Guys

I live in the UK and have a 72 Cutlass Base. running a 350 Rocket.

I'm looking for a crate engine to replace the old worn out one, nothingfancy

just a straight swop, but hopefully back up to around 310 bhp

If anyone knows any web sites I could try, it would be much appreciated.
Thanks.

PS
I was looking at Yearone.com and they sent me this link, of their crateengine. But on closer inspection I don’t think this is a 350 Rocket. ??

https://www.yearone.com/Product/1964...s-442/ct350pc1

 

There is no Oldsmobile Crate engines. The engine on that link is a Chevy 350. You could talk to one of the builders here and see what would cost to build a 350.

 

I'll crate up the high compression 403 and send it if you arrange the shipping.

 

PM sent.

 

Wait.

Year One is selling a small block Chevy motor as a "performance" item for an Olds?

Yet ANOTHER reason why I don't buy anything from them...

 

He probably is a pimply faced counter guy that has no clue, but heard 350 crate motor...

 

Go back and follow that link above. It's from Y1's online catalog and is specifically listed in the Cutlass/442 performance section.

 

I actually did a search using the link and they list 2 with no disclaimers...sheesh

 

Surely you know that Che*y engines have more power. Everyone knows that.

Their horses are smaller so there are more of them.

:-)

 

Imagine the shock when the engine gets to the uneducated customer and nothing bolts up.

 

How many could I fit with the hookers under my hood??

 

I think that depends on how much you pay the hookers.

- Eric

 

Why do you have hookers under the hood? They should be in one of two places:
Either under the car (so they don't tell), or in the back seat.

 

HAHA Yeah true anuf ... More rubber under the car, and with a baby wipe back seat, that makes for easy clean up after the horse stops galloping.

 

I had a reply e-mail fromYearone apologising for the mistake andthey have assured me that those engineswill be moved to the correct location within there catalogue
Doesn’t give a customer a great deal of confidence
On another note anyone had any dealings with TUFF DAWG ENGINES

http://www.tuffdawgengines.com
And a quick question if i was to go for the 403 rather than 350will everything fit. Ie engine mounts and g box ect.

 

I am not sure about tuffdawg engines, I've seen them on eBay and they are pretty cheap. As far as 403, it's the same dimension as a 350 and everything will fit.

Honestly I would rather buy a motor from one of the members here than tuffdawg. JMO

 

If your not looking for a major build, the prices listed for the complete core built Olds isn't bad at all. You will have a little extra $$$ left over to upgrade the rear and possible a few other add on's. Jus' sayin
Eric

 

Hello - my names Dave and I'm Beakys mate over the pond in UK. I used to be a mechanic and will be helping Beaks out with his engine. I think we,re going to pull the engine and do a rebuild. I'm thinking rebore +30 and crank grind for starters.
We would like to up the CR so I'm thinking KB flat top pistons, moly rings and maybe a deck skim. We,re also looking at Edelbrock performers (70cc). Is this feasible and if yes would this bring the CR up above 9.0:1 ?? Any advice would be helpful, as I can't find any tuning books over here.

 

I don't think there is KB flat top for Olds 350. I honestly wouldn't waste the money on Edelbrock's, by the time you get them shipped to UK it's gonna cost major $$$$.
I would just rebuild the heads that are on the engine or maybe get a set of Procomps from Smitty. JMO

Here is my 350 build, I hope this helps.
Pistons are SpeedPro 6cc dish .010 in the block part number L2321
Reconditioned rods, crank turned and chamfered.
Heads are #6, big valves Ferrea, 4 angle valve job, fully ported, crossover plugged, exhaust divider welded, milled .030, Lunati springs, Comp roller rockers.
Camshaft Lunati custom grind (thank you Mark - Cutlassefi it sounds great runs even better, just what I wanted)
225/231@.050, with .512/.517 lift. 108 LSA, advanced 3 degrees.
Performer RPM intake, milled and port matched, powder coated black .
Hughes 2500 stall torque converter.
Hooker Ceramic Coated headers.
MSD Ready to Run Distributor
Street Avenger 670cfm carb

link for pistons on ebay

 

Before you buy pistons, determine the combustion chamber volume on the heads you will be using. I would keep the original 7A heads as they are one of the better Olds small block heads. Most of them are in the 68-70cc range so flat top pistons will put the CR in the 9.6 to 9.8:1 range (assuming .025" piston-to-deck clearance; less = higher CR, like up to 10.5:1 for zero deck), but you have to measure everything (chamber volume, piston-to-deck clearance, head gasket thickness, piston compression height, etc) to make sure. Be aware that most (all?) of the aftermarket cast pistons are short on compression height. Factory spec is 1.612"-1.615" and most cast pistons are 1.595", so you need to be aware of that or your CR will be a LOT lower than you anticipated.

 

All the Edelbrock heads are, are light weight version of Big Block C heads. Decent, yes, but not worth the price tag when you already have 5, 6, 7a, C, D, E, or if you are lucky enough F heads.

I would build it up and put in a bit of a hotter cam and call it a day

 

Thanks guys, this is great info. Couple of questions =

1 - how do we identifie what heads we have ? Cast numbers ? Where would they be.
2 - we want a hotter cam but with enough vacuum for the standard Th350 auto.

So assuming we ditch the edelbrock heads and keep the 3angle ? 7a heads, I'll clean them up, check guide wears OK, and re-cut and seat the valves, have you got any techy info about this so I can tell the engineering shop what we want (as I said we can't get any decent tuning manuals over here)

If we go for flat tops we don't mind paying a bit more for forged ones.

Cheers fellas

Dave

 

1 - Olds head ID is a number (small blocks) or letter (big blocks) at the end of the head near the #1 / #8 spark plug. The pic below is a '72 350 7A head:

https://classicoldsmobile.com/forums...gine-help.html


2 - The engine vacuum won't have any impact on the transmission. You have to worry about too much cam for the compression ratio causing low cylinder pressure and reduced performance instead of the intended increased performance (over-camming). Figure out what you are doing piston-wise first, so you know the compression ratio, then select the cam.

 

Thanks Kenneth, can you tell me which codes mean what, is size of valves and cc, etc. Also, will any o these fit a 403 ????

Cheers

 

The valve size and cc volume can't be determined by the head code. In general, the 5, 6, 7, and 7A SBO heads had small valves (W-31s had large valves) and ~68-70 cc chambers. You'd have to measure the heads to get the exact volume.

Yes, all Olds heads are interchangeable. There are a few gotchas when going between big block and small block. There is also a difference in head bolt and guide pin diameters starting in '77. I have no experience with that so I'll let others provide specifics on this.

 

Thanks Kenneth and everyone else with advice, keep it coming !!!

OK, so we know now that we have 7a heads, would these fit straight onto a 403 ???

Dave

 

Thanks, 70Cutty, I've been looking for a thread like yours.

 

Glad I could help.

 

Dave the 7a heads will fit on the 403, but the head bolt holes will have to be opened up, as the 403 utilized 9/16" head bolts. All the 350's were 1/2" I believe.
The 403 engines were very powerful. A lot of guys shy away from them because of the open main webbing, and huge bore/ thinner cylinder walls. Some guys swear by them like Jim from J&S machine and Dr.Dan from Florida. You started this thread asing about a crate engine. Jasper engines from Indiana could build you a stock type engine with a good warranty, but they don't have any Olds cores. I still think you would be better off contacting one of the venders from this board. If you are going to build it yourself, try to find a machinist that is familiar with Oldsmobiles. They need to be built a little bit different than your typical Ford or Chevy. You might want to pick up a copy of Bill Travato's book-
http://highperformanceolds.com/phpbb...hp?f=28&t=2712
and I also think Joe Mondello's Technical Reference manual is very handy-
http://www.mondellotwister.com/CatTechAcc.htm
Finally you may want to read through this thread I started about "Home Porting Technique" it's paced with a wealth of information-
https://classicoldsmobile.com/forums...echniques.html