1970 cutlass convertible. In the middle of restoration of many years. Hope I can get the answers I need.

 

Welcome, ask away, as there are many who can help.

 

I have many questions so here I go. I do not live in oldsmobile friendly country. 2 hours south of Chicago 1.5 hours from Indy. So everyone thinks an olds engine is a chevy it is annoying.
First question My rear end has code R2 on my rear end housing. it is a 2.56 open rear end. Obviously it is a cruiser car. Never really drive on the highway just mostly around town. So want to put 3.23 maybe 3.42 rear gear. Place in Oregon sells everything for the rear. any suggestions for anything else such as supplier or anywhere I could take it.
350 engine with a ebrok intake and 650 carb. comp cams 230 dur @ .50 and 490 lift. 2500 stall and 350 trans no shift kit. When trying to pass hesitation or little bog. Any suggestions for the timing?
Also, brakes are spongy. I know due to the cam it has low vacuum but I didn't think that this cam was that big not to have the the amount of braking I want. car stops way better when I put into neutral rpm goes up and brakes grab better. Some of these questions may be elementary to some but I am novice but know enough to get by. would appreciate some suggestions.
if helps email address is tajuris@hotmail.com

 

Welcome to our site. You may get some answers here but often there are a select group of members that watch here and welcome our new members. If you don't get some info on this thread don't hesitate to re-state some of your needs in some new threads in a different forum than this one, engine for the hesitation question, driveline/transmission for the rear differential question, etc. Good luck.

 

There are a couple of rear end guys on here but i forget where they live. Seems most are from the north.
Do a search on timing. There are plenty of detailed threads on it.
That's the cam i have in my 455. Should be big in a 350. My vacuum is low 14ish, but my brakes work. Maybe a vacuum canister would help. Seems like that gear is holding you back. Oldsguy has a good suggestion to ask questions in the correct places.

 

your find the help and answers here. Lots of info available and people to answer questions

 

For your rearend, 507OLDS (Brian Trick) is in Erie, PA. He has lots of knowledge and experience with the Olds O-Type 12 bolt (which your car has) and the later 8.5" corporate 10 bolt rears. I would look to him for anything differential related. With the cam you have I would definitely go for 3.42 or lower gears.

Timing would depend upon which distributor you have - points or HEI.
That's a LOT of cam for a 350. I have a 217/221 cam and my vacuum is ~16" with 18º initial timing. When I drop the initial to 10º for emissions test (yes I have to do that for a daily driver 71) the vacuum is ~14" and bouncy and I start losing braking function.

 

That place in Oregon you refer to might be SuperCars Unlimited, good people to do business with.

 

Gear sets for your differential are hard to come by at the moment. Supercars & others show them as available but have none in stock. You best bet is to find the gear set you want 1st & then get the appropriate carrier & rebuild parts. Do your research BEFORE you buy or deal with Brian or Jim on here...they will steer you straight.

 

Yeah, gear set availability is the main issue with the O-Type.

One option is to replace the entire rear with an 8.5" 10 bolt rear as the parts for them (gears, posi carriers, axles, etc) are readily available and there are a wider variety of choices.

 

Ok, you're really in luck with getting Oldsmobile parts for your ride because you actually are in Olds friendly country. There are 2 guys on this site really close to you. Both are really good guys and fair with all pricing and shipping. The order I list them is just random
1. oldspackrat (Scott Winn) in Indianapolis IN
2. jensenracing77 (Eric Jensen) in Brazil IN

So you have an O rear end. I don't think you can get gear sets for it right now unless you go used. My best recommendation is to talk to 2 other guys on this site whose jobs are building rear ends. Both are very skilled and knowledgeable about your needs. They may also have some gears you could wrangle out of them.
1. 507OLDS - Brian Trick
2. monzaz - Jim Mitschke (J.D. Race & Associates on the web)

Sounds like you have some options:
1. Change out your cam to a milder one
2. Convert to manual disc brakes
3. Add an in line vacuum booster to the brake system. This is what seems to work with most guys who want to have a lumpy cam and still have PB. BTW have you considered changing out to a 750 carb? I think the 70 350 4bbl was QJ with 750cfm flow.

 

Welcome to CO from NC. These guys are feeling very generous and must be in a good mood! Usually it is no pics / no help. We love pics around here. By the way are you sure there is no air in the brake system? Good luck!

 

Jeepers Steve, Thanks for the reminders. Where are my manners???

Bamboo442 - Welcome aboard AND, WE LOVE PICS. There's a sticky in the Newbie section that will give you instructions how to install them.

 

As far as your brakes I'd try bleeding all the brakes and get that old fluid out, you like in humidity country and I'd bet the brake fluid is as old as dirt and loaded with moisture.

 

Welcome, as the others stated we do like pictures.

 

wow, this is great information. My time is limited but i will post pics as soon as i can. Im glad i joined this forum. I always checked it out but never joined. so glad i am. I have house projects to complete as well and that is where most of my knowledge is. Hence the reason i joined this forum. Like i said i am so glad i joined. Thanks guys.

 

LOL, house projects are sooo much easier because the market for supplies is endless. And if you make a mistake there's always a trade or journeyman who can make it right according to bldg code.

Time is one of the most precious things you have, next to your family. Don't worry about making the car high priority when life needs you to focus elsewhere. We'll still be here with help and suggestions when you need us.