Truckguy843

Hello all! As the title says, I just acquired my first Oldsmobile 350. Actually pulled it from a 1980 C10 this past Sunday. I am 36, I’ve played around with cars and trucks most of my life, I’ve owned over 65 different beasts. After two ex wives I guess I can admit cars are a bit of an addiction, but hey, it’s better than drugs, right? The back story to this engine I just pulled, it came in the C10 my ex father in law bought 2 years ago, had a bad radiator back then, but he put over 2k into front end parts and tires and other non essential stuff to keeping the motor and trans in good running shape, got the truck back out the shop, didn’t check the coolant for 2 weeks and blew a head gasket. He got mad and parked the truck and I bought it off of him for $75, complete top to bottom. So, now my Oldsmobile Engine journey begins as it’s my first olds V8. I admire the knowledge amongst the group here, and look forward to your knowledge helping me, and of course I’m always here to help in any way I can also!
-Charlie

oldcutlass

Welcome to the site, there a few Olds powered trucks on this site.

70W-32

Welcome, whats your plan for the motor?

Truckguy843

Well first off I’ve got to find out exactly what it is, I know it’s a 350 by the stamping on the block, I’ve determined it’s a windowed main 77-80 with the casting # and it’s got 3A heads, and from what I can tell the distributor was made June 13 1977 according to the date code, but the vin stamp doesn’t make sense to me because it doesn’t start with a 3... I know it’s a smogged down 350 but it’s still better than this Boat Anchor 307 Chevy motor in my truck now, so I figured I’d put it back together with new gaskets and leave it basically how it is, until I can find something for a decent build for what I want and then keep this one to swap from project to project to get them on the road as I do other builds. With that being said, where should I post to hopefully shed some light on this vin stamp? I appreciate the welcome from you both @70W-32 and oldcutlass!

Fun71

Post it right here in this thread.

Sugar Bear

Did you get the transmission? Unless the Chevrolet 307 has a universal case, the Olds won’t bolt up to the bell housing.

Good luck!!!

Sugar Bear

And welcome, sorry I missed that.

Truckguy843

Here is the Vin Stamp and all the other markings/numbers that I could get clearly. The vin stamp is 69E613875. From what I’ve seen, that doesn’t correspond with olds, however is there a chance this was one of the Olds motors Caddy used from 77-79? I’ve exhausted searching and don’t know where else to look. Hopefully I just misinterpreted or overlooked something. As for this motor, when I’m buying parts, what would be a good year/car combo to use to get accurate engine parts? Thanks for y’all’s input and for the reply @Fun71 Hopefully the attachments took, I’m doin hv this off the phone at the moment.

Truckguy843

Thanks for the welcome @Sugar_Bear. The trans that was on it was a Turbo 400, it’s sitting in the back of his truck, I can get it but it leaks like crazy, from everywhere. My Turbo350 Trans was just rebuilt and has less than 5k miles on it. I’m not sure about the housing, I’ll have to look into that. I know when I separated the trans from the Olds block when I pulled it, there were only 3 bolts holding it together, and a 4th was not even finger tight. It was Frankensteind in there, but the motor and trans pulled strong when it was running, I drove that truck a few times before he blew it up.

Vintage Chief

Just flipping them for you. Good Luck!

CRUZN 66

Welcome to the group... Good luck with your project...

joe_padavano

That's exactly what it is, a 1979 Olds 350 that was born in a Caddy Seville built in Linden, NJ. This motor was originally equipped with the analog port EFI system used on those cars.

Truckguy843

Thank you @Vintage_Chief and @Cruzn_66! @joe_padavano thank you for the confirmation on those details! I searched and tried to put together my best guess, I’m happy I was close! I’ve already learned a good bit of info from this forum and look forward to absorbing as much more as I can! I Will acquire the gaskets I need over the next few weeks and start my dis and reassembly. This weekend I have to work on my other truck. Thanks everyone for the welcomes and the info!
-Charlie

69CSHC

Welcome aboard and welcome to the world of Oldsmobile.

Great way to make it work for you in my opinion. Not building it up and abusing it should serve you well. Every single Oldsmobile 350 4bbl even those considered the least desirable have a minimum base power output of about 200 HP and 300 lb ft when true dual exhaust and hi flo cats, or no cats at all.

Now for comparison sake your 1972 307s power output stock is 130 HP and 230 lb ft. Even if you left the 79 350 bone stock setup your at 170 HP and 270 lb ft. So a significant improvement any way you cut it. Especially so with a likely 4000 + lb vehicle like your truck.

Once you adapt the TH350 to Olds you will be happier than with the TH400 even if it was in good working order. The Olds engine is modestly powered as it is, the last thing it needs is a big block trans eating about 10% more HP than necessary.

Truckguy843

Thanks @69CSHC for the input! Finally got an engine stand today so I’ll be tearing the heads off the motor in the next few days to make sure that it was indeed just a blown head gasket, and if so I’ll be cleaning everything and putting it all back together. The only real changes I’m making is 1) Making plates and Capping off the EGR and Stove Choke and 2) I’ll be going back with my Edelbrock 1406 carb instead of the busted and rigged Quadrajet that was on there. As for exhaust, the truck is already running a brand new true dual setup with no cats and two glasspacks, but I may change to the Thrush welded mufflers (my experience previously is that they sound as good as Flowmasters but cost about half the price). As for the trans, I know it’s been mentioned more than once, and I plan to search the site, but is there an adapter plate for the Turbo350 bell housing or... any advice on that process? I’ve had the flu and am still fighting it so I haven’t been on lately. Thank you for the reply!
-Charlie

Truckguy843

Well I did some searching and answered my own question about the trans adapter plate, Jegs sells one for under $50 and the reviews on it seem solid.
-Charlie

69CSHC

My pleasure, I am a fiend for stock/stockish specs, performance, etc. Love digging around for that info as well as expounding on it. From both research and personal experience.

Nice, I have fond memories of hearing Hush Thrush exhaust from my youth.

I have never gone through the process, and sorry about the flu, had it many years ago. An absolute nightmare, take it easy. Rest, rest, rest...

Sounds good to me, best of luck with your ride and please keep us posted.