New guy with plenty of questions.
December 29th, 2015, 09:02 AM
#1
Registered User
Thread Starter
Join Date: Dec 2015
Location: Northeast Kansas
Posts: 4
New guy with plenty of questions.
Hello all, i am new to this forum, but not new to cars. I have been pretty active over on the Chevelle and Camaro forums, but am working on buying a 68' 442. I will be posting a question regarding the value very soon.
December 29th, 2015, 10:35 AM
#4
Oldsdruid
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: Southside Vajenya
Posts: 10,547
If you've been playing in the Chevy sandbox, you're going to find that Oldsmobile is a completely different animal. You will HAVE to forget adjustable valvetrains and remember that Olds distributors rotate opposite from Chevrolet.
The great thing is that Chevelle and Cutlass are very similar under the sheetmetal so chassis components are easily sourced. There's not quite as much repro market for 68 as there is for 70-72, but it's not difficult to find good stuff.
The big drawback to a 68 442 is the G-block 400. As a long-stroke design it makes gobs of torque, but does not rev happily and has been known to sling its rods thru the block- though to be fair early Chevy 396s weren't a lot better in that regard. If you're not a matching numbers guy, pull the 400 and save it, and drop a 65-67 400 or a 425/455 in there. They'll drop in like made for it and no one will be the wiser, as these engines are almost completely identical externally.
And yes, pictures! 68 is my favorite year of the 68-72 cars.
The great thing is that Chevelle and Cutlass are very similar under the sheetmetal so chassis components are easily sourced. There's not quite as much repro market for 68 as there is for 70-72, but it's not difficult to find good stuff.
The big drawback to a 68 442 is the G-block 400. As a long-stroke design it makes gobs of torque, but does not rev happily and has been known to sling its rods thru the block- though to be fair early Chevy 396s weren't a lot better in that regard. If you're not a matching numbers guy, pull the 400 and save it, and drop a 65-67 400 or a 425/455 in there. They'll drop in like made for it and no one will be the wiser, as these engines are almost completely identical externally.
And yes, pictures! 68 is my favorite year of the 68-72 cars.
December 29th, 2015, 02:07 PM
#7
Rocket Renegade!
Join Date: Dec 2014
Location: Vancouver Island
Posts: 4,863
The G-block can be as much an asset as a liability. It makes up for its inability to rev (definitely don't take it over 5200!) with an abundance of low-end torque, and that's what you want on the street. Once you feel that big boot kick you in the lower back just off idle, you probably won't see any need to swap out your G-motor.
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