Hi, I have already a thread in the newbie forum, but as the project is becoming bigger and bigger, I open this one here in the major builds and projects forum.
First of all excuse my english but I'm from germany and have learned english in school for a few years, but unfortunately I can't use it very much so it's a bit rusty...
To the project: It's a father and son project with me being the son and doing most of the work. My father brought this Oldsmobile from New York to Munich,Germany in 1989, 2 years before I was born. It was running and driving good, but was primered...and under the primer a lot of rust and even more surfacer, the frame had some holes, too. My Dad disassembled it and has parked it then for the last 22 years until I started to bring the engine back to live last year. From there on it has been my biggest aim to cruise around in it and listen to the engine, for that I actually neglected my own project car, a 1971 BMW 2000 touring. So you see I'm very into old cars.
Some pictures of the project are attached, the first two and the last show with what I've startet and the two remaining, where I'm now. It's not a A+ frame off restoration (even it would not have been a lot of additional work to do so), I just want to bring it back on the german roads.
I'll try to update my progress as often as I can.
Any comments, and constructive criticism(negative or positive) will be greatly appreciated, I will need your help
Dan

 

From what I can see Dan, it looks like your doing it right...when you get it on the road it's going to be a rare site I suspect. The BMW touring (as far as I know) wasn't sold in North America, however the 2002 was and it has become very collectable. Good luck and good progress!

 

Thank you very much, yes it is going to be rare, which makes it even more interesting for me. I don't know if it was sold in North America, too. Maybe it was just too small for the USA I guess the fewest really liked this bodystyle, but I do.
Thanks for the good wishes!

 

Good luck with the project.

 

Dan, great project! You will turn a lot of heads, especially if you take it on the Autobahn! Your English is outstanding by the way!

 

Thanks for your kind words Ron and Erik!
I hope I will not cause any accidents, turning heads while driving on the Autobahn
I'm looking forward to drive it anywhere! Until then I can only imagine what a great feeling this must be

I have made a little progress during the last two days. I assembled the rear axle, the left front suspension and the brakes all around. Furthermore I prepared the engine to pull it on monday.

 

pulled the engine...
Have you ever seen such a scruffy waterpump? ô_O

 

Before and after ...

 

Looking good so far..

got any pictures of the BMW??

 

Thank you! Yes I attached two of them, bought it from the original owner! The front has already been disassembled due to serious rust issues that can unfortunately be found at the rest of the car, too...

 

Well today I took my valve covers off just to replace the gaskests, but I found some broken valve stem seals lying in there.
I want to replace them but I don't really know which are the right ones for my 330.
Rockauto sells fel-pro seals, and other ones...the fel-pro are the umbrella type, but in the manual the seals don't really look like umbrellas. My question is now, if the fel-pro valve stem seal set, sold on rockauto is the right one?
Any thoughts or comments would help me a lot!
Thanks!

 

Sorry I can't answer your valve seal question as I haven't gotten into my engine build yet but I do want to compilment you on the fantastic job you are doing. I can't wait to see it completed. Good luck! (your english is a LOT better than my german (lol)). By the way, what brand suspension parts did you use, especially the springs?

 

Thanks for your nice words Mike! Though you can't help me concerning the valve seal question, comments like yours are a great help as they keep me motivated. Good for you that you are not working on German cars, having to search for help in German forums
Sometimes I really have problems to explain exactly what I mean
All the suspension parts I used are from MOOG, since I've read only good things about them parts. Rob used them as well as you can see in his almost famous front end job thread :-)
The springs are nothing special, just got them powdercoated in red! ;-)

Anybody with a good advice concerning the valve seals out there?

 

Looks great....brings back the memories of building mine mine from a couple years ago. The link to the build thread is in my signature.

 

Richard, It's an honor to get complimented on my work by you, though It's not anywhere near to your perfect build! I've read your whole thread without any break because I was so impressed by your perfection. The only thing I didn't like about it is, that you have sold it in the end
Thanks!
-Dan

 

Dan you are doing a real nice job, and your english is better than a lot of folks over here. I believe the Felpro seals will work fine for you. They are an updated design. I think they are different on the intake and exhaust valves. If I could make a suggestion, I would recomend you purchase a full engine gasket set so you can seal everything up tight. You've already got the engine out. This would also give you a chance to inspect the bearings. An economy freshen up with new rings, oil pump, hone job, boil out, new bearings, and maybe even a modern grind cam would really be smart. Just don't do what I did or you'll be an old man before it ever hits the road again-
https://classicoldsmobile.com/forums...e-chassis.html

I'm going to give you a link to more links of some real good Olds sights-
http://highperformanceolds.com/phpbb...hp?f=26&t=2190

I highly recomend you pick up Mondello's technical reference manual-
http://www.mondellotwister.com/CatTechAcc.htm

and Bill Travato's book-
http://highperformanceolds.com/phpbb...hp?f=28&t=2712

Boy I envy you having a hoist to work on. Please keep us updated on your progress and give us more details about the cars options and drivetrain. If you've got the old powerglide trans, that would be the first thing I'd dump. Thanks for sharing with us.

 

Many Thanks for everything Cutlass Freak I'd like to return the compliments, you're doing an outstanding work on your car! I really admire your patience with this great project. Hopefully it will get finished soon
I bet your recommendations and links will help me a lot!
Concerning your suggestion: I don't feel like I have enough knowledge to rebuild the engine, yet. My plan is to do that within the next winter, so that I have enough time to educate myself and read book's, like Bill Trovato's, because when I do it I want to do it right you know? I guess it's easier to pull the engine out once more and do it correctly, than to eliminate the possible mistakes I could make now.
But do you have any recommendations for me concerning a good cam or other parts for my engine? I think it's always good to know as I want to do the rebuilt anyway...
For now my plans with the engine are: replacing the valve stem seals, sealing the oil pan, timing chain cover, intake manifold and valve covers, for sure. Then paint it and put it back in for the summer.

The hoist facilitates the work enormously! I really have luck that my Dad has a body shop
I'll keep you updated and will do some research about my drivetrain and post it then, but man you guessed it right, I do have the stock 2-speed Jet-A-Way
but until now I can't find a good TH350 here in germany
Thanks again!
Dan

 

dancutlass wrote:
You are correct. If you feel that you do not have the skills to rebuild your engine, then don't do it. You should still get the full gasket set, it will save you money in the long run. I recomend that you wait on the cam until your ready to rebuild. There's a gent on here named Mark that goes by the screen name "Cutlassefi" that can help you choose the right cam. The real reason I say wait is because many things need to be taken into consideration to choose the right cam.
Here's a short list:
1) Engine displacement and compression ratio
2) Cylinder head # and any porting mods
3) Intake manifold
4) Carburator
5) Transmission and stall speed
6) Rear differencial gear ratio
7) Tire size
8) Weight of car
9) Intended use of car (Drag Racing?)

I know things are different over there concerning availability of parts, but I really would ditch that trans first, then build up the rear diff, then hop up the motor or start building a 455 while you run whatchagot. Now that's the ticket. Too bad your so far away. I'm sure there's a lot of hoarders on here that would help you out with parts, including me, but the shipping would send you to the poor farm. Please keep those pics coming- Dave

 

Yeah I think learning to do it right before doing it will be the most reasonable solution.
I purchased a full engine gasket set today because as you said, buying a set is cheaper than buying each gasket seperately.
Thank you for your recommendations! I will contact cutlassefi when I'm ready to rebuild. I guess his name is mentioned in almost every thread where the word "cam" is used so he will definately be able to help me
Here are the things I can answer about my car:
1) 330 cid, comp. ratio: 10.25:1
2)#3 Heads
3)stock intake
4)stock 4-barrel Q-jet
5)transmission: 2-speed Jet-A-Way
6)I can't find out which rear differential I have, but I attached photos of the numbers stamped on it. I just can't find them in my service manual
9)My intention is just cruising around, no drag racing or something like that. But it should have some power and should sound good.

How true...I spent nearly as much money in shipping, as I spent in parts
It's a dream to live in the USA, then I would be a hoarder myself
Building the 455 is another great proposal but I wouldn't get a historical registration here. It has to be an engine, that was an option in this model and year. So the only possibility would be a 400 out of a 442.
Thanks Dave, for taking your time and helping me out with great recommendations and tips!

 

Well, my vacations have ended 1 week ago, so only very slow progress is made.
in the last 2 weeks, I rebuilt the carburetor, painted the pulleys and brackets, prepared the engine to replace the valve stem seals, when the needed tool arrives and rewrapped, and repaired the wiring harnesses.

 

more pictures...

 

Well my brake lines, engine paint and some other things arrived.
I made the first brake line, replaced the valve stem seals and cleaned and installed the rocker assemblies.
I'm coming closer to paint the engine right now, but I don't find a good method to clean it properly...
Pictures of everything attached!

 

some more...

 

Hi Dan, now I had a chance to check your pictures. OUTSTANDING!!!
As I thought you have much better space and tools to do the job than I ever will have... For my luck mine is in better shape when I bought it..

 

Thank you very much Marko!
Yes I'm lucky that my dad has his own garage and I can use all his tools and a hoist, but I wished, I wouldn't need it

Wanted to update my thread...I've cleaned and derusted the engine with Pelox RE, which contains Phosphoric acid, so that it's almost rust-free and covered by a zink-phosphate coating (glimmering white in the picures), at least good enough for the POR15 engine enamel.
So tomorrow should be OLDS-GOLD-day

 

Well here it is...I think the gold comes out pretty good..I'm just not very pleased with the way it looks on the valve covers I presume the underground was too slippery for the POR15 engine enamel. So I will have them sandblasted and repainted!
Pics attached...

 

Looks great Dan. That gold looks real close to original color. Where did you purchase the Pelox RE and the paint?

 

Thanks Dave!
I purchased all that at the Korrosionsschutz-Depot, a german company specialized in selling restoration stuff.
I've bought nearly all the non-olds-specific parts from them, like the brake lines and all the paint I used.
http://www.korrosionsschutz-depot.de/
It's definately a must for everyone restoring a car here

I attached more pictures of the engine with a better exposure.
The intake is about to get dry-ice-blasted and painted afterwords!

Can't wait to see it built-in and running again!

 

Just wanted to inform you about our newest member of our car family, that has just arrived from Joplin Missouri after a 2 month trip to New York and then overseas...
Well it's not an Oldsmobile, but I think it's still a cool car. A 1955 Studebaker truck with a V8 engine.
Needless to say that the Olds is still my favourite

 

Gute Nacht Johnboy!
Great Dan! Hope there is still some space in your Garage to get the Olds running......bevore winter

 

Very nice work so far! Outstanding taste in automobiles by the way. Zehr gut!

 

Dan great job so far keep up the good work

 

Thank you all for your nice words, what can I say...I just love old cars

Saturday was a good day for me. It's always good to see things coming together. Just like an engine and the chassis. It was a very easy job to do.

Sry for the quality of the pics, I had just got my mobile phone with me, not the camera. But I think the most important thing can be seen...

The Olds got it's heart back

 

nice job. motor looks great

 

Thank you L69! I want to swap it for a 400 E-block one day, like you did, but I guess it will be very hard to find. It's the only option for me to build in a bigger engine, without getting into conflicts with the german regulations for Oldtimers.
You have a great car there!

 

Its a great motor. Yes they are difficult to find and I wish I had one to spare for you. I am building a new one with a forged 455 crank and 455 rods punched .057 with w31 flattops will make it a 440 ci and It too will go into a 66. There is something about the 400 and its rev ability versus a traditional 455. I love my 400's. Goodluck and keep us posted with pics.

 

Sounds like a great motor, you're building there! Do you open a thread to share the build with us?
Maybe you'll come across a 400 one day you might send to Germany Just dreams I know
But if I'll rebuilt my 330, may I contact you to give me some advice?
I've read, you've already built alot of them, bored them over to make it a 340 and so on.. Sounds interesting to me
Thanks for the good wishes, I'll keep the pics coming!

 

Sure contact me when u want. I can give I some advise.

 

My English is getting worse with age.

 

Thank you very much I'll get back to you with that!
No problem I understood what you meant

I installed the transmission, the flexible drive shaft and the fuel-tank.
Today I ordered the Flowmaster 15802 tailpipes so that the exhaust can be put in soon
Can anybody of you tell me how much hangers I have to order for the complete system, and where they are mounted correctly, please?
Any pictures would be great, too!
Thanks in advance!