I was given this 73 Cutlass, (see the story)https://classicoldsmobile.com/forums...tml#post352048)

Anyway I took some pics of what a friend told me was a Chevy 350 but today after a little cleaning the Gold block made me have second thoughts. I know the pics arent great but can anyone tell me is this a Olds or Chevy motor?

 

The color looks like Olds to me. Another dead giveaway is the number of bolts on the valve cover. If there are 10-bolts per valve cover, that is an Olds motor. Chevy motors have 4 bolts per valve cover.

 

Olds 350 with cruise control.

- Eric

 

Olds

 

Olds. Look at the oil filler tube.

 

Olds, valve cover dead give away, and in '73 the Cutlass V8's were Olds engines.

 

+6 :d

 

Thanks everyone. Very exciting, I assumed from those I spoke with it was replaced with a chevy 350... Delighted to have an olds motor....

Is it feasable to do a few low cost upgrades and improve performance on this car? If so what? Is there a thread on economical mods to this motor? Is the 350 in a 3800 pound car capable of economic performance upgrades that make any notable difference?... I want to make it just a tad punchy. If its not possible I will be happy to make the motor just have a good sound and leave it as a driver....

 

What kind of car people you hang out with who can't tell an Oldsmobile engine from a Chevy? I don't want 'em anywhere near my stuff!

Oh that's right- modern thought is "it's all GM".

Then there are those who know better...

 

x2

 

Hey, give the guy a break! We all have to learn sometime.

If you ask 99.999% of the population, they also couldn't tell you (and couldn't give a rats ***) what a 35+ year old engine looks like, and 99.8% of THOSE people couldn't tell the difference between a 73 Oldsmobile and a 73 Chevelle.

Some people can rattle off sports stats like an encyclopedia, others don't have a clue (and don't care) who Hank Aaron was. Some people know antique cars, and can tell you what the spark plug gap is on a 57 Packard. Some people know aircraft, some people know every TV show, some people know import cars, some people are into politics.

Most of us happen to be Star Trek geeks....for Oldsmobiles. Nothing wrong with that, but let's lighten up a little on those that are just getting into this hobby.

I think it's cool Tyler has an interest in a 38 year old Oldsmobile.

 

Nobody is criticizing Mr. Padgitt, they (we) are criticizing the person who gave him the car, and who (presumably) had the engine replaced, but still didn't know what kind of engine was in it.

- Eric

 

Hey, HEY!...Who was the wise guy making Star Trek cracks!?! >=[
haha, just kidding Try new dual exhaust with headers and maybe swap the rear gear. That should help some. From there look at intakes, heads, any cam swap would help, modern cams will do wonders for your classic motor. This is typically the most frequently asked motor question on here "how do i get a little more power from my ### Olds". look through the engines section, you should be able to find what you need pretty easy. I like the Olds 350s myself for their large bore and short stroke, they typically take very well to minor mods. Maybe someone else can give you better advice as far as heads go, but thatd be a good thing to look into. Good luck!

 

I am beginning to wonder if the engine has been replaced to begin with. This has been an interesting exchange.

 

Hey, I Grock Spock too.

 

I concur.

He needs to provide the usual numbers so we can figure out what it is.
A gold 350 could be the original smog motor, which will never perform well, unless rebuilt, even with dual exhausts and low gears, or it could be a '60s motor, with some real potential.

The devil is in the details.

- Eric

 

I had a 73 GP with a 400 that ran pretty strong with just a dist. re-curve and re-jet, but with a 2 something rear gear, got about 8 mpg, maybe 10 hwgy!
A smog motor will cost more than a earlier performance motor to get any hp out of it - would be easier to start with a earlier motor rebuild while driving what ya got.
Do it once and do it right!
There's a few good-running 350 - 455's for sale here.

 

FOUR bolts? Did they have leak problems? Seems like far too few!

 

Why yes, yes they did.

Didn't help they were soo thing back then you could bend them with your bare hands. also had a really rough gasket surface on the head too.

 

Do you have little kids that watch Phineus & Ferb?

The question is not whether the car can perform good, just better than it does now.
OP, make sure its in good tune. If you are not sure if its a 2 BBL or a 4 BBL a 4 BBL will have a throat of a little more than five inches. If its a 2 BBL a swap to a 4 will help. Look for aused intake & quadrajet in good shape or a dual plane like an Edelbrock Performer. Gears would help a lot but may not fit your definition of affordable.

 

Gee - I had a 86 Grand Prix with that 'corporate' 305, 260k miles, silicone gaskets from the factory, and never leaked a drop!
Even with 4 bolts!

 

Here are the numbers off the motor by the oil tube 395558 followed by a large 2.

 

Olds 350 - same casting from 68-77?

 

Based on the waterpump and the tube where you add oil I would say its an olds 350. The valve covers also look very oldsish.

 

Okay, what we need now are the following numbers to be able to tell you roughly what sort of 350 this is and what sort of car it came out of:


VIN Derivative on Block


Number from front of Driver's Side Head (these are big block heads with letters on them)

- Eric

 

Yup, could see that in the small pics posting from my iPhone