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

[JAMCAR223]

holy sh*t this things more rare then I thought, thinking about the rarity of this car when my friend first bought it makes my stomach turn now it was untouched besides the interior being a little shotty with very low miles, a little while after he bought it the rear end locked up on him while moving along pretty well and it messed the original transmission up in it my brother and him took it to a lot of transmission shops and most of them scratched their heads and said “well thanks for showing it to me” so he opted to buy a 350 rocket and a th350 for it, a couple weeks after it was installed (if that) he tried drifting it into my mother’s driveway and hit a tree resulting in the front end damage which is why I still lack a front fender for it, after that it sat for years and I’ve been a gbody el Camino fan for a while and had a project 84 el Camino and he was hurting for cash so I bought it from him for parts I used the dash, the steering column, the radiator which wasn’t original he had an after market dual exhaust cross member which I also used and I think that was pretty much it, after doing this I started looking into the car more and realized it was only produced for 2 years and then I found all of the original paper work. I kick myself in the *ss every day for not parting with the el Camino and building this but I’ve got too much into the Camino and not enough funds and time to give the salon the Justice it deserves I still feel I should hang onto it and give it the treatment it deserves in the future but money is tight and I want her to go to a good home

First off... you should have PM'd me directly.
Second... I'll cut straight to the chase. If you have followed my threads about the Aerobacks I own, you know how I do it. Your car is worth $700 at best, and here's why.
CONS-
- Wrecked. Missing fender, probably needs a grill, headlight bezel, inner fender, and possibly a core support.
- Not running
- No dash, steering column, radiator, and crossmember
- Needs a rewire?? That probably means you cut the dash harness when you swapped it to the Elco
- Sitting for years. How many??
- Northern car
- No A/C
- No P/W, P/L
PROS-
- 350 SBO / T-350 cores
- Original paperwork
- Bucket seats
- Ralley gauges

Just sayin. Now with that said... Houston to Letchworth, It's a 24 hour, 1500 mile trip, using $150 in fuel. Loaded, coming home it's a 28 hour, 1500 mile trip, using $240 in fuel.

Now, post up some current pics, and let's see what you have.

 

[olds307 and 403]

Just be aware cast replacement pistons are short on height, .040" or more in the hole. I still wouldn't deck the block more than .010". Also if the block will clean up at .020", do it. It keeps the cylinder wall thicker and replacement pistons come in a .024" oversize. The better replacement pistons also have a taller compression height, a good reason to not go nuts decking the block. You may be able to get away with a rering and new bearings on one of the blocks, even a set of J heads, which are usually free, with a bowl hog are a better start. They usually CC around 80 to 82. The #8 are very similar to the J heads and also just need a bowl hog and the 2" intake from the 4A heads, they usually CC around 77 to 78. My 4A CC'd at 86. Even the 8 to 1 403 is very fun on the street, good exhaust made a big difference. Don't forget a big 2 core with a least 1" tubes or a 4 core rad and either a 7 blade with heavy duty clutch fan or good electric fans that move a lot of air. Also use the the large A/C pulleys to overdrive the water pump. I had the tiny crank pulley, fancy under drive bullet pulleys. Till I put proper pulleys and good rad, the 3 core champion was marginal and way too small towing my boat. Good luck.

 

[JAMCAR223]

https://www.tapatalk.com/groups/realoldspower/403-daily-driver-t5127.html
https://www.tapatalk.com/groups/realoldspower/stock-403-update-as-of-9-26-2016-t4037-s50.html
https://www.tapatalk.com/groups/realoldspower/stock-403-update-as-of-9-26-2016-t4037-s50.html
https://www.tapatalk.com/groups/realoldspower/403-400hp-450tq-t5853.html
https://www.tapatalk.com/groups/realoldspower/403-build-t5398.html
Those should get you an idea.....

Thank you for that! You guys are AWESOME!!

 

[O. D. Showtime]

James....saw this posted on Facebook this morning.....by a Tim Arceneaux....indicating that he was looking for owner...

 

[Longroof79]

James,
I told my friend about the great deal you got on the 403. He was totally impressed. He asked me to ask you what the serial number on the block is. The reason for that is, that there were some legendary windowless blocks made that are extremely rare and very sought after.. He's been an Oldsmobile guy for as long as I can remember, and knows more about Oldsmobiles than I'll ever know.
He's the original owner of a beautiful '77 Cutlass Salon with a nicely built 403 that he installed years later.

 

[fleming442]

that there were some legendary windowless blocks made that are extremely rare and very sought after.

There's a million dollar reward if one is found. They're legendary alright, literally mythical fairy tales. I think Joe Mondello started it way back when. No need for serial numbers- just pop the pan off.
If they did indeed exist, it would be the holy grail of Oldsmobile engines, huge bore, short stroke. There's a reason all the really fast Olds powered cars are running diesel or nascar blocks- availability. There are still a few virgin nascar (thick web, siamese bore) blocks on the market that pop up in the $4,000 range. Of course Rocket racing has changed the game with their big block where 500+ cubes can be done without fear of block breakage.

 

[JAMCAR223]

James....saw this posted on Facebook this morning.....by a Tim Arceneaux....indicating that he was looking for owner...

View attachment 103478

Kevin, That is my car. I met Tim at the car wash the morning I got it home. He was one of 2 guys who tried to buy it, before I even unloaded it off the trailer. He took pics, and even made a video of the car.... I have his number. Guess I'll give him a call.

 

[JAMCAR223]

James,
I told my friend about the great deal you got on the 403. He was totally impressed. He asked me to ask you what the serial number on the block is. The reason for that is, that there were some legendary windowless blocks made that are extremely rare and very sought after.. He's been an Oldsmobile guy for as long as I can remember, and knows more about Oldsmobiles than I'll ever know.
He's the original owner of a beautiful '77 Cutlass Salon with a nicely built 403 that he installed years later.

There's a million dollar reward if one is found. They're legendary alright, literally mythical fairy tales. I think Joe Mondello started it way back when. No need for serial numbers- just pop the pan off.
If they did indeed exist, it would be the holy grail of Oldsmobile engines, huge bore, short stroke. There's a reason all the really fast Olds powered cars are running diesel or nascar blocks- availability. There are still a few virgin nascar (thick web, siamese bore) blocks on the market that pop up in the $4,000 range. Of course Rocket racing has changed the game with their big block where 500+ cubes can be done without fear of block breakage.

Guys, I have also heard about the "legendary / mythical" 403 blocks. Joe Mondello seems to be the author of this "rumor". I have not had the time to inspect. I need to buy ANOTHER engine stand, so I can get a better look at the condition of this engine. I will post the results when that happens.

 

[Longroof79]

So, what you guys are saying is that the late Joe Mondello was the one that perpetrated this alleged myth....interesting.

 

[fleming442]

So, what you guys are saying is that the late Joe Mondello was the one that perpetrated this alleged myth....interesting.

Yep, those casting numbers your buddy is talking about appear in his Technical Reference Manual. I have a copy of it and can snap a pic if you're interested. There have been absolutely zero confirmed in the wild.