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Hi Gents! I wanted to join up on here since I have been using the site so much for a few years now with the loads of information you guys have posted--Thankfully, otherwise I would probably be screwed in one way or another without the info from here!
I decided to sign up today so I could see some pictures some of you have put up of power steering pump pulley misalignment, I bet you can't guess what I am dealing with right now?
I've loved Oldsmobile's for as long as I can remember. My dad had a 68 442 long before he even knew my mom, and when they started dating. Then he had a 69 Delta88. I remember growing up in our burgundy 1973 Olds '98. My first car was a 2-door 1980 Olds Delta 88 Royal Brougham which I restored & built a 1973 Rocket 350 for it (had a 307). None of these cars we have anymore.
Many years back before I could drive, my dad's friend towed to his shop an original low mileage burned up 1969 Olds '88 with a great running 455 in it (car was so toasted it melted some of the glass)--dad bought the car (fun drive home, he tied a string to the carb, hot-wired it, cardboard layed over the springs of the seats--no windshield), and we yanked the engine. That engine went into an '84 Old's 4-door that we drove for years, and when gas was affordable I drove it to college often and I never challenged anyone with the car either, I promise.
Years later I yanked my Flathead V8 out of my 51 Ford truck (originally my dads truck) and stuffed this 455 in that. My parents drove away from their wedding in that 51 Ford. My wife and I also drove away from our wedding in that same truck, but we left the church in a cloud of beautiful tire smoke. Driving home the next day the transmission was going out, barely made it home.
Fast forward to today--we have 4 kids, and I love the the 73 to 78 GM trucks and wanted a crew cab we can all cruise in. I purchased a 76 GMC crew cab that another gent built in 1983'ish and converted it to a dually, so it has 6 standard 8-bolt GM rims on it, I purchased it with no engine and have worked on it the last two years. I freshened up the top end of that '69 455 Olds, as everything else was perfect inside that engine so I did not touch it (my dad is a retired 35 year GM mechanic so I had him looking at it too). I replaced the timing set to a roller (Cloyes) cam (thumpr from CompCams), lifters, pushrods, rockers, springs...etc. built a Quadrajet for it, installed shorty headers (Thorton Muscle Cars), installed electric exhaust cutouts (QTP brand), it had dual 3" exhaust, so I modified it a little bit, made my own motor mounts (GM truck Olds mounts are like hens teeth to find---GM trucks in 1978-1982'ish used the 350 Olds Diesel--I need those mounts!!). I also slammed the truck to the ground where it belongs, and just installed my new tires/rims/NOS GMC hubcaps just last week. The 455 Olds sounds beautiful in this truck, I'd rather have a 455 than a 454 anyhow, so this worked perfect
Here is a video from last year, the day we fired it up. This is idling after breaking in the cam (headers opened, of course). A lot has been done since then. I now need to tidy up the engine bay, and get my power steering pulley misalignment figured out.
Hell no you didn't type too much!! Welcome to Classic Oldsmobile. Love your intro. Great story. Love your truck. I had a good close friend to our family that put a 455 Olds motor in his ford truck. I want to say a 64. Awesome to hear your roots. Oldsmobile roots. That's always welcome. Jump in. Post all you want. Welcome Welcome. Oldsmobile On...👍🤙
@VC455 yeah some of then did!!! My 80 Olds I did a LOT of bodywork to!
Thanks all for the warm welcome, I figured I've lurked for so long on here I should sign up. Then my power steering issue happened and I wanted to see pictures so i signed up!
The power steering problem is resolved now! Except I did something dumb I wont discuss too much--I bent my new power steering pulley, so she wobbles now. So i will get another new one and wall hang this one.
At least my belts and pulleys are perfectly lined up! That 455 in this truck uses the front motor mount location, so one washer on the pump bracket made all the difference for stuff to line up!!!
I thank you guys for posting this invaluable information on here. It certainly helped me along the way!
Here she is, off the jack stands and really close to being on the road, been working on her for 2 years now, a lot has been replaced/fixed.
It is a unique dually, never seen one with a dually kit until I saw this one for sale and had to have it. Here it is as of today!
This was easier than I thought! Here is a video from this morning. 3 inch duals with smitty mufflers.
Nothing better than the sound of an Olds!!! Heck, even my original 307 in my 80 Olds with glasspacks had that deep Olds grumble, not as deep as this, but that 307 sounded nice.
Welcome aboard. Cool truck and an atta-boy to your Dad for making sure you turned out to be a proper car guy. My father-in-law is an apple farmer and one of his old farm trucks is one of those late '70's/early '80's Chevys with the 350 Olds diesel. It's still out in the orchard getting the job done so I can't swipe the motor mounts for you but it looks like you don't need them anymore.
Welcome aboard. Cool truck and an atta-boy to your Dad for making sure you turned out to be a proper car guy. My father-in-law is an apple farmer and one of his old farm trucks is one of those late '70's/early '80's Chevys with the 350 Olds diesel. It's still out in the orchard getting the job done so I can't swipe the motor mounts for you but it looks like you don't need them anymore.
Thanks much! YES--to my dad turning me into an Olds guy! When he had his really nice 1978 Chevy Suburban Trailering Special that had a 454, he always told me "I wish this thing had a 455 Olds in it, would pull a lot better" So after we broke the cam in this truck, I had to go for a spin and I tell you what, degreeing that camshaft & doing the top end in that 455 turned it into a freaking monster compared to what it was. That 455 had some serious torque, but now it is unreal with that little bit of work. Anyhow, from a dead stop I layed into it and it made that 1-ton take off like a "Rocket" you could say!
As for your father-in-law's truck, if that thing EVER goes down and gets parted out, you just send me a PM and I will take those mounts! I want the proper ones in here if I can find them. I made some flat plates and bought some off the shelf mounts for the "frame to engine" mounts, they work, but I would rather have the correct stuff.
Here was one of the best parts of this build, getting our oldest daughter involved with it, she had a blast, as I was making her look up the torque specs and patterns when we were re-assembling the engine.
Some 1955 valve covers I have been tinkering with, I plan to modify these to fit my 455 (these will fasten to my original ones, have some baffles & whatnot to modify in my 455 valve covers);
I also purchased and painted up a 1955 Caddy air cleaner for it too, just love the looks of it.
Nearly done...Old picture--Holley carb is still on it, I built a Quadrajet for it.
Welcome! I love it. Everybody throws a Chevy engine into everything else, why not an Olds engine instead!
AMEN to that one!!!! I could not agree more!! I really dislike it when people take perfectly good Olds valve covers and cut them up to fit their small block chevy in their hot rod---makes me sick!
Years back when this same engine was in my 51 Ford truck I had it at the Back To The Fifties every year, I loved watching people walk by and glance under the hood as they were walking, many would stop and come back and go "what the heck" because there were no Olds markings on the valve covers at that time, just the lettering on the intake.
That picture of your little daughter torquing the head made me smile. That's great. Enjoy it as time flies by. Here's a picture of my son when he was around 6 or 7 with my 442. He just graduated from college about 2 weeks ago!
So after we broke the cam in this truck, I had to go for a spin and I tell you what, degreeing that camshaft & doing the top end in that 455 turned it into a freaking monster compared to what it was. That 455 had some serious torque, but now it is unreal with that little bit of work. Anyhow, from a dead stop I layed into it and it made that 1-ton take off like a "Rocket" you could say!
