BUILD THREAD 1986 Oldsmobile 442 Build

[RunAwayNJ]

Picked up my newly rebuilt 200R4 transmission from Xtreme Drivetain today - looks great! Anthony the builder let me know that it had been rebuilt before, but not done correctly which it why I was having so much trouble. Not it looks good and should shift even better.

 

[RunAwayNJ]

Well the engine is finally out of the Olds! Now time to finish putting together the new one and dropping that and the new transmission in.



And more good news! We bought a house last week, plan to move in for August. Has a nice 2 car climate controlled garage for the Olds to live in!

 

[RunAwayNJ]

The engine build continues! While it may seem to be taking longer than it should, it's really not so bad. For one I asked the shop not to put peoples main cars aside for mine. I don't need it to go to work. And we keep coming up with new interesting thoughts to make a better build. The shop suggested, and I agree, that we should do fuel injection. I don't know if anyone has done that or gotten a kit or parts from Jegs, but any input would be helpful. Other than that, the engine is going together and should be ready to get back into the car in about a week or so. Then the exhaust and time for a test run! Should have it back by mid-late June which is fine by me. I think sometimes we watch these shows on TV and get unrealistic expectations as to how long a build, done right, should take. I'd prefer them to take their time, do it right, and make it look good rather than a rush job just to get it done with questionable results. I am really happy with what they've gotten done!

 

[olds307 and 403]

The Holley Terminator should be able to control with your current distributor. Is the motor a bone stock rebuild with the stock exhaust? More compression, porting bigger valves and even a better Y pipe would help power.

 

[RunAwayNJ]

Looks like fuel injection was a pipe dream. To do it right would have added roughly $3k to the build and my budget would be blown. We are sticking instead with an Edelbrock carb, new intake, new distributor ect... New dual exhaust setup with Magnaflows and we should be good. Things are starting to take shape now!

 

[olds307 and 403]

Do not use an Edelbrock carb, I repeat, DO NOT USE AN EDELBROCK CARB! Olds V8 guys almost never get them running right. Either get a 625 cfm Street Demon with a tuning kit or a custom tuned 800 cfm Qjet with a quality HEI distributor, your current one won't work. Your CCC carb is a 800 cfm with a better calibration, even get it rebuilt by a Qjet expert. Add quality NGK plugs, quality wires, cap, rotor and a Supercoil and you are good to go.

 

[L92 OLDS]

Do not use an Edelbrock carb, I repeat, DO NOT USE AN EDELBROCK CARB! Olds V8 guys almost never get them running right.

I couldn't agree more. Good advice olds307i ^^^^ A good Q jet is what I would put on it. I believe there was a carburetor poll on this forum. Do a search and study before you buy anything.

 

[RunAwayNJ]

Thanks everyone for the input - I've already spoken with the shop (I even showed them this thread) and they are looking at different set ups. We have a local "expert" (I hate using that word but OK) who works on many Olds applications and we consulted with him, which is how we wound up with the Edelbrock configuration. We double checked with another local speed shop and Jegs and all roads lead us down that path. So at the moment we are going to take the weekend and look into other options. One of the awesome things about this forum is the input from everyone. Thanks to all for the advice!

 

[RunAwayNJ]

The newly rebuild motor is almost complete and ready to head back into the 442! Just waiting on a couple of parts that should have already arrived, but it should be going back into the car next week. As you can see, we gave the engine the midas touch!

 

[RunAwayNJ]

The new motor is nearing completion! Just a few more parts to put on it and we are ready to put it in the car. The manifolds you see are the hi-flow manifolds from Thornton Musclecar.



Next once this is done we will be powerwashing and painting the engine bay, putting the new motor in, then new exhaust, and ready to run! Shold be done before the end of the month!