Technical 303 Olds engine build. A few questions

I have a few questions on assembling a 303 Olds. When installing the two oil galley plugs on either side of the cam at the front of the block, do you use some type of sealer or thread locker on the threads. The threads are kinda coarse, and I'm wondering how these plugs will keep the oil from leaking passed. Should the plugs have a gasket washer behind the head to seal against the block.

Is this the correct way for the cam button to be installed.

Can anyone tell me where these gaskets are used on this motor. I would really like to know where the six small washer like gaskets and the cork one go.

 

Paging @Paul to the front office

 

1. Should be fine. You are just plugging one end of the oil galley, and the other is a controlled leak. More important is to not forget the plug in the back of the driver side, that also has a hole in it for the distributor drive gear.

2. Cam button is the same way I installed mine. Don’t lose it because they aren’t repopped.

3. The small washer looking ones back up bolt heads, two for the valley cover and 4 for the valve cover bolts. The one bigger ring I believe is for the air horn on a 2gc carb, the smaller ones I’m not so sure. I am going off an open set I have but I lost a few because it opened years ago and they fell out.. so I bought a second set. I don’t 100% remember what I used, and whats actually extra. I have 55 324.

 

yes, what oldsmobum said:

just snug the two plugs up tight, no washers or sealant.

four of the six are for valve cover bolts, the other two of the six are for the valley cover bolts.

cork gasket goes under sediment bowl on fuel pump

 

Makes sense. I opted for the 59’ Carter unit without the vacuum pump so that must be why I have one left over.

 

Now I'm worried I may have forgotten to install the plug that oils the distributor gear. I remember seeing something mentioned about a special oil plug at the rear of the block when I was disassembling the motor. I installed new threaded brass plugs at the rear of the block. One was a 1/2" npt plug and the other on the drivers side was 1/4" npt without a hole, you can see it in the photo just above the crank flange. Is this the plug you mentioned, or is the other plug with the hole installed on the inside of the block.
I threw the original plugs in my scrap metal bucket, so I'll be digging through that tomorrow to see if I can find them and see if one has a hole in it.

 

I made a thread regarding this a few months ago… I felt like the available information was pretty cryptic, and the 1955 service manual doesn’t mention them at all.

https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/early-olds-324-oil-plugs.1323879/

 

Thanks for the link to your post, now I understand where the plug that oils the distributor gear is located. I'll have to take a closer look at my motor tomorrow, I may have to remove the soft plug at the back of the block and see if that plug is in there. Thanks

 

Also if the valley pan is off of the motor you can install the distributor gear plug with a stubby Allen wrench.
I should note that Tony at Ross racing told me the oil hole is not necessary- SBC’s don’t have one as an example. I would at least install a plug because I can imagine you would have no oil pressure to your rockers without one.

 

See reply above. Also if you have a little inspection mirror that would also reveal the presence of the plug. There is about and inch or so of clearance between the face of the oil galley and the “china wall” of the block.

 

Well I dodged a bullet, the plug was missing. Thanks to Oldsmobum for reminding me to take a closer look, this could have been a disaster when the motor was first started.
It has been a few years since I first took the motor apart and even though I bagged and labeled all the parts and hardware I guess I forgot about that hidden plug.
I bought a 3/8" brass plug and drilled a .040" hole in it. I pulled the cam out and was able to reach in from the valley cover opening and install it. A quick and easy fix to a potential disaster.
Here you can see it installed with the aid of an inspection mirror.

 

Here is another where does this go question. The rear main seal kit came with these two rectangular cork pieces.

My best guess is that they go on either side of the rear main cap, is this correct.

 

Yes, that is correct. Use a dab of sealer on them and you are good to go.

 

Those little cork pieces are critical if you don't want oil pouring out the end of the sump. Ask me how I know LOL.

 

I'm getting ready to install the cylinder heads and I want to ask to be sure, do any of the head bolts thread into the water jacket. As far as I can tell by looking into the bolt holes non of them seem to go into the water jacket. Just want to hear from anyone who has experience assembling these engines to be sure.
Thanks

 

I want to block off the exhaust crossover passage to the intake manifold. The intake gasket set I have does not have a hole at the crossover passage. Is this enough to block the exhaust gasses, I wonder if the gasket material will stand up to the heat.
I was thinking about putting a thin piece of metal like from a beer can between the cylinder head and gasket to act like a heat shield.
What do you guys think.
Thanks

 

A piece of .010 thick stainless will last a lot longer than aluminum...

 

I like to block just one side. The side opposite heat stove.
The paint usually holds up great but the carb still gets a little heat which ain't a bad thing.

 

I don’t think so. One way to see is to stick something down the hole to check if it is blind or goes through, such as a screwdriver or drill bit. If it stops on the bottom of the threaded hole, it likely doesn’t go through. If it goes on much deeper, you’re into a jacket.

 

In the roughly 70 years I have been working on automobiles, I have made a number of not-so-smart decisions.

One of the top three DUMBEST mistakes I ever made was blocking the heat crossover on a high performance street engine. Even with a manual transmission, I finally had to bandaid the mistake by installing a carburetor with a manual choke. By applying about 1/2 choke at EVERY stoplight and stop sign for the first 30 minutes of city driving, I was able to keep the engine from stalling. After 30 minutes or so, when there was sufficient heat in the engine, it idles quite well at 850 RPM without the choke.

But it is a Pontiac engine, not an Oldsmobile.

Jon

 

I would prefer to use stainless, but I don't have any thin sheets. I'll check to see what McMaster-Carr has.

 

I don't disagree with you on how important it is to have the heat crossover open on a daily driver used in all types of weather. This engine is going in a hot rod that I will only be driving during the warmer months,. I will have a manual choke on the center carb.
I blocked the crossover on the 454 big block in my 55 Chevy, I have to let the engine idle for a few minutes until the water temp reaches 150 before I can drive without it stalling, but after that it runs fine. I'll probably have to do something similar with the Olds.

 

With the manual choke, and driving only in warm weather; should be fine after a few minutes. Your camshaft is probably less radical than mine. My issue would probably be less, although still present, with a milder camshaft.

Jon

 

That's where I got mine.