Old fella here, so not a lot of desire to pull the engine and do a rebuild of a 72 Cutlass 350 with 70,000 miles on the clock. I have been working car Sheetmetal and have both quarter panels installed, right door and fender reworked and in epoxy primer. Left fender also currently off the car, patch panel welded in and fender in epoxy primer. Day after day I walked by the old faded black metal under the hood and decided to remove it and paint it. In process, found a radiator leaking that is currently being re-cored. So the engine is a whole bunch easier to get to with bumper and left fender off the car, and radiator and fan shroud also off the car. With fender off car, I can step between the frame rail and wheel and work the engine standing up, rather than stooped over. Had back surgery 8 months ago and don’t care to revisit that. So….I decided to paint what I can get to on the top parts of the engine. Already had some parts painted with single stage catalyzed black urethane. They look nice and should wear well. Now in process of removing AC brackets, Alternator brackets, currently stalled on the Power steering pump bracket. I think it wise to pull water pump and change timing gears and chain. Maybe also the intake manifold, as it looks like maybe it was leaking oil too? I think the valve covers are an easy target to remove and replace gaskets. So I should do it while relatively easier.

Any comments on what else to do will also be appreciated. Any comments on valve cover gaskets, timing chain set, that type of thing much appreciated. Last time I was this deep into an engine was in 1972 when I put a solid lifter camshaft into a SS396 Camaro.


Already have some of the parts painted with urethane single stage


Bracket removal in process


Pulling the carb will open up the intake manifold a bunch.


I checked some videos on how to remove the oil fill tube, but I think I can work around it with it in place


I will blast all accessory brackets and paint black, off the car


I checked AC pressure and there is no refrigerant left in system, so I will remove AC to where I can get to right valve cover for removal


I am not sure if the oil seep behind the steering pump is an intake manifold gasket failure or not? But if it is, now is the time to remove intake and fix it, as much as I hate the thought of doing it.


Currently stuck at the steering pump pulley. I will likely leave the pump in place and paint it in place to avoid draining down the pump oil. I may be overthinking this.

 

Steve - I've followed at least the majority of the body/chassis work you've been performing & it appears now (as you contemplate dressing the engine) you've entered into a new arena of MAWs. Since your thread/post states quite a number of items you are going to address or are thinking of addressing perhaps a top-down examination of the engine health is in order. I don't recall if you've stated the last time the engine was running - when was it? Was the engine operating efficiently or w/ some issues?

The items you mentioned above are all great candidates for removal and upgrades to the engine.

Suggestion: Prior to removal of any of the many items, it would be in your best interest to first begin to determine the overall health of the engine by performing a cylinder compression test (at a minimum) and/or a leak-down test of the engine. This information will become invaluable in addressing select engine performance issues you have or encounter as you move forward.

 

You don’t need to disconnect ac hoses, just flop the compressor out of the way.

 

X2 on the compression test. Check the timing chain condition unless you know it has been replaced, the cam gear can be viewed through the fuel pump hole in the block. If the cam gear still has nylon teeth consider replacing the timing set.

I'd also leave the oil fill tube in place.

Consider GM repro belts and correct hose clamps if you'd like.

Please post after pictures, it will look great!

 

Before you ask, or in case you're thinking of asking, no the engine does not need to be running to perform a compression test. Remove all the plugs before you begin testing each cylinder - much easier. Disconnect the IGN coil wire from the ignition coil and/or top of distributor. You only need to nudge/crank the engine 5 or 6 revolutions which can be done via the IGN SW & starter. Take both a dry reading & a wet reading for the compression test. The OEM iron intake manifold weighs ~50lbs. You may require 50lbs of counterweights attached to your legs/shoes when lifting that beast. When/If you do remove the intake manifold, it will be far easier to paint the entire top-side of the engine. Either make your own NaOH (Sodium Hydroxide) lye solution or use cheap oven cleaner to cover & brush clean the intake manifold before painting.

 

The engine appears to be good. It was running strong when I started my bodywork escapade. Wife and I drove it quite a bit before I tore into fixing the rusted areas. I’m used to fast corvettes so this old cutlass with a low compression 350 surprised me with how quickly it would come up to speed. I have compression test equipment so could still do it, but even with a weak cylinder I don’t see myself digging in that deep, although…….complete body steel restoration would seem the more onerous task between the two. I used to self perform cylinder leak downs on aircraft I owned, so familiar with that too. But I think the compression test would be better?

steve.

 

If the engine was performing well (as you state) prior to your body/chassis work chances are good you may not need to perform either a compression or leak-down - entirely your call. I wouldn't say a compression test is better. A leak-down test employs external air as its air source while a compression test employs cylinder compression. I'd say a leak-down is more diagnostic, IMO. Maybe wait until it's back running & simply measure your vacuum.

 

Good info, thanks! Did Olds also spit out a factory Overhaul Manual that addresses engine work? Does not appear that the Chassis Manual deals with timing chain work, or did I miss it? Pretty sure it has never had a new chain and gear set, so even if it still had the plastic teeth, I will replace it.

Glad you see the Oil Tube the same way. I saw YouTube’s of people taking hammers and banging on the side of the tube. Had to be causing damage. I had dreamed up a purpose built tool that I think would work, but just couldn’t see the point. I can clean and paint around it.

I’ll put new belts on it for sure. GM, maybe. This car not gonna win any awards for perfect restoration. I am often surprised the way this car was slammed together. Spot welds with hot metal blowouts that will tear your skin open, castings that are not de-burred, raw steel that has zero corrosion protection. Those things are noticed and corrected along the way. My take is that they were building a 10 year car. The sale price made them affordable as basically a throw-away and start over. Amazed that any of them survived in salty road Iowa.

 

I removed the oil fill tube on my '71 350. Easy-peasy. Insert a dowel rod or broom stick handle into the oil fill tube and simply rock the rod/stick in an off-centered circular motion - use a towel or two along w/ the rod/stick (if you like) to form a type of wedge in the oil fill tube hole if you like. The oil fill tube is nothing more than wedged into the hole.

There is an Oldsmobile Engine Assembly Manual. I have a 1970 digital .pdf copy (attached) and a 1971 digital .pdf copy (attached) both in "fair" condition.

 

just fyi, I have used aluminum foil in the past to 'wrap' items I didn't want painted or overspray on such as hoses, wiring, etc.

 

I can remember doing exactly that on a corvette with r12 refrigerant. Kinda cumbersome, but it worked. Good point!

 

THAT is a really good idea. Way better than trying to mask tape and pull it all back off. Perhaps small amounts of tape here and there just to secure the foil?

 

Today I got the power steering pump and res separated from the bracket, actually two of them. Just have the AC lower bracket to remove. I did try to remove the crank pulley, the one with the three belts. Thought it would be easy, as there were 4 small cap screws that came out easily. But there must be something I am missing, as banging it with a hammer and trying a screwdriver between the pulley and harmonic balancer didn’t move it.


Getting closer. Just the AC lower bracket and that is the last one, I think? I was going to clean and paint the power steering pump in place, but think I will be time and surely quality ahead to suck the oil out, disconnect hoses, and clean and paint on the bench.



This puzzles me. I took out all 4 cap screws and thought the pulley would separate easily. It has not