kennyrodgers

Hi Folks,
New guy from the UK here.
I'm not in the least but clued about about this motor I have but from research I did a good few years ago I have a first gen 330. Other than it having a forged crank and a funny bank angle, well that's about as much as I know. I stripped the engine myself and it all measured up as stock iirc.
I'm about to embark on a project and seeing as i already have this engine my plan is to rebuild it with stock internals. A freshen up oughta do it, bearings , rings etc. I don't need a lot of power, it's only for a little pickup truck to tool around in so it'll have plenty of go for what i need.
First order of the day is....I do have an Edelbrock intake for a 1980's 350 ( not sure which one without checking)so first question is, will it fit, especially in light of the funky bank angle.
Second one for now. BOP pattern TH350's are a bit rare over here, is that the best route for a transmission If I can find one or is there a better alternative. I'd be happy to go to a manual if needs be.

Many thanks in advance and any input will be greatly appreciated.
Cheers.

joe_padavano

Welcome. All small block Olds motors from 1964-1990 are externally the same, so the 350 intake bolts right up. In fact, the only substantive internal difference between the 330 and the 350 is the bore (3.938" vs 4.057"). Do you know what year your 330 is? The 1964 motors have some one-year-only "features" like the shaft mounted rockers and the driver side water pump inlet. The latter forced the timing tab to be on the passenger side, with a correspondingly different scribe mark location on the balancer. Also note that the 1964-67 cranks have a different flywheel bolt pattern than do the 1968-1990 cranks, so you need a 64-67 flywheel/flexplate. Manual transmissions are certainly an option, however Olds did not machine the crankshaft for the pilot bearing recess on motors that came from the factory with an automatic. You'd need to have yours machined if you wanted that option.

kennyrodgers

Hi Joe.
Many thanks for the very informative reply.
I've not looked at the block for six or seven years so I can't confirm the casting number but from memory, it is the first gen so 64. You're comment about the shaft rockers would confirm it so thanks for that.
My plan is to take it all to the machine shop and get them to clean it up and measure it all, check for cracks etc then take it from there depending on the results. Just to double check though if I may. Some distant foggy memory tells me there is something quirky about the 1st gen heads and later ones not being interchangeable. With that in mind can I confirm that the aftermarket intake will fit and is the "quirkiness" internal ?
Many thanks once again.
Pete.

ps, I think I might try to find a TH350 lol.

joe_padavano

The term "first gen" is a bit of a misnomer. The Olds community typically refers to the 1949-1964 V8s as "first gen". These are the 303, 324, 371, and 394 motors. Nothing interchanges with the 1964-1990 second gen motors. Your 330 is the first year of the second gen motors, but it has those unique features, like the shaft mount rockers, that are one-year-only. Your real problem is that replacement parts for the rockers and shafts are nearly impossible to find, and those 1964 heads cannot be retrofitted with the pedestal mount rockers used on the 1965-1990 motors. Most people swap those heads out for later ones, but that may be a problem for you in the UK. The water pump is a similar problem, though the 1964-only pumps are somewhat easier to find. You can swap the pump and timing tab for a 1965-up version if you need to .

droldsmorland

For your mild application, a freshened up and updated TH200R4 might suffice? 4 gears vs 3. Im not a fan of the TH200 but if built right it will survive.

joe_padavano

Not sure the 200-4R is any easier to find in the UK.

Do not confuse the three speed TH200 with the four speed overdrive 200-4R (sans "TH"). I agree that for a mild application, the 200-4R is a better choice but does require some work to survive. The TH350 is fine in stock form.

kennyrodgers

Thanks again Joe.
Apologies, yeah, I meant the first year of manufacture.
I'm fairly confident the shafts are in good condition so fingers crossed I'll be OK there. If I indeed got my measurements right all those years ago there was minimal wear on all the parts.
OK then, I've good info to at least make a start. It'll be a while before I can get it to the machine shop so I'll have some time to get re aquainted with it.
Thankyou sir.

Droldsmorland,
Thanks for that info my friend, there's one on ebay uk as we speak.....

cutlassefi

Yes that distinction needs to be made. A well built 200-4R is pushing turbo’d Buick Grand Nationals down the 1/4 mile in under 10 seconds. I’d say they can be made strong enough.

kennyrodgers

Well chaps, disaster has befallen this project at the outset.
I moved shop about four years ago and in the process somewhere along the line I'm missing 11 rockers, 6 rocker shaft stands,all the shaft springs and four pushrods.
Not a good start I think you'd agree and I'm absolutely gutted about it considering the rarity.
So, are there any other heads that will fit and again, is there anything with the strange angle that i'm still not sure about that would hamper the selection. I'd be happy with any old smog head as I'm not really looking for anything major performance wise.
Cheers again hopefully some better news to follow.

joe_padavano

Any other Oldsmobile small block heads bolt up (yes, the 1977-newer have the larger half inch head bolts, that that doesn't cause a problem). Personally if you can source any no. 4, 5, 6, 7, or 7A heads, these would be the best choice. You'll want to measure for the correct pushrod length, however.

kennyrodgers

Thanks Joe,
That's some consolation at least. All may not be lost after all.
I did have four No8 heads that I sold a while back. I'm trying to chase them up now.
Thanks again.

joe_padavano

No. 8 heads are unfortunately the large chamber smog heads. If you are forced to use them, either have them milled to reduce the 80cc chambers or select appropriate pistons to get the CR you want.

kennyrodgers

Thanks Joe, much appreciated.

kennyrodgers

Hi again Joe,
I've found some Big block w30's......will they do ?

kennyrodgers

Hold the mail
I sold three 350's, one running and two in bits inc a good TH400 to a guy a while back. I just called him, he still has it all and not done anything with it.
I'm going over next week to buy it all back.
Here's me back in 2016 with the runner as we were just moving in to the new shop.