PROJECT " LAID BACK 2 " - 1978 SALON 2 DOOR AEROBACK

[JAMCAR223]

The lead technician at the little shop by my office that does all the work on our survey trucks recommended that shop to me. I'm glad to hear you had a good experience with them. I guess that's who I'll use if/when I need machine work. Who turned you onto them?

He is a sponsor of Spring Fling car shows for 20+ years, and I have a couple drag racing buddies that have used him in the past. I contacted him through a text and when I realized he spoke Oldsmobile, I felt more comfortable with his shop.

Wow, we always hear of horror stories about machine shop timelines, lack of communication, etc. It’s great to see you found an honest guy and are spreading that info.

It certainly is refreshing to find and deal with honest people.

Did he supply you with a recommended break in procedure?

He did supply me with paperwork on proper break in procedures.

I don't see align hone main bores on there.

It's because I didn't need it. Generally speaking, align hone on the mains would only be required if the main caps did not have the proper interference fit ( mine did ), new/different main caps were installed ( i used my originals ), main studs are used instead of bolts ( i reused my original bolts ), or a main cap girdle is added ( I did not use a girdle ).

 

[fleming442]

I consider it a requirement. Olds cranks flex enough that any little bit helps. Maybe ob/excessive, but it makes me feel good.

 

[Texas82GP]

He is a sponsor of Spring Fling car shows for 20+ years, and I have a couple drag racing buddies that have used him in the past. I contacted him through a text and when I realized he spoke Oldsmobile, I felt more comfortable with his shop.

I sure am glad you didn't say I gave you the recommendation because I couldn't remember doing so. I've forgotten alot lately. It's hell getting old.

 

[JAMCAR223]

Yeah it just shows all the processes in rebuilding a motor adds up. My costs will be similar. I assume external balancing? I am expecting that to be my most expensive single process. You should see the hack job on Classic Olds a shop did to a guys Olds 350. They machined a cracked block and then damaged a couple his DSS pistons. His rods are blue from heat which probably is OK but looks bad. On top of that his valve heights are all over the place on his heads. He asked them if they had a valve height gauge and says he mentioned crack checking multiple times.

It was balanced internally. I will show you in the video. I wanted to make it today, but I had to get the shop cleaned up, and make some working room. It's amazing how quick you run out of space. I did get the oil pan painted. I also the cleaned up the balancer bolt on the wire wheel, and painted it. I gotta go back to work tomorrow. (2) Team Members from my Dept. tested positive for Covid this weekend. Just great... that's (3) Team Members in the last two weeks. Maybe I ought to claim exposure, and get a two week paid vacation... 🤷‍♂️

 

[JAMCAR223]

I made a video today with all the specs, and engine parts I have collected over the past several months, but it said it was too large to upload. Soo... Christian here is the pic of the crank, you can see the work done in the top right of the pic and the lower left of the pic. You can also see the grinding / polishing of the connecting rods on the big end. This process was done on the small end as well, but cannot be seen. The stock forged rods were balanced to within .5 of a gram. The Edelbrock Performer Plus ( 204/214 )cam was degreed straight up "0", as recommended by Edelbrock. The pistons are TRW #L2451 forged. The bore = 4.381. Top ring gap = .030. ( Travato says .025 is the absolute minimum. ) Better to be a little loose, than too tight. The mains, rods, and cam bolts are torqued to factory spec, and marked with white dots. I have a Melling high volume, stock pressure oil pump, and a 455 ( sloped & baffled ) oil pan will be used. I have a new stock replacement flexplate, and a PRW sportsman damper. I am going to clean all the bolt holes with a thread chaser tomorrow. I will also clean & degrease the block, to prepare it for paint. Too cold for any painting here over the next week. They are actually calling for snow here in Houston... we only get that once every several years. Temps are forecasted to be 12 degrees F here Sunday. VERY cold for Houston. With no heat in the shop, the painting will have to wait.

Edelbrock Performer Link double roller timing chain was attached using a new Inline Tube cam sprocket bolt. I also have a new Inline Tube front cover that will be used

You can see some threads need to be cleaned up here.

 

[Texas82GP]

Looks great James. You'd probably have to post the video on YouTube and then post a link to it in your thread.

Guys, you'll laugh at us but it is very unusual for it to get into the teens here. I'm guessing this is just the third time in my life (life long Houstonian). It nearly never snows and sticks here. This was 12/8/17 and is the most snow I can remember seeing here (a dusting).....

 

[olds307 and 403]

Looks good, the straight up positiion is what Edelbrock recommends, as you said. I ran mine in the advanced position the last time I used it, a few guys suggested it, seemed to do OK. I have it in the straight up positiion this time. Glad everything worked out, some have had issues with their Olds Performer timing sets with the dots being off. Glad it is internally balanced, supposed to help bearing life. Piston to wall, most say .004" minimum. Speedpro says .002" in the instructions and .001" on the box😳. They are a heavy piston, keep the rpm reasonable. What bearing clearances were done. My 330 stroker crank supposedly has .0025"/.0025" which is on the tight side, it will get checked. Smitty spec'd those clearances, just before his body, then his mind failed him. Hopefully your heads are all fixed from the J+S fiasco. I hope it runs cool and runs great for you. I chickened out, way too many overheating memories with my 403, the .039" oversize pistons I have would not make it easier to cool. I went the easy Olds 350 route, hopefully will hear any day from the machine shop. Can hardly wait to hear your 403 run👍.

 

[64nailhead]

Looks great James. You'd probably have to post the video on YouTube and then post a link to it in your thread.

Guys, you'll laugh at us but it is very unusual for it to get into the teens here. I'm guessing this is just the third time in my life (life long Houstonian). It nearly never snows and sticks here. This was 12/8/17 and is the most snow I can remember seeing here (a dusting).....

In the world of 'we get plenty of snow' what you have there is not considered 'sticking' - the pavement is bare.

James - would love to see a video!

 

[JAMCAR223]

Looks good, the straight up positiion is what Edelbrock recommends, as you said. I ran mine in the advanced position the last time I used it, a few guys suggested it, seemed to do OK. I have it in the straight up positiion this time. Glad everything worked out, some have had issues with their Olds Performer timing sets with the dots being off. Glad it is internally balanced, supposed to help bearing life. Piston to wall, most say .004" minimum. Speedpro says .002" in the instructions and .001" on the box😳. They are a heavy piston, keep the rpm reasonable. What bearing clearances were done. My 330 stroker crank supposedly has .0025"/.0025" which is on the tight side, it will get checked. Smitty spec'd those clearances, just before his body, then his mind failed him. Hopefully your heads are all fixed from the J+S fiasco. I hope it runs cool and runs great for you. I chickened out, way too many overheating memories with my 403, the .039" oversize pistons I have would not make it easier to cool. I went the easy Olds 350 route, hopefully will hear any day from the machine shop. Can hardly wait to hear your 403 run👍.

Thanks for the support! My instructions also said piston to wall should be .001. I have read up to .004 🤷‍♂️ After speaking with the machinist, we decided on .003. The rods and mains are .0035. The ring gaps are - oil = .010 / 2nd ring = .032 / top ring = .030. This was as close as i could get to my target ( .010 / .032 / .025 ), without using file-fit rings.

 

[JAMCAR223]

In the world of 'we get plenty of snow' what you have there is not considered 'sticking' - the pavement is bare.

James - would love to see a video!

I will upload to Youtube, and post a link real soon.