Olds64

Hi, I am an owner of a 64 98 4 door hard top. My car recently overheated and blew out an oil galley plug in the head. I had a local repair shop patch it back together; however, I think I have a couple of collapsed lifters. I am contemplating if I should repair the car, sell it, or rebuild a 455 for it. The reason I am having trouble justifying the repairs is that I am getting tired of the 394 / Slim Jim tranny combo.

The car is in fair condition, but there is alot of work I need to do on it. I rebuilt the brakes and suspension a few years ago so that is probably the best part of the car. The interior is trashed but the body is in decent condition (there are a few rust pin holes in the hood and driver's door). I freshened the block and heads up a few years ago but apparently a few of the lifters gave up on me. The tranny is a POS and doesn't shift properly. I already tore it apart and found out it has an internal pressure leak.

Anybody have any advice? Just putting out some feelers to see what other Olds enthusiasts think.

Oldsguy

Welcome to our site. It is good to see you here. I would recommend that you buy a 455 and put it in, everyone knows that they are the best!











BTW; for all members, this guy is my son and finally joined up. Welcome Jesse!

Olds64

Yeah, and I bet I know where I could buy one too. LoL

Oldsguy

it's for sale for the right price.......free car with it.

toolbox

It's mostly going to depend on what you want to do with it, and how much money you want to spend on it... If you don't plan on keeping it for while, you might not want to put a ton more money into it. You probably already know that parts for the 394 are spendy compared to more popular engines (like the 455). OTOH, you can get a used 455 and tranny fairly cheap...but then you have to find a way to install it. If the 455 needs a rebuild, plus the cost of installing it, it's going to cost more than if you fixed the 394. If you've got the fabrication skills and a welder, it's probably not a big deal to stab it in there though. If you don't, then the conversion is also going to run a bunch of money.

If the lifters really are the problem, it's not that big of a deal to replace them (if you can find them). Technically you're supposed to replace the entire cam and lifters as a set, but it's one of those things that usually only makes a difference over a long period of time. It also depends on whether or not you want to keep it original, although it sounds like that's not a big concern for you. If you want to make a project out of it, go for it. Get the interior done, put some paint on it and get it running right. Drive and enjoy. Otherwise, you might just want to sell it...you'll almost certainly lose money on whatever you have to do it with either engine setup if all you're going to do is sell it.

In the end, it pretty much just boils down to what you want out of it, and how much you're willing to pay to get there. Pretty much the same as any other project .

Olds64

Thanks for the reply. Like you said, I guess it all boils down to what I want to do with the car. I've already had the car for 8 years, but I haven't done much work to it, especially since I got married. Oh well, at least my wife hasn't made me sell it.

toolbox

Don't feel too bad...I've had my '60 for 12 years, and its' still "almost done". It sat for 6 years without me really doing much of anything to it. It was a combination of working on it so long I got tired of it, then life got in the way. I finally got my butt in gear and got a lot done on it the last 6 months though. Now we have another new baby, and it'll probably be another 2 years before I get to pick up a wrench again . My wife knew when she married me that the car was part of the bargain...unfortunately that doesn't mean I actually get any time to work on it . Just keep at it...even if it takes a long time, it'll get there eventually.

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Blownolds

I don't know why anyone thinks an engine swap is cheap... they never are. Always there are hidden costs that add up... and that's a fact.

But Toolbox's reply was pretty much right-on.

Olds64

Yeah, I know what you mean Blownolds. I was just trying to weigh the pros and cons. I know the 394 is classy, but I think a 455 would be more dependable in the long run. A TH 400 would definitely be stronger than a Slim Jim.

toolbox

It's funny...when you think "engine swap", you think "engine/tranny mounts, driveline, etc". The big stuff. It's easy to forget everything else that might need to be adapted to work like: throttle cable or linkage, trans linkage, radiator (are the inlet/outlet on the right sides for the new motor), electrical (going from a generator to alternator), exhaust will have to be replaced...it's a lot of stuff. Definetly more work than just repairing an existing engine, but it can definetly be worthwhile if it meets the goals of your project.

I'm also into old Jeep CJs I've got a '55 CJ5), and if you want to know about engine swaps those are the guys to talk to. I've seen just about every engine you can think of stuffed into a CJ...from a flathead Ford, to an Isuzu diesel, to a Viper V10. Anything is possible...it just depends on how much time and money you want to put into it.

The 455 is definetly easier to get parts for, and it's got great aftermarket performance support. And the TH400 is about as strong as an automatic gets...I used to have one in a 3/4 ton truck I beat on pretty hard, and it never gave me any problems at all. Seems like 394 parts are only getting harder to find these days. I'm sticking with mine...but then I'm just doing a stock restoration.

Olds64

You know Toolbox, the hardest part of getting rid of my 394 would be losing the originality of the car. I always thought it would be cool to put 3 deuces on the 394.

Oldsguy

Jesse, this is what I really think you should do. Install the lifters, get the engine running well and drive the crap out of that thing for a year. Get all the enjoyment out of it you can. If that doesn't motivate you to keep with it and do more, then you have a good running car and can either sell it for more than you could now, or do the engine/trans swap in the future. Tri-carb (sorry if I typed that wrong Norm ) would be so cool on that thing.

88 coupe

Don't apologize to me. Apologize to the future readers of this thread.

To the future readers of this thread: Tri-Carb is the name Olds used for the triple 2 barrel option they offered in '66.

Olds64 was correct in using one of the many "generic" terms for that combination.

Norm

chip_gikey

So since it was offered in 66, does that mean i wouldnt be able to put one on my 394 thats in my 63? if i could how hard would it be to find one?

Olds64

Chip, there is NO WAY parts from a 66 motor (which would be a 425 I believe) could fit on a 394. They are two completely different engines.

chopper35

I am checking to see if you still have the 64 olds in Lawton, Oklahoma if you do e- mail me at samejt135@yahoo.com

59-59-59

Wrong.. If you have no life like me you would know that the spark plug numbers are the same and those weird sized valve lifters will swap over from 394 to a 425

Olds64

Well almost nothing.