-idle through 5500rpm. Performers are ideal for passenger cars, trucks, 4x4s and RV's.
4) Edelbrock Performer RPM - (1500 - 6500 RPM)
A dual-plane, high-rise designed with a 180º firing order greatly produces incredible top-end horsepower while retaining great throttle response. Their larger plenums and runners match high-lift cams, free flowing exhausts and other modifications of a high-output engine. Great for street or strip.
5) Edelbrock RPM Air-Gap (1500 - 6500 RPM)
Ideal from 1500-idle to 6500rpm, the RPM Air-Gap offers the same street/strip performance benefits of the Performer RPM but with the addition of Edelbrock's patented Air-Gap. The RPM Air-Gap design features an open air space that separates the runners from the hot engine oil for a cooler, denser charge for more power.
6) Edelbrock Torker / Torker II (3500 - 7500 RPM)
These single plane, low rise intake manifolds offer high-rpm, street high-performance and low profile design on application where hood clearance is limited.
7) Victor Series (3500 - 8500+ RPM)
Single-plane, high-rise intakes designed for maximum race-winning power at higher engine speeds. Engineered in conjunction with leading engine builders and racers from all forms of competition these intakes incorporate modern design with the latest racing technology. Victor manifolds are available for single or multiple-carburetor set-ups.
8) Offenhauser 5589 Dual quad low riser
9) Offenhauser 5705 Dual quad medium riser
10) Offenhauser 6030-DP single carb Square bore dual port high rise
11) Offenhauser 6031-DP single carb Spread bore dual port high rise
12) Offenhauser 6109 Portosonic 4150 carb flange This all aluminum intake manifold for the 400-425-455 Olds engines has an open plenum large runner and is designed for high performance needs. Carburetor base fits a square bore Holley 850 cfm carb. Effective power range from 3000 to 6500 RPM. Can be used with stock or HEI distributors (some minor modification may be required).
13) Offenhauser 6117 Portosonic Spread bore
14) Offenhauser 6108 Supersonic This all aluminum intake manifold for the 400-425-455 has an open plenum large runner and is recommended for competition use only. The improvements to this manifold include the use of 4 paravanes at the bottom of the plenum to direct the gas/air mixture through the runners in an even distribution pattern with a minimum turbulence factor. Can be used with stock or HEI distributors (some minor modification may be required).
15) Offenhauser 6082, 6083, 6084 Tunnel Ram single or dual carb -This aluminum manifold base for the 400-455 Oldsmobile engines can be used for aftermarket fuel injection systems or to build a custom tunnel-ram with your own designed top. The 6084 Dual-Quad top is made to fit this base.
16) Holley Street Dominator single plain, out of production, good runner size comparable to the Torker.
17) Procomp 27026 This intake has a power range from 1500-6500 RPM it is very similar to the Edelbrock air gap manifold but may have some casting or fitment issues.
18) Oldsmobile tri carb set-up from 1966 with three two barrels- cast iron.
19) There are some exotic one off intakes out there, but you'll need some deep pockets. Another option would be converting over to Fuel injection. Mark (Cutlassefi) would be the perfect guy to talk to about this as well.

I hope this did not confuse you. I tried to list all the options I could think of. You really need to figure out what it is you want to acomplish.

67 Olds 442

Wow 67 cutlass freak i really appreciate your time to help me out on this. That list is going to take some time to go over but it is very helpful.

My goal would be mild to modest power gains throughout the power band without losing the ability to casually drive the car. The reason i want to replace the intake is because its the original and starting to show its age, and showing some rust near the gasket areas, and just isn't too appealing.

Since i was planning on replacing the intake, i figured it would be the time to replace the carb for something that would also help increase my hp/tq numbers.

You said that cam is a mild cam. Am i just reaching too much by doing intake and carb on a mild cam like that?

Ill follow the thread you linked and hope to learn from it. Thanks again.

Also thanks 67Olds442X2 for your help too.

Stevec

Talk to Mark, Cutlassefi the guy knows cam science.

bigD

with the cam you have i'd use the performer intake. there is a fairly simple mod that can be done, milling the center divider down a half inch is supposed to help the top end performance... i'm going to try using a 1/2" open spacer since my intake is already installed.

Run to Rund

There are advantages to the iron stock intakes. They seal well and give no trouble. Accessory brackets and carb linkage fit with no modifications. They flow well enough for the car to run 10s in the quarter; in 2006 Sam Murray's 67 W30 held the D/S record at 10.91 sec, 119.74 mph. For a mild cammed engine like yours the main advantage to an aluminum intake would be the savings of about 35 lb. Most of them sit the carb higher, some a lot. Be sure you have enough hood clearance.

67 Olds 442

What would be a good estimate of hp/tq gains after a performer intake and a 750 or 800 edelbrock carb on my current cam?

All this is assuming it fits fine.

JCMC64

What did you end up going with or are you still researching?

67 Olds 442

I need to do the clearance measurements, but I think I'm going to go with the Edelbrock performer series.

I don't need anything too aggressive, just one with a little better flow and will look better than what I have.

I'll probably back that up with a 800cfm performer carb.

I just ordered my Dynomax ultra-flo mufflers , so those are going on first. Wheels are this weekend, and then I'll start my ordering process for the intake and carb.......as long as the fit of course.

oldcutlass

You will be happy with the performer manifold. It's perfect for a mild build for all around street performance, idle - 5500 rpm. Note that this manifold can be used for a spread or square bore carb with no adaptors.

There may also be an issue if you run an Edelbrock carb with an electric choke. You may not be able to use your stock style aircleaner, and you may run into aircleaner to hood clearance issues. So you might want to consider a Rochester or Holley carb.

Also if you are going to use an Edelbrock, I would recommend the Thunder AVS series.

copper128

If your QuadraJet is working well, I'd recommend keeping it. In all likelyhood, it'll work better than the Edelbrock (AFB) carb.

Rickman48

X 2 on the Q-jet!!