[jhein]

This video is a little annoying because it's really an ad for auto detailing products, but the car is really cool and does clean up very nicely. I just can't believe the guy sold it after being in the family for so long and he says he was brought home from the hospital in the car when he was born. I would have kept it. And if I was going to sell it, I would have cleaned it up myself and sold it to a car enthusiast, not those two bozos. I would also liked to have seen them get it running, but I guess that wouldn't help sell detailing products.

https://youtu.be/w6Zu9bEYFOQ

[400 4spd.]

I like that it has the infamous Oldsmobile 400 "big block" engine.

['ol Pinion head]

Originally Posted by 400 4spd.

I like that it has the infamous Oldsmobile 400 "big block" engine.

Never been a fan of the '68 & 69 Olds 400's. Olds engineers coming up with that terd to replace the '65-67 Olds 400, just a huge disappointment.

[RocktimusPryme]

Im always amazed at how much you can make old paint shine with minimal effort.

I would probably happily trade the 76ish Olds 455 someone put in my Catalina for that late 60s era 400 even if it was a disappointment.

How can an engine with 455 cubic inches not be able to spin tires? Talk about a disappointment.

[geeteeohguy]

Originally Posted by RocktimusPryme

Im always amazed at how much you can make old paint shine with minimal effort.

I would probably happily trade the 76ish Olds 455 someone put in my Catalina for that late 60s era 400 even if it was a disappointment.

How can an engine with 455 cubic inches not be able to spin tires? Talk about a disappointment.

Why I never liked two stage or clearcoat paint. The paint on my GTO's is single stage and still looks good decades later...the '65 was painted in 1985 and the '67 in 1993.
As for the cars, most of us here see them as members of the family and are emotionally attached to them. I'm '62 and have been making memories in both of mine since I was 21-22 years old.

[Scarebird]

When I was into Olds' I found the 350 the best of the lot; not the low end grunt of the 455 but revs quite nice with good power and mileage.

The 65-67 400's are almost non-existent along with the 425's and the late 400's had the worse of all engines.

[Lightfoot]

Originally Posted by jhein

I just can't believe the guy sold it after being in the family for so long and he says he was brought home from the hospital in the car when he was born. I would have kept it. And if I was going to sell it, I would have cleaned it up myself...

That he was too lazy to take the back seat out to look for the build sheet before he sold it (even though he knew that's where it might be) says something about the guy.

[RocktimusPryme]

Originally Posted by Scarebird

When I was into Olds' I found the 350 the best of the lot; not the low end grunt of the 455 but revs quite nice with good power and mileage.

The 65-67 400's are almost non-existent along with the 425's and the late 400's had the worse of all engines.

Isn’t the rocket 350 based on SBC architecture? I seem to remember an old Hot Rod article saying that the rocket 350 was essentially a tall deck SBC.

If so that makes sense why it would be a solid motor.

[mgarblik]

Originally Posted by RocktimusPryme

Isn’t the rocket 350 based on SBC architecture? I seem to remember an old Hot Rod article saying that the rocket 350 was essentially a tall deck SBC.

If so that makes sense why it would be a solid motor.

Each of the 5 GM divisions had completely different V-8 engine platforms. They were extremely proud of each of their creations and it is IMO, what made GM a special car building corporation. Oldsmobile, Buick, Chevrolet, and Pontiac all had a 350. They were so very different in the way they ran, idled, sounded, felt to the driver. It was the primary reason many car buyers bought a particular GM car. Many people chose the engine first, then had a car built around it. Oldsmobile V-8's shared some components among their divisions various engines, but nothing with the other divisions other than possibly a few fasteners, a thermostat, or a freeze plug.

[Jay S]

Thanks for posting that, it sure looked like a cool and rare car. I didn’t catch the part were the kid sold the car? I thought he hired those guys to clean the car up and was thinking of possibly selling it? I fast forwarded quite a bit though, maybe I missed that part. It really cleaned up nice. I watch those videos and get frustrated realizing what a big mistake it was to leave a lot of my classic cars stored outside many years!

The bore, stroke and head combo on the 68 and 69 400 was similar to what people do these days putting a 4.25” crank in a 350 Pontiac and big valve D port heads. Seems like an odd step backwards from the almost square bore and stroke of the 67 400 from Olds, but it must have made sense to someone at Olds, which was probably in the accounting department!

X2 with what Mike mentioned. There are a ton of parts that interchange with all the 68 and up V8 Oldsmobiles, I can’t think of much that is similar to any other GM platform. A lot like Pontiac in that regard, but with more variations in bore and strokes, deck heights,ect.. Olds 455 heads, or 400 heads bolt on a 350. All kinds of stuff interchanges though on 68 and later Olds V8s, even diesels. Other than similar bore and stroke to a 350 SBC the 350 Olds isn’t any closer to a 350 SBC than a 455.

I have never been around the 400 like that 69 442. That era 400 shared a lot of stuff with the 455, just had a really small bore. I have been pleased with the 350 Olds’s combos I have been around, would rather have a 455 though. .

[RocktimusPryme]

I’m remembering an article I read when I was in high school so it’s very possible I’m full of it. Though FWIW I wasn’t talking about parts interchanging, just Olds adopt design ideas that worked with the sbc.

I could be mixing up the article about using Olds diesel blocks for strokers too from the same time frame. I just specifically remember a line about being, “a 350 with a taller deck height”.

[jhein]

Originally Posted by Jay S

Thanks for posting that, it sure looked like a cool and rare car. I didn’t catch the part were the kid sold the car? I thought he hired those guys to clean the car up and was thinking of possibly selling it? I fast forwarded quite a bit though, maybe I missed that part.

That actually makes more sense to me. I did fast forward a fair amount too. I'll have to watch it again. Maybe I got it wrong??

[77 TRASHCAN]

Originally Posted by RocktimusPryme

Isn’t the rocket 350 based on SBC architecture? I seem to remember an old Hot Rod article saying that the rocket 350 was essentially a tall deck SBC.

If so that makes sense why it would be a solid motor.

Several GM engines had the same bore spacing, this may be what they were talking about. Pontiacs had same bore spacing as Olds, I think. If my fellow Pontiac enthusiast were still alive, he could tell me all I'd need to know.
Geez, I didn't know Olds was doing such things to that 400.
Olds did something, I thought was good, late in the game. The punched the 350 out to the much maligned 403 engine. With its windowed mains, it was only going to he h old for every day transportation. BUT , as Scarebird mentioned, a very good engine. They sure had their own sound.

If any of you that fooled with the Olds stuff. I was wondering about the Olds rocker arm pedestals. Wondering if they were good for much performance?

[Jay S]

Originally Posted by 77 TRASHCAN

Several GM engines had the same bore spacing, this may be what they were talking about. Pontiacs had same bore spacing as Olds, I think. If my fellow Pontiac enthusiast were still alive, he could tell me all I'd need to know.
Geez, I didn't know Olds was doing such things to that 400.
Olds did something, I thought was good, late in the game. The punched the 350 out to the much maligned 403 engine. With its windowed mains, it was only going to he h old for every day transportation. BUT , as Scarebird mentioned, a very good engine. They sure had their own sound.

If any of you that fooled with the Olds stuff. I was wondering about the Olds rocker arm pedestals. Wondering if they were good for much performance?

The stock set up with the aluminum holds downs held of fine to just over .5” lift. There use to be steel hold downs you could buy to replace the factory units. The most common performance rocker arm upgrade is guide plates and Ford small block rockers.

I don’t know if Olds engineering payed much attention to a 350 SBC when they developed the 350 Olds, I think it was Olds doing their own thing. The Olds 350 came out the same year as that small bore 400. IRC the 350 olds came out the same year as the 350 SBC (mainly 68, with a few 350 SBC’s in 67). Mondello’s have done some interesting stuff over the years with the 403. I recall one widowed 403 they stroked, it had a cut down stroker crank with Honda RJ’s and a very elaborate main girdle, I think it was up around 900 HP. If they would have started with the 403 back in the late 60s with a decent block and heads, then added the bigger 4.25” stroke it would have been quite an engine. They sure had wild variations in their engine design’s with different deck heights, bore and strokes for the same basic engine platform.

[Greg Reid]

I watched it all and the owner only mentioned thinking about selling it to get an excavator early in the clip. The subject never came up again.

[OCMDGTO]

Really cool seeing them bring that car back to life, I love the 442s

[Greg Reid]

Since they had to drag it out of the barn it would have been nice if they had showed us the car again after they got it running and moving under its own power, assuming they got it running.

[Tom Vaught]

Brother-in-Laws 65 Olds 442 was one of the best out there with the 66 Ram Air Cars being a very close second (with the Tri-Power intake system) IMO. No love for the later engines/bodies.

Tom V.

[Scarebird]

The 330/350/403/307 Olds were one group, the 400/400/425/455 another - the main difference was the bigger engines had a 0,600" taller deck. Stroking the small blocks is not easy nor IMO really desired as their strength was easy revving with large bores and valves.

[Lightfoot]

I'm also guilty of assuming the YouTube channel who posted the video actually purchased the 442. Possibly they do a low rate (or free) detailing to promote their business? They are making enough from the monitized (sp) videos to cover their overhead on retrieving the subject vehicles.

Scarebird, which group does the 260 fall in? I know it has a real small bore, but maybe the same stroke as the 350?