Another Stupid FNG Oldmobile Question

I just got 51 Olds 98, its all original, and the ole' 303 is locked up. So as much I want to drive the car ASAP I'm not going the SBC route. Not that theres anything wrong with that. I want to keep it all Oldsmobile, so I found a 455 with 0 miles for a good price. It was rebuilt 20 years ago and has been stored in a garage ever since. So the question is has anybody ever done this swap? What transmission should I be looking for, a 400THM??? I want to do this with out doing alot of modifiying to my OG car. Any help will be greatly appreciated.

THANKS FOR YOUR HELP,
Brandon

 

did put a 455 Buick in a 50 Chev sdn once...was a piece of cake...400 trans that was behind it, made a nice swap...rear dump stock manifolds.... Also had a 52 Olds in 80s that had sat for about 3-4 years and had siezed up ( believe I washed the cyl walls pretty badly trying to start it,flooded gas and gave up...parked, stored ) Tried to start it again after that many years..squirted oil,WD 40, ATF...etc...12 volted, and DANG...she broke loose and started...cleaned the poppet valves in the fuel pump and engine ran good but did smoke some from probably damaged rings....drove it for a couple years and sold it...Anyway good luck with your 98 whichever way you go! Randy

 

Another 303 would be faster than a swap, but I am putting a 455/th400 olds in my 53 chevy right now. It is completely different, and requires alot of measuring cutting and fab work.

 

Yea you'd be doing it the easy way if you used another 303, 324 or 371 in there. I think they'll all bolt up to that ****** except the 59 and up 371.

All that said... if the ****** is good??

 

Thanks for the help everybody! My original idea was to keep it a 303 either rebuilding the top half if the bottom wasnt' locked up or finding a 303, 324, or 371 . But I havent had any luck finding a replacement. I took off the top end and oiled the cylinder walls with Marvels and WD-40 and PB Blaster and have had no luck in turning it. I have only found 2 places that sell a rebuild kit and its just to much money! So the 455 sounded good if alls I needed was a ******, drive shaft, and the right exhaust setup... But you never know I guess. Im not sure if the ****** is good or not. I have heard great things about the 303 and hydromatic but a rebuild looks to costly on my budget. I dont mind a little fab work. I need to find some kind of motor mount setup that might work that I can imitate.

Thanks Again, Brandon

 

So I have found a running 1973 455 Buick with a 400 transmission with 80,000 miles. Is the Olds 455 and Buick 455 the same?
Thanks, Brandon

 

No, The Olds and Buick are different engines with the same cubes. However, the rear of the block, bellhousing bolt pattern, are the same, so you can use the same TH400 on either engine.

Ray

 

See my post in this thread, a 51 98 shouldn't be much different.
http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=386909

 

Thanks again, I thought the 455 Pontiac, Buick and Olds were all the same. Did you use rear exiting headers too?

 

Hell, the Buick 350 and 455 aren't even the same. IIRC the Buick has the oil filter sticking off the side of the front cover in a goofy place, may cause some clearance issues, measure carefully. Olds 455 is fairly wide, but a set of older Toronado manifolds should help get around the steering if they don't stick out too far.

Edit: Isn't this a hot rod board? Keeping the 303 is like restoring it.

 

Rebuild the 303..........it will be cheaper in the long run........plus it will be right........
the 455 will need rebuilt soon,because of setting 20 years and the you will have twice the money in the project.

 

Thanks again, Im just stumped on what to do. Is the Buick a front sump? If so that may pose a problem too... May be I will go SBC after all. Hehehe

 

If you decide to go sbc maybe these pictures will help you out... I'm in the process of installing a ZZ4..........

 

There are a few really good threads on the HAMB regarding freeing a stuck engine. These old Rockets are hard to kill. Search and read. I like Marvel Mystery oil, a little patience and a long breaker bar. The Hydro will probably work again too. It'll leak like hell, though. Like I said, there's lots of good stuff for the Olds guys here.

 

No, the Buick is rear sump, but the distributor is in the front and seems to me both the 350 and 455 are peculiar in that the oil pump and filter are also up front.

The Olds 455 if clean and not rusted is probably the way to go, unless you don't have confindence in yourself in taking it apart, going through it, and putting it back together. It all depends on how it's been stored.

 

I have read a few "FREEING A STUCK MOTOR" type threads and I also like the Marvels Oil have been around it since I was a little kid. As long as it is sitting in the car I will keep trying it. I belivev its only 1 rusted cylinder so I wouldn't think it would be this hard. I am turning on it with a 2' long 2" round pipe. Somebody told me about some stuff called Aero Croil S/P???.

I also just found a 1968 350 Rocket w/ a 400 turbo, out of a 68' Delta 88 convertible. It has 75,000 miles. Now did the 350 Rocket really come with a 400 turbo?
Thanks, Brandon

 

Is it stuck just fom sitting or did water get into it .Does it need a full rebuild or just honing ,rebearing and a gasket kit ..........

 

If you want to get some good info on this go to www.cl***icoldsmobile.com
They have all the info you'll need. It is a site similar to this.
.

 

You might check out www.cl***icoldsmobile.com They have a very good tech site. You can find all the info you need.

 

"I also just found a 1968 350 Rocket w/ a 400 turbo, out of a 68' Delta 88 convertible. It has 75,000 miles. Now did the 350 Rocket really come with a 400 turbo?"

It did in a 88. All late 60's-mid 70s 88s had th400s, regardless of engine.
I think the easy way is a running 324 or 303 swap, a 455/425/350 swap is more fab work but would give you a more common trans.
The sbc is a **** idea (and overdone!)

 

I stuffed the 455 engine, th400 trans, radiator, some wiring harness, and anything else that would swap across. From a 75 Cutl*** into my 56.
Find a driving parts donor and steal all of it, you never know what will come in handy

 

I have a 52 rocket that I've been playing with. Talked to a guy who said the 394 bolted right into his 51 coupe using the stock ****** and motor mounts. I picked up a 394 with attached hydro, but havn't tried the swap yet. Might be worth checking--they are supposed to be an awesome motor.

 

It had water on top of 1 piston. With about 3/4" of cylinder wall sticking out above the piston. It is rusted pretty bad.


I joined cl***isolds a few days ago I have read alot but hadnt posted yet.

I figured it was possible for it to have a 400 beings as there such big cars. Just wasnt sure if it was right.

 

I have though about buying a whole running car, but hadn't done to much looking for one. I will keep my eyes peeled for just about anything Oldsmobile.

Now I know everybody love pics so heres some new ones from today!!!!!

 

Don't friggin spend thousands of extra dollars just to please some guy who thinks you have an unlimited budget to rebuild the 303 if you don't actually have the money free to spend.

I've run who knows how many 350 R's since I bought a 69 Cutl*** S with one in Dec 68 when I got back from Viet Nam. The 455 has a taller deck than the 350 and takes up a bit more room but usually not that much. Either would make that Olds walk and talk on the freeway and be dead nuts reliable.

The 350, 400 and 455 Buicks are nice runners but the oil filter location makes them a pain to put in most anything without hacking the crossmember. I had a 350 Buick in my 51 Merc before I put the 350 R (Olds) in it.

 

Thanks Mr48Chevy, I have got to just keep my ear to the ground to find something....

 

Check out the transmission too - the whole driveline, in fact - when making your 'repair or replace' decision. If the ****** is also bad, then swapping motor & trans may be more time- and cost-effective.

 

Or the wd-40. The stuff is hell on cylinder walls the rings very seldom seal after a dose of that or anything else that has teflon in it.

Never the less it sounds like you got a real good handle on the engine swap. You have done the basic swap they isn't a lot of difference in the engine bay of the olds and the chebby.

 

The olds oil filter is hanging off the side, in the back, and may require surgery on the firewall support to clear. Granted the cars are not exactly the same, you can see where interference is. just behind the magnetic tray, I cut quite a bit away.