I have a new-to-me '67 Cutlass convertible and I managed to get it running about 30 minutes after getting it home. I have driven it around a bit, to the gas station and back a couple of times and to the store once or twice. It has rewarded me with losing cooland and has bubbles in the radiator!

Looks like time for new head gaskets! I had hoped for a little more time out if it before breaking the seal on the engine. I had to do the head gaskets on my last '67 convertible too. This is only my second Olds and they have both been '67 Cutlass convertibles with a 330. Is this a common thing or am I just lucky?

It really runs good with the new HEI, 8mm wires and new plugs. Shame I hafta break it down! Anything besides the usual suspects that I should look for while I have the top end off of it?

Anyone near Albuquerque want to donate a 4-barrel manifold and carb to a good cause?

 

You're probably right about it being head gaskets. But the thread title made me think of an ugly problem I ran into once years ago.

Dishwashing soap.

Yeah, dish soap. The wife had an old Plymouth that blew out some coolant and overheated on her way home from work. Less than 2 miles. It wasn't a few bubbles, it was more like foam. I drained some coolant out into a glass jar and let it settle down. Then shook the jar and it foamed up. I had to flush it several times to get it cleaned out. New anti-freeze and it was fine after that. But what a pain!

I figured some kid must have got to it in the parking lot where she worked. A piece of chain and a padlock was the permanent fix.

 

you sure the radiator doesn't have any holes? Or maybe a hose clamp is loss? Does the oil have water in it making it milky? I'd have the radiator checked before pulling the heads off unless you see milky oil.

 

i've got a 460 ford doing the same thing... the coolant isn't milky and the oil is fine, it is just at the point that compression is seeping out of the cylinder but the gasket hasn't failed to the point of mixing fluids. mine is fine bumming around town but as soon as i try to go out on the highway the temp guage pegs out...

it's good that you caught it early!

 

x2 on that. The last time that happened to me it was in the summer. Car kept overheating and I could not drive it very far. Had to keep shutting it down and letting it cool off. Took a long time to go 20 miles!

 

The steel shim headgaskets are notorious for rusting out over time. I had the same issue when I bought mine. I found mine when I went to replace valve guide seals. Got to the third cylinder on passenger side, aired it up and then my feet got wet from water spraying out the overflow hose on the radiator. Off came the heads!

Your right now is the time to find the 4v manifold and carb!

Good luck!

 

Like I mentioned, this is only my second Olds engine. I did have a '77 Starfire but it had a SBC in it. So my next question would be what year SBO to look for at the wrecking yards for a factory aluminum manifold? Or is that strictly the "collectable" market for Oldsmobiles? Any particular year engine to source for a decent runner? Just a yank and replace until I can completely rebuild the 330! I don't want to spend too much on the engine right now, I want to keep it running long enough to get the rest of the car back in shape. I don't want to spend mega-bucks on the drive train until just before I paint it. Then all bets are off!

 

I'd look for one of these either new or used:

http://www.summitracing.com/parts/EDL-3711/

I also saw this on here today:

https://classicoldsmobile.com/forums...take-sale.html

You can try ebay, craigslist, racingjunk.com...


Also while your in there, you might consider a waterpump and timing set! Inspect your rockers, pushrods, lifters, and cam.

 

Thanks for the help. Just hope the MAWs don't eat me alive!!!

 

LOL, I forgot to add you might as well send your heads out and get them gone through since you have them off. If you do all the work yourself your looking at around $1000-1200 including the MAW's, if your cam, lifters, pushrods, and rockers are reusable.

 

Last time I had bubbles it was a cracked head.........Hopefully yours is just a head gasket but it seems its never as easy as that!

 

NAW! No MAWs this time around. I have waaay too many things to work on first. I just want to get the engine in running condition so I can drive it as I work on it. I will be dong a hotrod resto on this thing as it is far from being "clean". Here's a couple of side shots so you can see all the other stuff that needs attention first. The windows are all out of shack so I need to do the body bushings (they came with the car), what is left of the top is shreds (new top came with the car), the door hinges are shot (yep, new ones came with it), lots of body rust (you guessed it, new panels came with the car), rear is sagging quite a bit (no new springs! ;-( LOL!). So I have lots of things to do before I start freshening up the mill. Just want to get it running.

You can see that someone already started with the body panel replacement but they cut out the whole stinkin' quarter instead of cutting down the replacement panel to fit the damage. That is gonna be a beast to make fit right! I have the panel for the other side as well but it is still inside the trunk instead of spotwelded to the outside! I should be able to get a few other patches out of the replacement panel once I get it cut down for rust belt replacement.

I suppose it's time to start a project thread!

drivers_side.jpg

passenger_side2.jpg

 

OOOH! Damn I hope it isn't a cracked head! That would suck!!!

 

Probably because of all the new parts in the trunk.

 

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You have your work cut out, but I see a lot of potential there! Remember it it takes is a lot of time and money. A proportionate amount of time is saved with an exponential amount of money put in its place.

Good luck!

 

The amount of work will be displayed over in a new project thread. I'll show all the new parts I have, and the reason for them! reaper.gif

So "Follow Me Boys!" Come and see what Ol' Dad can get into!

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