My Sons car getting a new motor.

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The engine builder you used must be compulsive about getting it right. One of the magazines just fixed a guy's hi performance Olds engine. What they found was the main caps liked to walk after repeated high rpm cycles.
 
Yeah, Hot rod just did an olds engine..

Part of the Hot Rod to the rescue articles...build the engine, did some dyno runs and then tore it down to find problems in the main bearings....had to put a stud girdle on it to stop them from moving around....FYI of course..good article.. http://www.hotrod.com/how-to/engine/1506-hot-rod-to-the-rescue-oldsmobile-build/
Hope this time it's the charm....
 
Yesterday the last pieces for the motor arrived, so Dan and I got it installed. We got the heads on, put in the lifters and valve train, and then put a drill on the oil shaft to prelube it. We got 40 psi on the drill and good oil to the lifters, but none up to the rockers.

I called the engine guy today and he said not to worry, sometimes the motor has to be running to do that. We are also running thicker oil than ever before (Lucas Hot Rod/Classic Car oil 20/50) so that is probably one reason.

One word of advice, NEVER remove a lifter and try to turn the oil pump with a drill. Oil shot 6 feet in the air, after hitting Dan square in the eye ! :eek: I never knew oil could shoot out of a lifter bore with than much force !

Today we are going to install the intake, carbs, and all the other stuff, and then Dan is going to start working on a new exhaust system. He has had it with open headers (really magnified with a roadster top up) and he is building an undercar exhaust system to exit behind the cab. Then he can send it all out for coating.

Can't wait to hear this new motor run.

Don
 
Love those BB Olds. Would love to hear that thing run. Hope this one works out super!


Back in the day there was a guy named Terry Thach that worked at the local Olds dealership..Barton Olds.

He was very successful with 442's and cutlass'. He was very good. Unfortunately he went blind in one eye and had to quit racing, couldn't see the tree on the side he was blind.
 

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We are going to hold off firing it up until he gets his new exhaust system built and coated. He never liked the open headers, especially since the car has a top on it which makes the sound even more pronounced. He is going to cap the headers and run pipes to behind the cab. But I will post a video when that day comes (hopefully, within a month........the coating company will take about two weeks and two weeks for him to build the system)

But on a lighter note, I got my insurance done on the 27 yesterday and this morning I went to the tax office and got my plates. I turned them in a year ago when I tore down the 27, and haven't driven the car since then. Today I am going to get it out of the shop and go for a little spin. :D:D

Don
 
Thanks, CD. I am anxious to see how different the car is with 3.70 gears vs the 4.30's I had been running. Should be much better on the highway. I also had a new radiator built, so it should be a little cooler too.

Don
 
I got my plates today and got the 27 out for the first time in a year. It felt great and the new gears are so much more pleasant. It poured and after it stopped raining I went for a drive and couldn't get on it because it kept going sideways with anything but the slightest pressure on the gas. The roads were just too wet.

My new radiator seems to help too because it ran at about 150, so I may have to put a sender on the engine to kick the fan on and off.

Feels good to have the old girl back on the road ! :D:D

Don
 
Yep, I'm up early this morning, going to go get it and get some breakfast and run some errands in it. It is supposed to rain a lot this afternoon again, so I want to get some dry miles on it before that happens.

Don
 
Got out this morning before the rain hit. Finally got some dry pavement so I could wind it out a little. Such a huge difference from the 4.30 gears.....1st gear used to be useless but now I can wind it out further before having to shift and it is actually quicker off the line. The tires used to spin too easy before, but now it just goes.

Felt great to be driving it again.

Don
 
Got out this morning before the rain hit. Finally got some dry pavement so I could wind it out a little. Such a huge difference from the 4.30 gears.....1st gear used to be useless but now I can wind it out further before having to shift and it is actually quicker off the line. The tires used to spin too easy before, but now it just goes.

Felt great to be driving it again.

Don,
I went from a 4.10 to a 3.73 in the Chevelle & it was SO much better all around... especially on the highway! Now that I live in the boonies I'm considering slipping in something closer to 3.25,

Glad you got her back on the raod... always a great feeling!!! [cl

BoB
 
You guys are right. When I built the new 331 stroker, I figured some deep gears would make it really fun and get me into the power band of the new cam. I did like the gears around town, but every 1000 rpms only got me 20 mph, so I was taching 3500 at 70 on the interstate.

What surprised me the most about these new gears is that the car actually leaves a light quicker. It seems like every revolution moves me further along. My Son is running 2.73's in his T bucket and when I would follow him it was hard to keep up from a light, I really had to get my foot into it.

The other upside is that the car is better in the rain. With the deeper gears I couldn't move, even in 3rd gear, the car just wanted to spin the tires. It still has somewhat that tendency, but not as pronounced.

Don
 
Gears in the 200's are great, when you have the torque to pull them.
3.50 is what I had and went to 2.75's in the 33 and love them.
 
Gearing makes all the difference in the world. I had 273s in my 37 Ford slantback with a 350 350 combination (had an rv cam). Got 21mpg on the road and you could light up the tires all day long. I used to drive from Louisville to Ft Myers and back for less than 100$. Man those were the days!
 

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