I just obtained a 68 cutlass 4 door (for free i might add) from my ex girlfriends grandparents. Its in pretty rought shape, but more to the point, they told me it had a 350 rocket in it. A few days work later and I have the motor out, and the heads off and whatnot, but im still not 100% sure what the motor is. Its got gold paint under some of the gunk and grime, but it was thanksgiving(in Canada), and i had to go to a dinner and didn't have time to find the casting numbers on the block. I am a student at university and don't live at home where my fathers garage is, but i have a 'fever' i guess and just wanted to know if this 350 rocket is a possiblility for this car and year.

I've also heard that if this is an origonal 68 block that they are prefered over a newer block for rebuilding?...and information would be helpful, im am a rookie olds person, but now that i have it, i wouldn't want anything else

 

Sounds like a 400ci. Not sure if that was the original color for a 350 but
it is for a 400ci

 

1) The 400 was only available in the 442 and the Vista Cruiser in 1968

2) 400s were bronze, 350s were gold

3) Paint can be added. The block casting number will prove what engine it is.

4) "Rocket" is a marketing term and has absolutely no performance connotations whatsoever (PARTICULARLY in a 4dr). The fact that people still think this is a testament to the success of the Olds marketing department in the late 1940s and early 1950s.

 

Thanks guys

 

Right now im rebuilding the motor as a priority, the body and frame are in rough shape, its been sitting for 18 years or so. My best friends is a welder by trade, so thats a big bonus, and my father has a big garage and tools.

I'm getting the motor bored out soon, probably will need 1 over or so. The cylenders are in good shape, just a little ridge where the top of the stroke ends.I found a kit from the US, $450 that includes high compression pistons, rods, rings, all gaskets, lifters and a new cam, cam gears and timing chain. I already have the motor out, i might as well rebuild it now i guess.
(Christmas is comming, maybe i can get mom and dad to pay for part of the rebuild kit as a present)

 

Welcome to the world of Oldsmobiles! Do you have pictures of your car you can share? Is it a 4 door hardtop or post car? (is there a frame around the windows in the doors or is it all open when you roll down both the front and back seat door windows?) Not much demand for the 4 door Cutlasses so be cautious with how much money you spend on it, especially since you say it's pretty rough. But my addiction to Oldsmobiles started from a very rusty 1970 Rallye 350 I pulled out from under the blackberry vines, so you gotta start somewhere! John

 

There is no door post, (well half of one i guess), when the windows are down its one big hole.
I just like the uniqueness of the car, around where I live, classic cars are rare, and olds are rarer. Which is good and bad i guess. Its a project, if nothing else i'll have a 350(for cheap) to put in a later project

 

Welcome to our site, a four door hardtop is definitely a rare animal.

 

Four doors are awsome! They are so much better than 2 doors. There is more car to love!

 

That's called a Holiday Sedan (also a 4dr hardtop).

 

good to know gentlemen, That'll help in trying to find parts and pieces for sure. Id put up some photo's, but its all in pieces now, no hood or engine, all jacked up on blocks in my fathers garage.

Is it difficult to take the body off the frame? It obviously is heavy, but any tips/tricks would be appreciated. This forum is a great help, I'm lucky I found it

 

Depends on how you define "difficult". I would consider it more tedious than difficult. Of course you need to remove all the front sheetmetal and bumper. Also, due to the weight, anything you do to make it lighter (remove doors and trunklid, for example) will help. You need to disconnect the wire harness at the firewall, the steering column, shift linkage, lines to the A/C and heater, and brake cables. You also need to disconnect the master cylinder and any vacuum lines. At this point, you need to remove all the body-to-frame bolts. If the car is at all rusty, you will end up spinning most of the cage nuts. This will require cutting holes in the floorpan to access the cage nuts and replace them. One bit of advice is that an impact wrench is your best shot at breaking the bolts loose without spinning the cage nuts.

At that point, jack the body up off the frame and slide in 6x6s to support the body. Keep jacking on the 6x6s to get the body high enough to roll the chassis out from under it. Support the 6x6s with safe blocking (wooden cribbing, cinderblocks, etc) as appropriate.

All of this begs the question, why are you pulling the body off the frame? Far be it from me to discourage you, but four door cars from this period really don't have the value of their two door brethren. You can very quickly dump much more money into this car (particularly if there is major rust) than it is worth.

Of course, I've NEVER spent waaaaay more money on a car than it was worth...
(see the post about my needing to buy the $1500 parts car to finish a free car...)

Seriously, nice, low-rust 4dr cars are available for small dollars as compared to the 2dr Cutlii. There has been a fairly nice 69 Holiday Sedan on a local used car lot for a couple of years now with an asking price of $2500 and no takers.

 

Did the 4 door Cutlii have an option for six windows the way the 98s did in the early 60s? I know my 64 98 is a 6 window hardtop, or, Luxury Sedan. I am not sure what the 4 door hardtop without the extra windows was called...

 

I will probably look for a shell somewhere eventually, but living in the east coast canada, salt air and salt roads = most everything old is rusted out, and things that aren't are real costly. I can get decent car from the states, but transport cost will kill me, and i'm a student at university, so $150 here and there isn't too bad, but 3000 hits real hard...
I'm just playing with ideas right now, throwing them off people who know things...im a complete rookie with muscle/classic cars....but i look at my old rust bucket and all I see is potential.......blinded by love I suppose

 

"For complete correctness"

Because of their ash aggreate and low compressive strength, I would not use "cinder blocks." I would use concrete blocks.

Joe, I hope you know I'm fun'in with ya

68-cutlas 4 dr,
It won't take you long on this board to figure out Joe P. is one of the Olds Gurus and a wealth of knowledge.

 

I deserved that...

 

i apreciate everything you guys told me....as a new to olds guy i can't expect to know anything..and since you guys do, its been alot of fun/dreaming about what my car can be........I'm one of those people that love any piece of knowlege i can get, so keep it comming guys......thanks alot

 

well...I finally made a trip home to work on the car. I didn't have an engine stand, but i lucked out and stopped at a local Canadian Tire store and they had a open box heavy duty stand for 40% off, so i got lucky there. That saved me so much work and time that it would have been worth every penny at full price.

Completely stripped the motor down to bare block. The good news for me is everything is in pretty good shape, except the heads. That is where all my problems seemed to come from, even the siezing. Three valves were stuck, 2 closed and 1 open, and when I put the power-bar on the crank-pully nut to try to free up the engine, I freed it, bending the pushrod in the process. The valve seals are completely shot, and the inside of the heads are rather rusty. So I have some head work, or purchasing to do.

I think it had it had 7-a(?) heads when i checked a few weeks back. I'm not sure but I thought they had other ones on it originally. It also had Holley valve covers, so someone had been tinkering around there some.


on the positive side:

Once I got the motor stripped down, I found most everything else in pretty good condition. The cylender walls are smooth and completely without rust. They have a small ridge at the top, I haven't got the micrometers to measure it yet but my father doesn't seem to think its anything out of the ordinary for a 40 year old engine. The crank seems in good shape, everything is smooth and shiney, no scratches or pitting. The cam seemed a bit wore on the top of the lobes, but im no expert, so it could be nothing.

I also found the block casting number, and confirmed its a original 350 from the 68 generation, so i was pleased about that.

Well I guess thats about all thats new here

 

if it's too far gone to restore, the 350 would be a great motor to build up and drop in an 80's cutlass supreme.

 

ya i haven't quite decided what to do with the body and frame yet, I've yet to tear into it and really see what needs done. The motor however is going to be built up over time. Maybe by then I'll decide what to do with the body, or have found a shell of something to put it in.

 

The correct heads for a '68 & '69 350 is #5...and no EGR stuff on the intake manifold...

 

Joe I like the idea about the 6 by 6's.....but I'm cheap and work for the Railroad....so...naturally I like using old RR ties cut into 2 ft sections....but that's just me.....

 

ICongrats on getting the car. Any pictures that you can post? How are the floor pans, trunk, frame, etc? How bad is the rust in the rest of the car? Like others have stated, a mint 4 dr does not command that much money. Most people used them as donor cars for parts which now makes your car pretty rare. It is your personal choice as to fix it or not. That being said though, if your car is in pretty decent shape (without major rot issues) and is very drivable, you can always fix things while you drive and enjoy it. The 4dr no post cars from GM were always unique and pretty good looking. Good luck and keep us posted.