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I desire to join the forum because it has a wealth of information and knowledge that I am sure I will need to tap into. How I came to needing information on an Oldsmobile drivetrain is an interesting story. About ten years I changed dentists. On my first visit we were chit-chatting and I mentioned I owned a couple of Studebakers. My dentist said her dad owned a Studebaker also. End of story, right? No – fast forward to last year when I got an email from my dentist saying her dad had passed away and her mom wanted to know if the patient that owned the Studebakers would like to be given his car.
At the age of 71 I did not think I would ever undertake another restoration project. My 1955 President State Sedan had been a seven year undertaking. She sent me pictures of the car. It was a 1955 Commander Coupe, a pretty desirable car for a Studebaker guy. I could tell it did not have a Studebaker engine in it. I told her I would love to have it and three of us went down and picked it up. My neighbor who owns a couple of older Oldsmobiles came over and said he was pretty sure the engine was an Oldsmobile.
After some research I determined that it had a 1984 Oldsmobile 98 drivetrain in it. The engine is a 307 Y with 5A heads and a 200-4R tranny. When I received the title it was confirmed that her dad had owned it for a little over 53 years. The wiring including the ECM had been transferred over to the Studebaker. Of course my eyes glazed over when I saw all the wiring. I purchased a 1984 Oldsmobile Electrical Troubleshooting Manual and Chassis Service Manual which were studied over the winter. That helped me trace down most of the wiring. I rebuilt the Rochester Quadrajet and got the engine started for a few seconds. It was not hooked up to water so I did not want to chance overheating it. The shell was put on a rotisserie and the chassis rolled outside under a carport. I am doing bodywork on the panels and they will be painted in the near future.
A little bit about myself. Retired government and military + SS = a triple dipper. Great Grandfather. Preacher’s kid. Happily married. I look forward to participating in the forum.
Welcome Charlie! I love that Stude. What a crazy story! Reminds me of the country song " God is great, beer is good and people are crazy'" about someone giving to a near stranger in their will. 307 is a good engine. Too bad it wasn't a older Olds engine to get away from the CCC carb/timing set up which is complicated and can be troublesome. You will find a lot of help here, very knowledgeable people on this site.
Welcome. The computer controlled carb and distributor on that car require the rest of the emissions equipment to be be in place to work properly, and as you have likely already figured out, the mass of wiring and vacuum lines required to do that is significant. I'd strongly suggest that you get a conventional non-computer Qjet and HEI distributor to replace your current versions and don't look back. None of the emissions equipment is required in your Stude, obviously. Good luck.
As usual, great advice from Joe. Go with the KISS plan wherever possible. Your car looks very similar to the '55 Champion our family had when I was very young, into which my dad swapped a Chevy 265 in place of the original flattie 6. Apparently kits for this swap used to be quite common, so it was probably a fair bit easier for him than it was for your dentist's dad.
Last edited by BangScreech4-4-2; October 5th, 2021 at 06:21 AM.
Love the looks of that 55, great body style for Studebaker. I agree that an older 350 would fit in without hardly any extra modification and would eliminate much of the issues of the 307 and having to add emissions just to get it to run anywhere like it should....Tedd
Love the looks of that 55, great body style for Studebaker. I agree that an older 350 would fit in without hardly any extra modification and would eliminate much of the issues of the 307 and having to add emissions just to get it to run anywhere like it should....Tedd
You don't have to add the emissions equipment, you just need to change the carb and distributor to conventional ones.
If I get the non-computerized carburetor and HEI distributor can the ECM be eliminated. None of the gauge packages is with the car and the wires going to them have been cut. It is pretty exciting if the ECM can be tossed. It is mounted where an aftermarket AC evaporator needs to go. I am very happy for the many initial responses received. I also belong to the Oldsmobile club forum and trying to get a response there is almost impossible. This site is such a blessing.
Charlie D.
Welcome to C.O. and wealth of information and knowledge. Those ole Stude's were very popular for an engine transplant. The earlier 324 and 371 cubic inch engines were used a lot. Joe P. gave you the best advice for you to move forward. The 307 won't be hard to control in the "Stude" body. Good luck and update us from time to time or ask questions.
If I get the non-computerized carburetor and HEI distributor can the ECM be eliminated. None of the gauge packages is with the car and the wires going to them have been cut. It is pretty exciting if the ECM can be tossed. It is mounted where an aftermarket AC evaporator needs to go. I am very happy for the many initial responses received. I also belong to the Oldsmobile club forum and trying to get a response there is almost impossible. This site is such a blessing.
Charlie D.
Yes, that's the whole point. Unlike newer cars, the ECU didn't control the gauges on these engines, there were totally separate senders for oil and temp. The only thing of interest that was computer controlled is the torque converter lockup function. There are many aftermarket solutions for this, ranging from a simple toggle switch to a small module that reads RPM and engine vacuum.
Hot Dog!! I will gladly get rid of miles of wire and yards of vacuum hoses.
I just read up on some of the rules and I should not be asking questions in the Newbie site. I will ask future questions in the specific forum sections. I will first spend a few days reading the section for possible answers before I ask one. I know some in the Studebaker forum get a little discussed when the same question is asked several times. Again, thank you guys for such a warm welcome.
Charlie D
Last edited by Charlie D; October 5th, 2021 at 01:27 PM.
October 4th, 2021, 11:15 PM
