looking for some ideas and some trouble shooting opinions i just purchased the car in a trade for a rusted out 85 bronco...i have two problems that i have noticed a ticking noise and the oil/choke light wont go off other than that every thing works minus a few things like the back glove compartment and seat locks being broken. Couldnt pass the car up had a buick regal estate wagon and loved it till the 3.8 gave out.

 

Hmm... you mentioned that you had a Buick Estate Wagon. I thought those were based on the full sized Buick, not the Regal. My wife and I had a 90 Buick Estate Wagon. It had the Olds 307 in it. Your Olds Custom Cruiser is essentially the same car. You might start with doing a simple tune up. The ticking could be a stuck lifter. Try to run some Marvel Mystery Oil or Seafoam through it. Post pics please.

 

i will try to post pics soon as i figure out how to work the wifes digital camera.... plan on making it my car for driving back and forth to work and long trips wife has a 98 avenger just sits too low to the ground for me and not really comfortable with my being 6'4. I tried doing some trouble shooting on it today found a wire kinda freyed and some missing insulation on it going to try some tape on it for the time being to see if the light turns off.

What kinda of upgrades are available for the 307 dont have the cash right now to order a new motor for it. Just looking for simple stuff to help boost what seems to be an underpowered engine for the car

 

found a pic on the net this is exactly how mine looks mebbe a bit better paint

 

Weclome to the site!

After 1985, there really isn't any upgrades for the 307. You could put on Hedman headers (I forget the part number but they are shorty headers and for the 75 Cutlass) but that really isn't going to help you either.

You could find a 1981-1984 307 motor in the junkyard and pull the heads and mani off that, or just the 5A heads and an Edelbrock manifold. The 1985 and later heads will not port match 7A (0142) heads.

All that work and money is not worth it IMO. Just find an Olds 350 and drop that in place. Maybe the 350r (1977-1980) to keep emissions

 

I agree with Redog. The 307 is a pretty weak motor. Your best bet is to keep it in tune and running well. It will give you fair performance with the CCC Q-jet. You might consider putting dual exhaust on it with some performance mufflers. Then you would at least get a good tone from it.

 

well think i might price a good servicable 350 one that i wont have to completely rebuild to drop into her

 

All SBO's are externally the same from 64 to 90. That 307 can be swaped with anything like that.

I had a 1968 Olds 350 in my 1985 Delta 88 (Sedan version of your wagon) Dropped in place within an hour.

BBO's will drop in too, they are 2 inches taller and a little wider which makes the bay tight, but my 350 with the Edelbrock 7111 manifold fit nicely under the hood which is the same height as a 455 with a stock manifold Stock air cleaner will have to be replaced at that point, that won't fit

 

i have another question while trying to tighten up my alternator today i noticed something there are two brackets one the alternator is bolted into the other looks adjustable and the alternator is not bolted into....is it supposed to be bolted into this bracket as well or just the one? Btw drove it to work last night runs great cept for the squealing belt and the chime going nuts lol

 

 

 

 

fianlly figured it out lol

 

i dont think shes in too bad of shape...i was wondering though should i leave it stock height or would it look better on some low pros and aluminum wheels? And if i should leave the would grain or if i should repaint her and mebbe do some air brushed graphics on the hood......looking for ideas plz post with em

 

I like the look of the woodgrain, but do whatever you want. Wheels can always make a car look better. Put money into it if it is a fun project for you.

 

Check out my build thread in this section if you want some ideas. Niice car.

 

well figured out last night that the windshield wipers dont work hopefully just a fuse

 

next question though i was told that if i were to find a chevy 350 that they make adapter plates for them and it would allow me to bolt it to my current tranny is this true?

 

It would be quite difficult to swap in a Chevy 350. Your starter, distributor, etc. are all on the wrong side. Plus you would have to mate the heater hoses from the radiator to the new locations. It would be easier to find an Olds 350 and install it.

 

ok well checked the fuse on the wiper its good and they still dont work so i guess its junkyard stomping time this weekend mebbe i can find a few other servicable parts that i could use while i'm at it, not to mention that i think the heater core is bad to someone has intalled a shut off valve on the inlet hose
This is getting to be a headache lol little pesky stuff not working keeping me from getting onto the major stuff

 

You might be mistaking this for the vacuum actuated shut off to the heater core. Oldsmobile used this for the longest time. IT shuts off water flow to the heater core whenver you turn on your AC.

 

i dont think it is .... it has a shut off valve like a garden hose spigot tried opening it and letting the car run for bout an hour still no heat just cold air
you can see it in the pic under the hood doesnt show up real well but i'm pretty sure thats not factory

 

manged to track down a buck 350 that the guy spun a rod bearing in gonna see if i can talk him down to bout 300 or so seems everyone is snatching up those motors round these parts

 

A Buick 350 would be more difficult to install than an Oldsmobile 350. It would fit the transmission bell housing but might have different motor mount locations. A SBO shouldn't be that difficult to locate.

 

hmmm wasnt aware there was a difference i was wondering would a wiper motor and switch out of a regal work?

 

I wouldn't use a Buick you would run longer wires to the alternator, and the distributor just for one thing. A spun rod bearing you would replace the rod and get the crank turned. If you use a chevy 350 i would change the trans. too instead of using an adapter. A buick 350 with a spun rod bearing is worth a 100 bucks at most. I try to find a Olds motor keep Olds all Olds it will be worth it.

 

well i ran some marvels mystery oil through the motor today quieted it down quite a bit so i think i will just be patient and keep an eye out for an olds motor

 

Cool.

 

I see the **** you are talking about on the one hose, the other looks like a rigged "T" fitting for a water temp sending unit.

Go to the auto parts store and buy about 4 feet of the one hose and 2 feet of the other (I forget the sizes, I think one of them is 3/4 but don't quote me on that, you can bring a section of hose to the store with you and they'll measure it)

Throw the **** away and if that is a water sending unit, the hole on the back right corner of the manifold (above cyl 7) is a great place for a sending unit. Mine was about 2* hotter than the front, or so it seemed. The electric fans should have kicked on at 195*, but they kicked on at 197*

 

The plastic fitting on the outboard hose is an aftermarket cooling system flush fitting. Drain the radiator, unscrew the cap on that tee fitting, attach a garden hose, disconnect the lower radiator hose, and flush the cooling system.

I can't make out what the other thing is in the photo.

 

if your wipers dont work,your wiper switch on the column might be wore out,this is pretty common.
do your turn signals and windshield washer work?

 

turn signals yes washer no ... alternator bit the dust too so thats another fix it item

 

Did this happen at the same time. Have the alternator tested before replacing it. I would check to see if there are any other problems with any other device that takes power. You could have a problem with a bad fuse link. If this happens some things will work but others will not.

 

no i knew the alternator was on its last legs i could hear the bearings growling in it.... all good dont have the time to mess with it right now ne how its parked back in the barn till o.t. season at work ends will just order the parts and stick em in the back of it

 

i did however have a problem with the radio getting really low even with the volume turned all the way up all seemed to happen after i dug the lighter out of the dash and checked to see if it worked prolly not the reason though

 

hey besides the bronco i traded for the car was only worth about 250 bucks as rusted as it was so as far as i'm concerned i only have 250 into it and a bottle of marvels mystery oil

 

just an update replaced the alternator and power steering pump and slavaged a wiper switch out of a cutlass that a buddy was parting out.... but been sick the last week and havent gotten out in the rainy weather to do much more.... did figure out a paint scheme for it .... Ghost Busters lol. Thought it was pretty original myself

 

That is interesting.

 

how do u go about removing the woodgrain without ruining the paint underneath its peeling off pretty bad in some sections

 

You probably don't.