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Opera window is re-installed with new strip-caulk. Otherwise it was a breeze, but removing old melted strip-caulk from car took Hours!!
Also managed to broke my opera-window chrome-trim, since some ***hole had glued it on with epoxy Far over 200$ all said and done to Finland for new ones.. Like ~270$ after postage and taxes.
And like this wasnt enough, today i blew my head gasket. Before that it had kept funky rattling noise from engine, which was noticeably different from regular and normal engine noises. Not sure which is the case, is it just the head-gasket(s), or is there something else happening on my engine?
Just really bad timing, working-seasons is HOT now, and im pretty much out of any free-time, since this summer im using my money and time to yard-work, and repairing the house. And from monday 4am to friday ~4pm im just working and sleeping. And somewhere along the weekend i need to relax, too. Really bad timing.
Im at the verge of what to do next. Just replace the head-gaskets and try my luck ( because the funny rattling noise) or then build an whole new engine "Somehow" im not too interested of trying my bad luck..
Will see.. Ill take my time to figure out what to do. Rear-gears brake-in is 60miles short of completing.
Finally had some spare-time from work to torn my car apart.
Passenger side head-gasket tells everything. Never seen such a bad one, and ive changed my share of head-gaskets from DD's.
Lifter-valley, and every other Place on the engine too seems to be covered on burned oily gunk.
Btw, that intake was some heavy b***h to lift off
Or talk about passenger-side head with exhaust manifold in it, that one almost got left on engine-bay
Okay. What to do next. Heads itself are fine, seats and valves, valvesprings and related parts. Judged By eye. Maybe they go with just resurfacing.
Engine block, on the other hand.. Full of oily gunk, and pretty worn cylinder-walls.
Strangely, they have bigger "sill" on crankline direction, not on thrust/ anti-thrust side.
And its noticeably bigger with trying it with your finger. At every cylinder.
I dont know how can this be possible, otherwise than my thrust-bearing has worn badly.
Tho my oil pressures were fine, cold and hot, before my head-gasket blew apart, so im not positive all main-bearings are worn. As a side note, i have no idea how worn bearings olds-engine will stand before it being visible on oil-pressure gauge.
What could have caused this? Trans? Stock, stock converter. Olds engines worning thrust bearings?
Currently i dont know what should be my next move?
1) Try my luck, clean all the visible gunk, put on new head-gaskets, and pray for luck?
2) Lift the engine, recondition and clean it, cheap parts, back to road this summer?
3) Pull the engine, ditch it, and start building my planned engine. With money i spared to repaint, i could build the engine the way i want.
Choosing plan "2", would be in one way waste of money, if im anyways going to build new motor at some point.
But then repaint moves with a year or two.
4) Something else?
Opinions welcome. And have a good weekend everyone.
E: Found more with further looking. Rebuild, here i come. Need to tow that car to garage some day.....
Hope to get this back running at next spring. Good summer and miles for everyone!
Last edited by Inline; May 21st, 2017 at 07:10 AM.
I bet the funny noise is from the timing chain. Probably the plastics from the cam wheel is in the oil pump pick-up. Ask me how I know......
Have you opened the bottom end? How was the bearings & journals?
Not yet.
Im almost literally married to my work between snow melting- snow raining again.
And thousand other things going on also. Weekend is short time..
I have a high bet my sound comes from there too.
Hoping that in 3...4 weeks i have my engine and trans lifted.
3-4 weeks to get engine lifted? Sure.
You know the usual story; getting married, repairing house, child coming.. And to top it off, working from wake-up to sleep.
Thats my story of summer 2017.
Alas, things are going to change. At weekend it gets transferred to heated garage, where im torning it apart. Actually, it only needs trans and short-block lifted anymore, everything else has been taken off.
Been buying few parts already to shelf, and doing more and more researching. I think this turns great STREET engine. Even money is already saved for car, around 5000$ for engine and trans have been budgeted to it ( trans needs only converter from that pot).
Official back-line is Trash & Burn Festival 2018 during mid-summer festivation, in Sveti Martin na Muri, Croatia, which we are going to attend with our car. Great 2700 mile road-trip.
Sadly our Cutlass missed this summers 3100 mile/ 10 days road-trip on Europe due to being broke.
Last edited by Inline; September 20th, 2017 at 01:16 AM.
Nice thread, lots going on in life as with most of us. Was this close to reinstalling the 8-track player last night that has been sitting in my parts closet for over 20 years — one day.
Nice to hear you are making progress. The options you listed, I'll vote to postpone the painting and do the engine. If your "spare" engine has solid mains instead of webbed, use that as a starting point. Also, if that other engine has earlier than #8 heads, use those also. #8 heads can be ok too, but they need more work because of poor exhaust ports. Intake is the same with other #heads. With #8:s you'll also have harder time to get decent compression ratio, because of 80cc chambers.
Are you still planning to stoke it? I'm interested, because this summer was my first with my rebuilt and stroked SBO. I have been pleased with it and would do it again no doubt. Your goals are bit different than mine, of course, I'm doing only one or two day trips and avoiding highways with 75mph limits. And I have still stock gears. Planning to go th2004r and 3,23 or 3,42 when the fund allow. Still recovering from financial hit the engine build did
Painting is already postponed, since i cant drive my car currently
Yes, im still doing a stroker. Not for the extra cubes so much, more for getting better choice of parts + new rods on the way with minimal extra-cost.
Heads are still under debate. Waiting for one answer, and if thats not turning to fruitition, im going with 7A's, 350 ones, which are sitting on the shelf.
Ive been following your travel on Finnish site, tho im not registered there. Great build you have too, interesting read and few good tips picked up. A bit different goals- yep.
If i have two choices, motorway or some local old road, its motorway almost certainly. Nothing like blasting past new cars with old American! If interested about that mid-summer festivation, take contact. Tho i must warn, im driving there on just over a day, around the clock.
Painting is already postponed, since i cant drive my car currently
Yes, im still doing a stroker. Not for the extra cubes so much, more for getting better choice of parts + new rods on the way with minimal extra-cost.
Heads are still under debate. Waiting for one answer, and if thats not turning to fruitition, im going with 7A's, 350 ones, which are sitting on the shelf.
Chevy rod bearing size really opens the possibility to use better rods for reasonable price. It's a fact that there really are no afternarket SBO rods available. It's also possible to do it without stroking, By using 2,100" chevy rods 6,125" long with sbc 400 pistons.
7A heads are good. There is no big difference between 5,6 or 7 heads.
How about the block, webbed or solid mains?
What it was, september 23rd when it got pushed to garage?
Then all the hell broke loose, and i was working around the clock for 4 continuos weeks. Never before made salary like it, and almost bet i wont for anytime soon.
Fast forward to november, this friday was free from work, and current situation is that i might start my winter-vacation next week, and tax-refunds coming at the start of december, so time to do something.
Thank god TH350 isnt iron-cased, it weighted enough already to take out.
That trans is also getting new life; if you remember, it was scheduled to be done last winter, but my ventures with rear-end upgrage took so much time, that i postponed it. Everything minus converter have been bought already.
As a side note; if there was a hole at this trans, it had leaked. It had leaked all over the trans. Time to rebuild, eh?
Next time ill pull my engine out, clock was so much already that i was starving, so i drove home to do some food, and heat sauna + enjoy saturday evening with my wife.
Short-block has been chosen at this point, just waiting for tax-refunds. 2500$
for just short-block. On parts. Not cheap to do it once and do it good. Do it good so it will stand the "stage2" of my plans.
Still at the verge what to do with top-end, but it can wait until i get my short-block done. I still think and believe i have great build coming.
Also at the verge about ditching the AC or not. At our climate its as useful as sauna to you.
Once again; this build aint aimed to track, nor 1320, or for weekend toy, its aimed, as the project-topic name implies; Gran Turismo, at American made chassis with American V8. Just to clarify the goals. Definition copy-pasted straightly from wikipedia:
"Grand tourer (Italian: Gran Turismo) (GT) is a performance and luxury automobile capable of high speed and long-distance driving"
Last edited by Inline; November 11th, 2017 at 07:28 AM.
I didnt count cam + lifters for short block. Just the rotating assembly without machine work. For the rest, only sky's limit, question is, how much can you spend?
I assure you, ive done so much overtime at work, that i can spend where i want.
Lifted the engine today out of engine-bay. Partly disassembled it.
Crank currently turned out to be 0/0, and looks good. Thought, it didnt have "N" casted to it, so, "regular" cast iron crank. I have one 10/10 "N" crank at warehouse.. Wondering does those really have any difference.. Proven difference!
Block was solid main web, so now i have 2 SMW blocks at my stash. Bore dont matter, since its going to 4.125" anyways, didnt even bother to measure my original block, and already have forget what the spare block was.
So, next step is to order parts-> When tax-refunds hit my bank-account at 5/12.
Sounds like everything has worked out for the best in your decision planning. A heated source came available along with a nice tax refund to help the cause haha.
Looking forward to the next part of the process, parts chosen etc.
The great day of tax-refunds hit us yesterday. Next great day is when bonus-Holiday pay hit my account Its even bigger than my tax-refunds.
Ordered all the parts for short-block today. Arrive maybe at somewhere start of jan.
I bet i used so much money that i get a discount code for my next order
Also scored something else when surfing ebay one day when i was bored.
There they were staring at me, NOS M/T valve-covers for Oldsmobile, including baffles. Untouched set. If nothing else, ill decorate my house with them. Those were one of the moments "i have to get those"
Nice score haha, I have to say I've had many of the " I have to have those/that " for my 76.
That's why my wife tightened the purse strings so tight and said " Listen MR. its time to put more towards our retirement haha.
Yup she's my financial adviser and cuts the checks haha.
Freedom 55 is what she's banking on, than I keep working... imagine that!!
Looking forward to all the pictures and tutorials coming our way with your thread.
Enjoy your holidays !!
Cheers
Eric
Last edited by 76olds; December 6th, 2017 at 12:33 PM.
I have the Edellbrock version of those covers. Mine had no baffles, a factory replacement grommet worked best. I assume they are bolt in baffles? What bore and stroke are you going with?
Nice score haha, I have to say I've had many of the " I have to have those/that " for my 76.
That's why my wife tightened the purse strings so tight and said " Listen MR. its time to put more towards our retirement haha.
Eric
No financial advisors here. I pay all the bills and mortage, so whats left, is unquestionable. I use it where i want. No questions asked. Or shes free to leave. Im currently working my *** off paying mortage, all the bills, and getting money saved for our beloved. So whats left for the car, is earned through blood and tears.
Originally Posted by olds 307 and 403
I have the Edellbrock version of those covers. Mine had no baffles, a factory replacement grommet worked best. I assume they are bolt in baffles? What bore and stroke are you going with?
Yes, bolt-in-baffles. 4.125" and stock stroke. To the very end, i was going to stroke it, but at the very end, the availability for stroking-service of crank and variety of other reason, quided me this way. And im happy. 361cui vs 374cui. Finland is way different than U.S.A, and here i can make the price-difference at cui for the difference of just cutting the journals down vs. stroking it, elsewhere.
Let me ONCE again notice -> im not heading for max.pwr- im heading for nice tq.curve around our speed-limit- and tolearable fuel consumption. If i make 300hp at stg1, ive reached my goals.
Last edited by Inline; December 8th, 2017 at 02:37 PM.
Let me ONCE again notice -> im not heading for max.pwr- im heading for nice tq.curve around our speed-limit- and tolearable fuel consumption. If i make 300hp at stg1, ive reached my goals.[/QUOTE]
Sounds like you came up with a nice combo working within the usable power on most streets!
Should make for a nice all round driver!
Please keep us updated!
Cheers
Eric
Yes, bolt-in-baffles. 4.125" and stock stroke. To the very end, i was going to stroke it, but at the very end, the availability for stroking-service of crank and variety of other reason, quided me this way. And im happy. 361cui vs 374cui. Finland is way different than U.S.A, and here i can make the price-difference at cui for the difference of just cutting the journals down vs. stroking it, elsewhere.
Did you ask T.D in Tampere where mine was stroked, just curious if they were not willing to do it?
You'll need to re-balance therotating assembly anyway, There are not so many shops here offering that service either....
I quess you are still going with sbc rods?
Suddenly i remembered how it felt at christmas when you were a child ang got big, hard present Took over a month to arrive, not for guys in hurry. But all the less, finally my engine-project feels a bit more real. Currently, its scheduled to hit machinery at march. Since they didnt have free time before. Its a bit gamble to choose good machinery, with last experience 7 years back. But i hope i made the right decision.
Meanwhile, part of my spare-money for the Project was used to buy one experimental Olds manifold, so this will slow me down, but this summer is still well on schedule to get it run on own power again. Also, a little boy came to our family too
Well, dinner is served:
Best kill is overkill. I like to approach by mentality; do it once, do it right. Boatloads of components still missing, but with those i can completetely machine my block. Still missing whole valvetrain with cam, and the heads. Actually, i had a hit for heads, but when it was time to pay, seller didnt answer anymore? And it was one of Oldsmobile speedshops. Dont matter, theres others selling heads too.
Nothing too exciting, maybe i would pick that TCI Rattler to be most exciting part. I chose to take a bite with it. Will see how it turns out design-wise, is it as good as they boast? At least, build-quality wise its flawless. Few things that i liked about it was that it dont contain any fluid, no elastomers, accepts stock-pulley ( confirmed with pulley, machined spot-on), and timing marks are engraved to the body, all the way around, 360*. Its also SFI Spec 18.1, which dont matter to me at all, just thought to note.
Had to also weight my new rotating systems. Same scale was used, so if the calibration is little off, atleast the difference between is true.
Included to weight are: connection rod bearing (both halves), connection rod itself, piston pin and locks if needed, piston, and all rings.
Old "unit" weighted 1675gr. New one weighted 1317gr. So 358gr less per cylinder. At total, weight-reduction is 2864gr's.
Good times.
Last edited by Inline; January 12th, 2018 at 05:00 AM.
Well.. One of those finer days at hobby.. What else can i say?
Yesterday i ordered everything to rebuild my whole fuel line, and add return-line also. New pick-ups, fuel pumps, filters, hard-lines, etc etc etc. I also was thinking if i should order new fuel tank too, it wouldnt have added almost nothing to Freight anymore, and its already +40 years old.. Nah, ill go with the old.
Today i sold my old rims. I didnt like them that much, i want something different.
Quess what? The one ****ing time i dont use jack-stands, i was taking rear-tires off. Jack slips under banjo somehow ( never ever has it slipped, of course not since there were jackstand always...) and my jack proceed to impale my fuel tank.......
Otherwise it dropped to rear-drums. Didnt even bother to look are they egg-shaped also, i decided its better to go home, heat sauna and open that bottle of Cognac.
Sooooooooooooo..... Ordering new fuel tank, with new freights..... What i quickly eyed, very minimum is 360$ to my door... Sad i didnt have matchbox with me, could have aswell burned that whole crap for good..
Well well... Now i have totally new fuel-line from tank to carb atleast. *Yay*
Not much else. Mid-summer fest deadline is keeping nicely.
Last edited by Inline; February 9th, 2018 at 08:09 AM.
Old tank out, and already ordered new tank + pickup with Inlet/Outlet/Vent. Old one was Inlet + Vent. After all, it wasnt such an disaster. Old tank was pitted from inside, and pick-up tube filter-sock was deteriorating.
Dropping tank down, i got my fourth build sheet from top of the tank. Seems like they werent in short supply anymore at 1976, atleast on Arlington, TX plant.
Last edited by Inline; February 10th, 2018 at 08:59 AM.
Mmmhm.. Time goes fast when you look back when you last posted, especially if you compare it to what you have got done on that time-frame..
Well, my crap is at machinery currently. Dont know when i get them out, they were booked for long, but that together with the fact they were interested about my job, sealed the deal. Block gets hot-tanked, cleaned through-oughtly, line-honed yadayada, that usual. Meanwhile i went and bought myself work-car, which was funded from my engine-budget completetely, so no parts to complete my build for a few months.
Actually only thing left do on my project at the moment is installing new fuel-lines.
Heres my new tank and pick-up. Shot it twice with stone-chip stuff, whatever its called at US.
Spend some time figuring out how to do my fuel-lines. I bet someone would do it other way, but thats where i ended up. To elaborate my choice, first, as some have assembled fuel-pump and filter between tank and rear-axle, i didnt comfortably found enough space there. Maybe part of the problem is, that carter rotary-vane pump is pretty bulky. And i wanted also big serviceable prefilter.
As a negative side, that means more drawing of hard-line under the car.
I made mock-ups to carton how to position them, and when ended up to solution i liked, went and crafted a racket for my fuel-pump and filter. Those fit with the tank at place, no worries about that, already test-fitted, and theres plenty of space.
As a side-note, fuel-pump is also easy to wire from there, theres already passageway to trunk, above it, and no heat nowhere close.
So, thats how it looked when i mocked up the final product on place. Its installed with 3 bolts, so its pretty easy to take whole unit out for service if needed, and easy to change/ clean the pre-filter. Also, picture-angle gives a bit wrong picture about their fitment, they fit level behind rear-bumber, so those are not visible behind the car until youre crawling under it.
Nothing exciting on last picture. Just installed the hose connecting the pump and filter. As you see, tanks filler-neck goes through that cut-out, all fits fine.
As a side note, that hose started its life as braided, but ended naked when i lost my nerves. Atleast its easy to see where it leaks now..
Some day i should go install my hard-lines, maybe next week? Should atleast, since work might start soon. I install new fuel-lines, 3/8, out and return, where the original line went, and retain original tank vent-line on left frame-rail, and also the charcoal canister.
About dropping the car, after inspection, damages seem to end up for that new fuel tank, and other brake-drum went slightly out-of-round. Got lucky.
Last edited by Inline; March 11th, 2018 at 10:31 AM.
Ignition.. This is gonna be long and boring post, to share out my thoughts.. I couldve gone to different way, like buy whole new distributor, but i chose this, atleast for now..
Out of interest, out of stupidness i went the way to completely rebuild my HEI.
Torn it totally to pieces, cleaned it well, verified that my bushing were all good, axle was good, so it was "good to go" for rebuild. Beware - it was totally seized from dirt etc.
Out of interest, i bought Pertronix kit which has HEI 3 module with build-in adjustable rev-limiter, to be my foundation for this rebuild.
Let me start about those plastic pads where advace weights rests. Another was shot. Where to find new? Not sold new? Of course not. Digging through internet, i found suggestion that MSD's kit for their own distributor, #8628, contains plastic pads. So, i bought that kit, took those pads, and junked rest of it. Expensive pads.. Btw, they were correct, as info for someone else trying to figure out same thing.
Next, my pins were worn also, where advance weights pivots. Also another weight had slightly oval hole. No luck trying to find new pins. So, i filled those pins with most expensive ( i hope that expensive = better in this case) metal epoxy. And filed them back to form.
That Pertronix kit includes also new center-plate and weights. They look exactly same as on every kit, despite being black. Some internet rumours(?) tell the story that those shiny weight-kits worn down cause of being "plain iron", and these black ones from Pertronix and MSD are better alloy and therefore wont worn.. Im not buying this.. Sounds just like the stories about Volvo "SN" blocks with higher nicel content, or Oldsmobiles higher nicel concent blocks, to my ears.. Anyways, back to subject.
That advance-weight kit comes also with 2 different sized bushings to be used with small or big-pin HEI's. Blue ones were correct for my distributor.. Almost.. When you install those weights with the bushings supplied ( applies for both size bushings), and take a closer look, you notice that they are done incorrectly. Installing them as meant, and putting your weights to pins, makes it obvious that your weights ride too high now, not resting level on pads where they are supposed to ride, making them kink downwards, and worn down the bushings, the weights, and the center-plate. So, had to tweak my bushings to get it all right. This was supposed to be ready-to install kit....
Adjustable vacuum can? Oh my.. The base-plate was banana-shaped.. No workie.. 10 mins later it was dead-straight, and installed correctly, so the vacuum advance-can could actually work, and not kink and stuck to HEI-base.
Distributor cap? Missing huge chunk around one of those 4 mounting tabs. Looking underneath, big crack-webbing behind another mounting-tab boss casting.. Package was 100% intact, and it was all well packed on bubble-wrap without anything else which could break it. So i suspect this is some flaw straight from factory on that distributor cap casting?
Heat-sink compound to install the HEI-module? Oh.. They forgot it.. Well, shop next to me has heat-sink compound for sale.
So, after all, so far from the whole kit, only part which didnt need any tweaking, or wasnt break from the start, is the rotor.. For coil and HEI-module, i cant verify yet. Also their advance-curves are yet to be seen, what they are. And how fast the springs die at use..
Those aint big things, some, and even i will say. But its really frustrating to buy new parts which are supposed to work, and go through every of them to get them work as supposed.
Well, hopefully i have now working distributor. But this is ridiculous. I suggest just buying new replacement, be it DUI, MSD, and maybe even Pertronix.
About fuel lines, they were almost done, until i got heureka-moment how to reroute 1/4th of line to make it even better, so i ordered some new hard-line, and im getting it hopefully on friday, then ill go install it.
Ive spend stupid amount of time trying to install fuel-lines body-on frame. But its possible! Got all the old clips out, got lines routed where factory routed them- and separated from body or other line to not cause any rubbing on pipes. All fasteners are also insulated with rubber to give atleast warm feeling about it lessening the vibration of body to pipes.
These are hydraulic pipe-fittings. These are good. First, the top fastens to bottom, securing pipes tightly to fastener, since the bottom-plate has threads, M6 sized, and then you can push the fastener with pipes through hole where original fasteners were installed with steel-screws, and install nut from the other side of frame. And those who are concerned about bolt-and-nut fittings, you can weld the nut to bolt if you wish. And those bottom-plates are actually meant to be welded in place, so you can do it that way also if you wish.
On single-pipe fittings, like on the rear, i just used dzuz-fasteners with rivets.
Last edited by Inline; March 22nd, 2018 at 12:21 AM.
My Ignitor 3 module didn't come with heat sink copound either, it looked like it was supposed to in the instructions. That sounds like a lot of work to bring back that HEI.
Well, fuel lines are done. Just needs connecting anymore, when i do buy some more fittings. But not much isnt happening anymore, at max i go wire my fuel-pump. Work starting soon. And crap at machinery.
Soo.. As i told i rerouted 1/4th of my fuel-line when i got my heureka-moment. Lets see. You remember i have fuel-pump and filter mounted behind fuel-tank? Soo, i figured out how to use fuel-lines routed as originally, and still route the piping behind tank the easier way? How?
Use tank as a part of fuel-line. First a bead of UV-resistant, glueing, non-sack and elastomeric sealant to tank, then install pre-bend lines to it, add few clips to hold it tight, and seal the line from top to tank. 100% protected there. Rear-outings of line are getting cut when i install it to proper lenght.
So to summarize: My new fuel line goes where original line did, comes out and starts from original spot, and have electric fuel-pump + pre-filter behind the tank. Have to say, im pretty satisfied from the job i did.
Now, we wait.. Lets see at mid-summer, where are we standing.. Hopefully im driving it at midsummer-fest.
Funny thing you ask. I was just wondering the same
Its STILL on machinery. I quess i made a mistake when i said its not in a hurry.. Especially taken how busy/ renowed machinery it is where my stuff is sitting.
They promised this month when i last e-mailed them. Lets see.. Oh well, i already buried the hope to drive it this summer.
Not much else. Some stuff bought, some made, some items cleaned and painted.
Funny thing you ask. I was just wondering the same
Its STILL on machinery. I quess i made a mistake when i said its not in a hurry.. Especially taken how busy/ renowed machinery it is where my stuff is sitting.
They promised this month when i last e-mailed them. Lets see.. Oh well, i already buried the hope to drive it this summer.
Not much else. Some stuff bought, some made, some items cleaned and painted.
Wow! They took your words literally. Hope that everything goes well in the end at the machinery. Better late than ever
Its August. Long lead time on machinery.. Well, at last some light on the tunnel, my engine is at last under the work. No harm done. Looks real nice, i have almost everything, plenty of money incoming to buy everything i want, and whole winter time to accomplish it. Currently super busy at work. I mean super.
Ive been shopping and doing some planning ahead. Someone said once that " stick to the plan". I didnt. Somewhere along the line i lost the interest to do the "exactly" same SBO build than everyone does, even it was my plan at first when i ventured into this mess. So i ventured to the path less travelled. And meanwhile poured more money to it.
Final configuration is now locked, since i have every part already bought to it. Last missing parts are heads, and tomorrow one renowed local guy chooses which ones he wants to do.
Remember, this was right from the start an touring-type build which is going to see lots of miles n smiles. No drag-strip hero, nor garage queen. Its even geared for our European speed-limits, up to driving 80mph continuosly.
So, engine is as follows.
- 362CUI
- Local custom cam
- Iron heads, either 8's or 7a's. Head-guy decides which ones hes gonna work over. Yes, im gonna spend as much to them as new aluminum heads would cost. With 7a's my unmachined head SCR would be 10:1, and with 8's, 9:1. Roughly, under 0.1 decimal accurate. With verified chamber volumes from exact heads i have in my posession. Heads will be 7a's.
- Shorty headers. Hedmans. Currently uncoated, will get coated locally with 90 degree mandrel-bent i weld to it. Goes just a tad lower than my oil pan- and thats with purpose. Could get them level to oil pan. Will do fine on an non-all-out build. 73-77 A-body with SBO is notorious for lack of fitting long-tubes, and im not gonna cut my car or seriously hammer headers, since im not anyways a great lover of long-tubes from experience of few friends who has them on their cars, Plymouth and Chevrolet
- Modified dual-quad manifold, modified mopar six-pak air-cleaner assembly. Bonnet is still a question. It receives something subtle. Since i have some space issues. For gods sake, only thing sure is that its not going to get any OAI-hood repo done for 73-77 cars, they are horrible in my mind
- 2x AVS2 500cfm carbs
Its gonna be different. Yes. And it should do pretty fine for a street-engine from calculations done, and haul a*s. Needs to be able to run with occasional 87 oct, with your fuel rating. Few times have had the situation driving on Baltia that all that was available was 87 oct when i had to refuel.
And it wasnt a bargain-build.
For same money i would have god knows how hot BBC or 440 Mopar. Or BBO. But i happen to love my car. And it suits my needs.
Last edited by Inline; August 11th, 2018 at 06:41 AM.
Location: Edmonton, AB. And "I am Can 'eh' jun - eh"
Posts: 24,525
Hey Jouni!
I just stumbled onto your build thread. Great read and I see you've had your headaches and exciting moments! I hope your machinist picks the 7A heads, they already have hardened intake and exhaust ports. BTW, you can't hurt the flow or HP if you beat the hell out of those headers to make them fit. I saw a dyno test on HP where they dyno'd stock headers to get baseline. Then they beat the crap out of them (gradually) and did dyno testing. In one case the HP actually increased with a totally disfigured header.
Hey Jouni!
I just stumbled onto your build thread. Great read and I see you've had your headaches and exciting moments! I hope your machinist picks the 7A heads, they already have hardened intake and exhaust ports. BTW, you can't hurt the flow or HP if you beat the hell out of those headers to make them fit. I saw a dyno test on HP where they dyno'd stock headers to get baseline. Then they beat the crap out of them (gradually) and did dyno testing. In one case the HP actually increased with a totally disfigured header.
How's the Mrs and your son?
Welcome
Lets see soon which ones he picks. Arent the hardening on the seats anyways just an induction hardening? So when installing bigger valves, the hardened part cuts off?
And truth to be told, ive had cars on past without hardened seats, and never had any problems. I used additive to protect the seats, but some guys carry on even without it. So im just gonna use additive. Cam choice also has things to do for saving the seats.
Yup, ive seen that video linked like thousand times, on every forum i happen to venture to read something interesting. Its just, that im not gonna bash an new item i bought just to get it fit, when it supposedly should fit. And as i sayed, not a fan of them anyways. Leaking flanges, lower ground-clearance, heated footwells inside the car, and in one occasion with a friend with stainless steel headers, friggin annoying noise from them. Even the owner hates it. Friends have all those problems. No thanks for a driver. Weekend toys are different.
And were all fine here, thanks for asking. Atleast i am when im off at work I should try to find some time to write on the other topic.
Originally Posted by mrw8i
Enjoying this thread. Still building my '73 Cutlass.
Thank you
Edit: 7a's were choosen
Last edited by Inline; August 11th, 2018 at 06:40 AM.
Location: Edmonton, AB. And "I am Can 'eh' jun - eh"
Posts: 24,525
Jouni, I'm not sure what process they used for hardening. You could be right. At any rate I'm sure the work will be done right. It will be interesting to see 7A heads being used with 10:1 CR. Stock is only 8.5:1 I'm sure you won't have any problems, but it will mean you have to move up to higher octane fuel.
Local custom cam, WOW! Will it be flat-tappet or roller? Are the cam specs locked or are you still considering them? To my taste the CR is bit on a high side for a touring engine. With 10:1 you have to hold the intake open long enough to prevent engine ping. Especially with iron heads.
Having seen both #7A and #8 heads, the choice is obvious. From #8 cores it is possible to do reasonable heads, but only with a lot of work. Exhaust ports are really poor on them.
Sounds like your build is coming along even with the changes. Dual 500 carbs will look cool in your Olds. Keep the pics coming please !!
My wife has loosened her purse strings a little, but I'm having a hard time getting my hand deep into it.
I'm going to pick up a bottle of slick 50 to help get my hand down deeper to where it needs to be before I can finance a build such as yours haha.
I told my buddy "Jack D" to stay off the counter for a while cuz he's been getting me in too much trouble. My Zig Zag's are lasting a lil' longer. Extra slow burning !
I'm on my best behaviour these days. Its just my shadow that's not in check yet , I'm workin' on it .
Keep us posted !!
Put-r-ther!
Eric
Once in a while its refreshing to get something concrete done instead of just shopping your money away at internet-shops for parts. To keep the fire burning.
Required only a bit of trimming of plastic cover for seat-rails. Pretty much only model which is allowed and tested by manufacturer to be used with a lap-belt. There was zero free lenght left on lap belt, it JUST locked.
Last edited by Inline; August 26th, 2018 at 02:42 AM.
May 6th, 2017, 09:33 AM
"Somehow" im not too interested of trying my bad luck..
Its even bigger than my tax-refunds.
