oldsguybry

or not .... after discovering that I have a 76 Olds motor in my 72 CS I realized I have been buying motor parts for a 72 ! heres a short list of what I replaced so far .... dist. cap , rotor , points , plugs , and I beleive the fuel pump .... a few other parts I replaced that probably do not matter .... plug wires , vacuum lines , fuel filter. The car runs pretty good so things cant be that far off , ill have to see if there are any differences between the two motors.

Allan R

Hi Bryan!
I don't think you're off in left field. There's not a huge amount of difference in the block between 72-76 to be worried about it.
re: the dist parts? Why not ditch the points and install a Pertronix unit? You'll never have to do that dwell adjustment again, and from the outside no one will know it's been converted.
The main difference you will see right away is the heads stamping. 72 will be Ga and 76 will be J heads. As long as the car is running nicely keep on driving it. The 76 intake manifold will have casting number 403111 and 72 should be 404521. The cranks should be the same from 72-76. The 72 cam is 400117 (258/272 duration int/exh and lift .435/.435 int/exh) and the 76 is 409691 (286/287 duration int/exh and lift .474/.472 int/exh)

oldsguybry

cool , thanks for the info ... yea the car runs pretty good other then the carb needs adjusting , and I have not checked the timing yet ... the engine does have a knock ( top of motor ) I hear it when the motor is cold or warmed up now , but still comes and goes. I wanted to put some seafoam in the gas and the oil , but the oil pan has a big dent with a hole that someone patched (leaks a little) and there are other gaskets that need replacing ... im afraid ill create a bunch of leaks.

oldcutlass

Your fine with all the parts you bought! If the points are working for you I would leave them alone. I would recommend you check your timing, as when you changed your points it probably changed. Is it a knocking or a tapping, Oldsmobile engines are prone to valve train issues as they age. It's normally lifters, or rocker/ pedestal assy's. Listen to see if the noise is coming from under the valve covers!!

Allan R

Can you pop out to a boneyard and pick up an oilpan that's good? If you're going to change gaskets etc, replace the pan too. They should be really cheap at the wreckers, on line the new ones are only around 45-60 bucks

oldsguybry

yea I got a chrome oil pan for the 350 , but may just use the 455 oil pan if it will work and get a new gasket of course

Allan R

Bryan, I have a thread on what you asked; pretty much the same as what I was concerned about. My 350 oil pan has a huge dent in it. My 455 pan is cherry. You can go from 455 to 350, but shouldn't go the other way apparently due to clearance of the 455 connecting rod bolts. The 455 pan is slightly deeper. The bolt holes are the same though.

Have a look: https://classicoldsmobile.com/forums...5-oil-pan.html