THE oldsmobile rocket 303 324 371 394 post to end all other posts, (lasalle related )

The sixties were the days to be a young Hot Rodder. Inexpensive speed equipment and standard shift parts like transmissions, bell housings, flywheels, clutches and gears were readily available from dealers parts departments for late fifties and sixties cars. Finding that stuff today is like finding a needle in a haystack.

 

Well, today I am that just out of(25 years ago) high school kid with the keys to a machine shop....

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Call Tony @ Ross racing engines, he’ll have whatever parts you need.


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I'm running an Isky cam in my 324 and am happy with the results. I'm not sure if Tony turns his own cams or if he just stocks other peoples but if you get into a turned down cam you may need to play with your pushrod length. That's no big deal and Tony at Ross can handle it, but it does add an added layer of complexity. I went with an Isky cam, new lifters and stock pushrods. Maybe most importantly it sounds pretty dang nice!

 

@gonzo , is this Isky cam you have a currently available grind or an old one you found? Do you have any specs you could post on it?

 

I bought the cam with a stalled engine rebuild project, so it was new old stock. I'm not 100% sure on the vintage but I think it was bought new from Isky in the mid 90s. I'm pretty sure they would grind you one or they might have it on the shelf. If not others make cams for that motor.
Here are the specs on mine.
Isky Z360Hyd Cam
.390 Lift
248 Deg Duration,
194 Deg duration at .050 lifter rise
112 degree lobe center.

 

My 324 has a NOS Crower hyd made for the early 303 that ran 1.5 rockers, and if I had run 1.8 rockers, I would have only had .007 valve-to-piston clearance. I had several sets of vintage adjustable rockers in both 1.5 and 1.8, so I went with the proper 1.5 for this cam...and also swapped to the stock early 303 1.5 rocker shaft stands that are required.

I originally had a lot more lope than your video when I had the timing initial at around 8BTC, so I set more advanced by ear. Back then I had a partially plugged radiator and it would run hotter than an thick wall early Olds should, and doing the advance by ear, that cooled it right down.

 

Thanks Gonzo. I figured so. Just curious if they still had blanks for our cams. Appreciate you posting the specs. Always interesting to see what guys are running.

 

Hi! I recently bought a 1953 303 with adjustable Mc Gurk rockers, hydraulic lifters and an unknown cam marked 295 / 295 in the rear. I haven’t tore deep down in it, I have only removed the heads and valley cover yet. Looking to identify the camshaft / figure out the maker, but I haven’t come up with anything yet… somebody recognize this? Could it possibly be a Lunati or an Ultradyne grind? Thanks guys


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please disregard..

 

Sorry the one I just sold was marked M5 on the rear. Gary

 

Of course it was!
With bolt bolt holes and button up front there is no room for a mark
Don't know what I was thinking

 

I went and dug out my last three early Olds race cams,
Engle and Wolverine had no marks, Isky is stamped at rear end surface..

 

The 3 new Howards I have are marked on the rear also. Two M4S and one M4FH, Gary

 

Is there a commonly available oil dipstick for another Olds or other make engine that fits the 324 Olds Rocket V8? My stock tube is loose in the block and too rusted for reuse.

 

I need one too. Been one 303 on Ebay but too much at $45 + shipping

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I pulled a few from my pile,
They are all essentially the same, 303, 324, 371 and 394.
The only real difference is the '49 and possibly the '50 were wire, all the rest are typical flat style.
The wire is about 1/2" shorter overall
16-1/4" top of tube to full on the wire 303
16" top of tube to full on all the rest.
The one loose tube I found is 13" overall with 8-5/8" sticking out measured from block surface.
I only found the one loose tube but three in blocks, all project the same 8-5/8"

 

I have a question. The distributor in my 324 has what seems to me like excessive up and down play in it, and I'm wondering if it needs some shims to take it out. I've dug deep into my library of old Chilton's manuals, and can't find any specs on this anywhere. Do any of you guys have any suggestions and/or specs?

 

A little end play is ok but there should be no side to side play.
How much play does it actually have?
Is the spring washer in place between gear and body?
Does it look like it's been apart before?

 

You don't shim an Olds for end play like you do a Chevy. The distributor is made to run against a wear surface on the end of the gear. The rotation and cut of the gear pulls it down. If you shim it close with it out of the car it will tighten up when you clamp it down into the block. Only worry about side play. Are you seeing excessive play when the distributor is on the bench or when it's in the car?

 

Paul, I was hoping to hear from you...no, there is not a spring washer there, and no, it's never been apart. I'm going to assume that the spring probably laying in the pan somewhere! There is no 'slop' in the bushings. The rest of the distributor feels nice and tight.

Jebbesen, thanks for the info. The excessive up an down movement prompted me to pull it in the first place, and it sounds like there is something missing from it.

Is there a good source for parts for it? Sounds like I need to replace the missing shaft spring.

 

Yours probably never had the spring washer, I have at least one window style Delco without it.

 

Paul, hate to ask, but do you possibly have pics of of both? There is evidence of something that was there, which was why I was thinking it needed shims. Thanks again for the info.

 

Couple quick snapshots of what was handy,
The one with the gear and no washers is out of a 394
The one with washers and no gear is out of a 303

 

Thanks, Paul! That does help a ton. Mine looks exactly like the 394 one, so I'm going to put it back together without the spring washer. Near as I can figure, my motor has the #8 heads, so my assumption is it's a 324 (1955?). The numbers on the pad on the block are virtually unreadable. Going to do a cam swap, timing chain, and have the heads freshened up. Really glad this thread is here, I've been going back and making a list of small upgrades for it...like the removal of the draft tube and the elimination of the water tubes at the back of the block. The motor is in my '27 T roadster, so no heater!

 

Here's a pic of the 1956 324 one I just rebuilt. I milled the stake off the rivet so I could pull the shaft out. The new rivet is in the gear in this picture that's why the zip tie is there, just so it didn't fall out when I ran it on the dist mach. After I was done I peened it over. Wanted to make sure everything was happy before putting it in permanently. Some guys use a roll pin. I made a new rivet on the lathe. The roll pin probably would work fine but makes me nervous about it falling out. You can see how much clearance mine has. I have a couple other Olds ones that are similar. I'd honestly just run it. Mine worried me too till I found some Olds guys on another forum discussing it. One guy had shimmed his up nice and close and basically destroyed it when he put it in the engine.

 

Since we are talking distributors I wanted to share an idea I'm trying on mine. My vac advance can was shot and I thought I'd try a Crane adjustable unit. They adjust very easily but don't have to limit stops in the same place as the original can. By cutting up the original one and stacking the bracket on top of the new adjustable one I have curve adjustment with factory max advance. It all works great. Found out I had to trim the original one slightly for cap clearance. May also change the advance springs in the future but right now I set it to stock advance specs per the 56 manual



Another mod I made was to add an oil wick bracket to the points advance plate. The Bluestreak points incorporate a wick but they have a plastic rub block. I prefer the phenolic rub block that the Napa Echlin points have. However they eliminate the wick. When I saw this Kasasaki wick holder I decided my problems were solved.

I also added a mechanical advance weight stop screw like Bubba does to his flathead distributors. Not sure this was necessary but figured now was the time since it was all apart.

.
Finished it up with a Summit Racing cap and rotor. Very nice parts with brass contacts. I'd put them on par with the old Mallory stuff.

 

Great suggestions, Jebbesen. So glad to be able to connect with this type of knowledge here.

 

I’ve got a 303 and a 324 distributor. Which is best to run in my 303?


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Just use the one that's in the best shape and make sure your vacuum advance works.