Oldssupreme

Hi! Does anyone have a reccomendation for Purchasing a rebuilt or remanufactured 350 oldsmobile engine? I am trying to decide whether to attempt a rebuil myself, (having never done this before), have a local shop rebuild it, or purchase one already rebuilt or remanufactured from a large company, or perhaps someone that resides on classic oldsmobile who has rebuilt one and has it up for sale?
Thanks!
Chris

oldcutlass

It really boils down to what performance level your looking for and a budget.

wr1970

Just what are your plans after you get a 350 motor. Race it,daily driver,weekend cruiser, show car, ECT. That is what platforming is at what level.In other word we have no ideal what usage you have in mind and was vague. Please respond back and let us know. There are several guys who can advise you if we know what you have in mind. I hope this helps.

Sugar Bear

Do you have an engine now? If yes, is there a problem with it or do you just prefer a rebuild?

Oldssupreme

Ok, so the car was my daily driver back in college. I got it from the original owner, who took very good care of maintaning the car. It is the original engine with about 170,000 miles. When i took the engine out a few years ago in 2012, it ran very well, aside from leaking valve cover gaskets, and i attribute its good condition to the care it had over its life. As a matter of fact, the car sat for 8 years in my dads garage prior to 2012. When i moved in to my new home, my dad and i charged up the battery, squirted some marvel mystery oil in the cylinders, and it started up on the second try, and stayed running with no assistance. I took this as a good sign. The car, when im done, will be a weekend driver. I am not looking to race it. Perhaps i dont even need to rebuild, just replace gaskets, carb, oil, water, and fuel pump, ignition coil and such??? Im really not sure. If the engine ran fine when i took it out, is it silly to rebuild it at this point? Or is it silly to put the engine back in without rebuilding? If i did decide to rebuild i would think of putting a slightly more performance based cam in, but probably only one step up from stock.

I just finished restoring the frame, actually installing the last fuel vapor line today, and then ill be dropping the body, which needs lots of work, back onto the frame. I want this to be a nice, solid car, but i have limited funds, like all of us. I know i am all over with this post, which is why i came to you all for advice. Thanks so much!
Chris

wr1970

I would do a refresh on it.Compression test would be in order but with motor out. Looks like best choice would be to refresh the whole engine with new parts. Then again you could change all the gaskets and hope for the best! After doing a frame off and new paint job. I would do the refresh/rebuild.JMO

oldcutlass

Limited funds... how much?

redoldsman

Olds engines are really good but with 170,000 miles on it, it has to have been rebuilt at least once or is in need of a rebuild now. With that many miles, I would not put it back in a car you are doing a frame off restoration on without rebuilding it. Be sure you keep your original engine and not exchange it.

Indy_68_S

Budget ?

I'd be suspicious of reman Olds engines as there are some Olds specific tips/tricks . A Chevy 350 ? Yeah, most reman'rs probably do a ton and have it down to a routine, but an Olds isn't a Chevy. I also question the quality of remans.

At 170K & like redoldsman said, it's probably due for freshening. Mine had 199K on it, didn't smoke, ran fine & had never been apart. But I opted to do a total rebuild with a some internal upgrades.
I :
- Tore mine down myself (slowly & carefully) & checked condition/cataloged parts.
- Had block & heads cleaned & checked @ a machine shop (but they weren't a builder).
- Worked with a local builder on machining, parts selection & plan. I also had them do the long block assembly & balancing as I wanted everything perfect. My ***'y skills were minor & decades rusty and I probably didn't have all the tools. Builder was great. Patient , helpful, & gave me all of the obscure measurements I asked for.
- Restored things like dist, coil, brackets, etc myself. Had carb pro restored.
- Had builder do cam run-in & dyno tuning.

If I didn't do any upgrades (large valves, adj. valvetrain, hi end pistons, head work, cam, etc..) & pro restored carb, I probably would've spent < $2000 for everything incl build/dyno.

In retrospect & knowing what I know now, I probably could have built it myself & saved several hundred $ more. I'd just go slow & double check everything.

If your bores are good (7/8 of mine were great, 1 was right at tolerance. I opted for .030 over) & your crank & rods are good, you could get away pretty cheap.

Oldssupreme

Thank you for the replies so far. I have about $1,700 to spend. I know thats not a lot, but it looks like, according to indy68s maybe its dooable. Wr1970, are those the parts you would reccommend too?
Chris

oldcutlass

That may be enough for rings, inserts, do the heads, timing chain, a gasket set, and paint.

Sugar Bear

Not disagreeing with others advice, 170K is high mileage, just offering a different perspective...

If it ran well when pulled, the plugs are not oil fouled and it did not use excessive amounts of oil, do a compression test or better yet a leakdown test and then decide. A leakdown test tells more because it not only tells if there is a leak but helps locate the leak. The test(s) can be done with the engine first supported so that it will not tip, roll or fall. If the compression tests good, look at the crank bearings and crankshaft.

If all is good a new timing chain, gears, all gaskets, clean and repaint can do wonders.

You also mentioned a new carb, if the old one is original and the type you want just rebuild that one.

Good luck! and pictures please of the frame restoration.

Oldssupreme

Sugar bear, thanks for the message. I have never done a compression test or a leakdown test. Do you have any advice on how to do these and what to look for?
Thanks!
Chris.

Sugar Bear

Your engine is out of the car, it needs to be safely supported before doing this or even bolted back in the frame. It will also be cold but I would not be overly concerned about that.

The engine should be warm, all spark plugs removed, ignition/coil disconnected to prevent spark from shocking you or possibly igniting fuel being blown out of open spark plug holes, and the throttle open. Place the compression tester in each spark plug hole, crank the engine through five compression cycles, stop and record the results, repeat the process on all remaining cylinders. The results should be within approx ten percent of each other.

If any cylinders are low put compressed air into the that cylinder and listen for where the air escapes. Through the carb equals a leaking intake valve. Through the exhaust indicates a leaking exhaust valve. Through the crankcase heard through the oil filler pipe equals leaking rings/pistons.

A leakdown test is probably a better option with the engine out as the engine is not spun with the starter instead the piston is positioned at top dead center on the compression stroke and then compressed air is put in the cylinder. The engine still needs to be safely supported because it can and likely will suddenly turn as the air is forced in the cylinder. This requires a different gauge set-up.

The leakdown test also provides more information.

Oldssupreme

Sugar bear, thank you so much. But here's another, perhaps nieve, question. How do i attempt to crank over the engine for a compression test if the engine is not in the car or hooked up to anything?
Thanks!
Chris

wr1970

Engine stand!

coppercutlass

with 1700 you can do a nice refresh.

My first engine was a based on a 1973 350 14 cc pistons with #7 heads. this combination along with milling the heads and shim head gaskets gave me 9 to 1 compression. The short block was re ringed since everything was within useable range and the heads where freshened up . bottom end cost was 700 with a new cam and oil pump , heads where 450 , used intake was 100 . the odds and ends rounded up the rest and it was 2200 carb to oil pan. it ran high 13's which is plenty of pep for the street and it was very mild mannered as it had a towing cam you could drive it anywhere and run on 87 octane. thats one possible out come. you could spend alot less if you just freshen up what you have and keep it in stock form assuming its withing factory high and low limits.

Sugar Bear

You could bolt the engine back in place in the frame preferably with the transmission attached just to make it easy to mount it securely at both motor mounts and the transmission. If you are doing this with the engine on the floor or a stand be careful it can rollover, support it well.

Install the flexplate and starter if they are off. Connect a known to be good battery with the ground to the engine block and the positive to the starter just like it was before you pulled the engine. Supply battery voltage to the small stud on the starter solenoid that had the purple wire going to it and the engine will crank.

Disconnect the primary lead/small wire to the coil if it is still hooked up.

oldcutlass

The engine just needs to be supported so it can't tip over. All you need is to be able to operate the starter and crank the engine for compression tests. If you are doing a leak down test, all that is needed is to be able to hand turn the engine from cylinder to cylinder. It does not need to be reinstalled in the car for this.

wr1970

Okay i will say it for the second time engine stand. You could even start the motor if you wanted many have done it. I don't know about anyone else. I just don't let my motor float around on the floor. I put them on a engine stand so i can roll them around.I disassemble them on the stand ECT.

Oldssupreme

I want to thank all of you so much for all of your advice, i really and truly appreciate it. I have never felt "stupid" asking questions on this site, and you are wll so helpful!
I may hit you guys up again for more help,
Chris