Olds 350 questions

[rebelgtp]

Hey guys I was wondering if anyone had some info on identifying an Olds 350. I had posted an ad on craigslist looking for an engine near me. A guy sent me an email that he has an Olds 350 available for $200 with an auto trans attached. Said it was going to go in his kids project car and they went a different direction.

Thing is the guy is about 3 hours away and does not know the particulars of the engine like what year it was and what it originally came out of. Is there casting numbers on the engine that I can have him look for that would tell me if this engine will be worth a 6 hour round trip for me to go pick it up?

I also don't really know much about the Olds 350 engines I'm assuming there are no cross over parts to the Chevy 350. How is the aftermarket parts availability? What kind of power would I be looking at from one? Would it even be worth the $200 + gas for the trip to pick it up when I could find a Chevy 350 in the yard local?

 

[n33no]

Yes there are casting #. This may help.

http://www.442.com/oldsfaq/ofblk.htm

 

[DRIVEN]

Do you have your heart set on a 350? Seems like in my area 455s are pretty plentiful - but not 350s, for some reason.

 

[rebelgtp]

Do you have your heart set on a 350? Seems like in my area 455s are pretty plentiful - but not 350s, for some reason.

Actually I would prefer a 455 if I could get my hands on one but have not found one out here. Wouldn't happen to have one on hand for sale would you? Might be worth me taking a trip down there to pick one up if I could get a good price on one.

 

[DRIVEN]

I wish I had a couple spares. Just did a CL search and found:
Portland: a complete '69 455 for $800, 2 350s for $100 & $200, Pontiac 400 for $500, 2 Pontiac 400s + TH350 for $200, Pontiac 350 (nicely detailed) $350, Cad 472 for $650.
Boise: Buick 455 and 430 for $800, Pontiac 400 for $400, Pontiac 400 + TH400 for $300, Cad 472 + TH400 for $200.