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Hello all! I have a blue 1964 Olds Jetstar 88 that I bought from some guy in Cocoa Beach, FL. Maybe someone knows of it's history?? Anyhoo, I wanted to swap in an LS engine, but can't for the life of me find the correct mounts that provide a enough clearance underneath with the cross member, steering linkage and of course oil pan. Any assistance is greatly appreciated!
This is FCJetstar88 logged in via Facebook btw....
I have a 1975 F block, stock crank, and the shitty J heads that I port matched. I had a lunati cam in it, the engine was bored over .030" with KB pistons with stock rods, and the crank was turned .010" if I remember right. This was all added on the second rebuild of the engine after a bad detonation failure that required a cylinder to be sleeved. After another failure recently that destroyed the crankshaft beyond repair, I just got tired of the expensive Olds engine rebuilds/parts. I know it's a disappointment to me too, but I just want to enjoy my vehicle without any headaches. If I could afford a Mondello engine, I would go that route, but I can't. I have always wanted a classic car to enjoy and have decided to make it a restomod vehicle. I am not sure what I can salvage from my 75' 455(468). Here are some pictures of the pistons with valve collision damage and the rod that was mangled, and the top of the piston that may have either detonated or was pushed by the crankshaft underneath that bent a side of the piston downward. (The top compression ring was tough to get out and was pinched).
Oops, and yeah, bearings were flattened..lol Timing off with lunati cam? Did not set TDC correctly or thoroughly? The cylinder with the damaged piston and mangled rod. Is this crankshaft reusable after being turned .010 and for rods .020" for the mains? Doubt it.. Top of blown/bent piston that pinched the top compression ring.
Last edited by Frank Castano; September 30th, 2017 at 05:08 PM.
Reason: Clarify that I am FCJetstar88 but am logged on with Facebook account.
On my 65 Cutlass I used stock gm clam shell mounts with a 1/2" aluminum spacer under them with new holes drilled I believe 1 1/8" higher on the crossmember and a holley 302-2 oil pan.
Don't know if this will help with a Jetstar and ls3 though.
I'm not familiar with the Jetstar chassis, but what I saw online it uses an A body frame? If that is the case, you should be able to take tips from "mauricer" on what he did on his install.
You definitely must make sure you get the right oil pan before you start any of the mock up. You'll be surprised how much difference it makes.
I'm not familiar with the Jetstar chassis, but what I saw online it uses an A body frame?
Not even close. The 1964 J88 is a one-year-only, one-model-only chassis. It is essentially the 63-64 B-body chassis, but with extra welded-on tabs for the one-year-only 330 engine mounts. It is NOT remotely like an A-body chassis. The ONLY "A-body" parts on the J88 are the front brakes, the rear brakes, and the 8.2" differential and gears. The front spindles and rear axle housing are unique to the 1964 J88 also.
To the OP:
I don't know who built your motor or what you were doing to it when it came apart but there were literally MILLIONS of Olds motors made that don't do that. The usual problem is that Chevy-centric machine shops use their one-size-fits-all techniques to build an Olds motor with incorrect clearance, valvetrain setup, oiling, etc, then blame the problem on the Olds motor. Those people should own Camaros. Many, many folks on this site have built and run BBOs and don't have these problems.
Not even close. The 1964 J88 is a one-year-only, one-model-only chassis. It is essentially the 63-64 B-body chassis, but with extra welded-on tabs for the one-year-only 330 engine mounts. It is NOT remotely like an A-body chassis. The ONLY "A-body" parts on the J88 are the front brakes, the rear brakes, and the 8.2" differential and gears. The front spindles and rear axle housing are unique to the 1964 J88 also.
To the OP:
I don't know who built your motor or what you were doing to it when it came apart but there were literally MILLIONS of Olds motors made that don't do that. The usual problem is that Chevy-centric machine shops use their one-size-fits-all techniques to build an Olds motor with incorrect clearance, valvetrain setup, oiling, etc, then blame the problem on the Olds motor. Those people should own Camaros. Many, many folks on this site have built and run BBOs and don't have these problems.
Thanks for the clarification Joe...
OP: Agreeing with Joe, I would also tend to believe that the catastrophic failure was result of an improperly built engine vs it being an Olds motor.
I will agree with you in that I would go LS this time around. The cost of doing the LS swap vs building the BBO will probably be about the same when all done. Your benefit will from the greater reliability and drive-ability. If your goal is a high HP motor the LS will be cheaper hands down.
Take this from someone the that has built a BBO motor and done an LS swap...
Not even close. The 1964 J88 is a one-year-only, one-model-only chassis. It is essentially the 63-64 B-body chassis, but with extra welded-on tabs for the one-year-only 330 engine mounts. It is NOT remotely like an A-body chassis. The ONLY "A-body" parts on the J88 are the front brakes, the rear brakes, and the 8.2" differential and gears. The front spindles and rear axle housing are unique to the 1964 J88 also.
To the OP:
I don't know who built your motor or what you were doing to it when it came apart but there were literally MILLIONS of Olds motors made that don't do that. The usual problem is that Chevy-centric machine shops use their one-size-fits-all techniques to build an Olds motor with incorrect clearance, valvetrain setup, oiling, etc, then blame the problem on the Olds motor. Those people should own Camaros. Many, many folks on this site have built and run BBOs and don't have these problems.
Yes it was definitely a Chevy centric shop in Gainesville, FL, it must have been an error on their part, Oldmobile engines are rock solid from what I've read. I just wanted to go a different route and try out the ls option. I have a 307 also that was in the car when I bought it, I think it's the 1980-84 model?
OP: Agreeing with Joe, I would also tend to believe that the catastrophic failure was result of an improperly built engine vs it being an Olds motor.
I will agree with you in that I would go LS this time around. The cost of doing the LS swap vs building the BBO will probably be about the same when all done. Your benefit will from the greater reliability and drive-ability. If your goal is a high HP motor the LS will be cheaper hands down.
Take this from someone the that has built a BBO motor and done an LS swap...
Nice! thank you guys for the responses, everyone has been so helpful and quick to respond. 😊
On my 65 Cutlass I used stock gm clam shell mounts with a 1/2" aluminum spacer under them with new holes drilled I believe 1 1/8" higher on the crossmember and a holley 302-2 oil pan.
Don't know if this will help with a Jetstar and ls3 though.
OP: Agreeing with Joe, I would also tend to believe that the catastrophic failure was result of an improperly built engine vs it being an Olds motor.
I will agree with you in that I would go LS this time around. The cost of doing the LS swap vs building the BBO will probably be about the same when all done. Your benefit will from the greater reliability and drive-ability. If your goal is a high HP motor the LS will be cheaper hands down.
Take this from someone the that has built a BBO motor and done an LS swap...
OP: Agreeing with Joe, I would also tend to believe that the catastrophic failure was result of an improperly built engine vs it being an Olds motor.
I will agree with you in that I would go LS this time around. The cost of doing the LS swap vs building the BBO will probably be about the same when all done. Your benefit will from the greater reliability and drive-ability. If your goal is a high HP motor the LS will be cheaper hands down.
Take this from someone the that has built a BBO motor and done an LS swap...
Sounds great, I cant wait to get further with the build
September 29th, 2017, 03:17 PM
