Is it possible? Just wondering? Thought give anyone who has a chance to tell their story? Looking for any known mild improvements keeping stock parts etc. Like to let the 324 breath a little but keep it streetable with plenty of vacuum 15 or more etc.

thanks,, for fun I would be glad to hear about some crazy hot rod builds too?

 

There aren't many aftermarket parts available for the older Olds engines. You can sometimes find old aftermarket intakes on E-bay but they go for a pretty penny. The user Blownolds on ROP has quite a bit of experience with the older Olds engines. There are a few people around here that are knowledgable as well.

My suggestion would be to do a stock rebuild and have all of the machining done properly. With a pertronix kit in your distributor and a rebuilt carburetor it should have plenty of streetable performance.

 

I bet you could still buy a bumpstick for it, along with an aftermarket intake and a basic rebuild you could have a nice engine! Check this place out. Harold used to do a lot of Oldsmobile cam shafts and was well known over at ROP. If there are still cores for that engine available he will know of them.

 

Isky probably still makes camshafts for them. The stock 4 bbl isn't real big but will work with that size engine. Exhaust manifolds are a limiting factor--keep the cam moderate in size.

 

When I had the 371 in my olds. I checked out evel bay a lot and from time to time they had 324 speed kits with pistons, cams and other parts available. In fact I just went to a car show in Snohomish WA on Sunday (over 600 cars) and talk to the ex-president of my Local OCA club and he hopped up his 55 olds with a kit he bought on evel bay. The were 10 Olds that I counted at the show his being the oldest and my camera batteries were dead.

 

No less possible than with any other engine. How one goes about it, depends on his/her goal, budget, and choice of machine shops.

Offenhauser intake manifolds are among the parts that are still available.

Not Isky and not Engle. Blanks haven't been available for, at least, 30 years.

Some cam grinders will "regrind" a used core, to ones choice of profiles. Chet Herbert did the last three I used.

Norm

 

I got my car from EVEL BAY

I just wondered, what was out there,, Car runs pretty good as is, actually pretty impressive performance considering the age. May end up getting into at least the heads since I have broken studs in the exhaust holes and a big, leak. So I figured if I end up that far into the engine I might as well check everything out.

By ear and seat of the pants ,, I think she is in really good shape.

Tiny little carb though,, how many cfm is that thing anyway. Thanks for all the good info fellas

 

I used to have a set of heads for a 394 that had larger valves installed, and with a porting job on the intakes and exhaust ports. The heads looked like they had been professionally done, many years ago. They are now resting somewhere under my collapsed barn. You can still have that work done, and in fact there's a video on utube of someone installing larger valves in some heads. So many early Olds 303, 324, 371, and 394 engines were hopped up that I'm sure you could still find the parts. I don't recall after all these years, but would 371 or 394 heads bolt up to a 324 block ? If so, you'd have to cc the heads and block deck to work out the compression ratio, but the later heads certainly flow better. I know the block deck height was raised on the 371, and perhaps again on the 394, so intake manifolds don't interchange, but 394 manifolds can be milled down to the correct width for a 324. as long as the ports are made to match. Later 394 carburetors will flow a lot more than the early 4 barrels. You can have cams reground for more power , and exhaust headers can always be made if you have the patience. Just milling the heads for a higher compression ratio is worth some horsepower ( and a higher octane requirement). I suppose a centrifugal blower like a Paxton could be installed too, at some expense.

 

so, when are you inviting us over to your property to clean up the collapsed barn and recover your goodies? All it takes is a couple pounds of hamburger and couple kegs.

 

Hmmm...I'll consider it !

 

Since the procedures are no different than with any other engine, and parts are still available, any competent machine shop can handle it.

Physically, yes. Finding, or modifying, heads/head gaskets to make the water passages match, might be a problem.

'56 heads are more than adequate for street use, and they are a direct interchange.

Part of any quality head job.

CC the block deck?

On a 324, 371 heads will not flow much more than '56 heads.

By ⅛ inch.

And by ¼ inch.

Since they already fit, it would be much easier to use a '56 manifold, with a pair of '56 heads.

324 block will go ⅛” over (from 3⅞” to 4”) to use standard '57 pistons, for 346 CI and somewhere between 9.25 and 9.5:1 CR.


Norm

 

Ross racing in niles ohio, the 324 was the engine to have in the 50's people ran them in all sorts of racing from track to water in drag boats.