That wouldn't surprise me. I'm starting to think there might be a stall in it or something....kinda slow up to about 2500rpm or 3 and then it pulls pretty good. I also keep it in Drive Instead of shifting myself.
Selling Olds 403 build - feelers for price?
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"Reputable shops" usually build common engines which Oldsmobiles are not. There are a few tricks needed to make power that most shops don't know about.
Then you should have a 2500 stall. My current 350 behaves the same with the factory 1600 stall and TH350C. Before with the 2004R and 2300 flash stall, it did 1/4 block burnouts hitting the go pedal.
Anubis - only you know what you would let the engine go for. I personally don't like buying an engine unless it's apart so I can see what I'm buying or I personally know the person & engine. Your being honest when you said there was some scoring which is a red flag for me.
Bri guy - When you build a motor all the parts have to complement each other from the carb to the rear end to run decent, olds307 and 403 9.7 1/8 mi is about correct for a stock engine which I believe had less than 200 HP
Bri guy - When you build a motor all the parts have to complement each other from the carb to the rear end to run decent, olds307 and 403 9.7 1/8 mi is about correct for a stock engine which I believe had less than 200 HP
Your right. I need to do some better matching with parts. I called the shop who built the motor. Never had it on a dyno cuz he didnt have a chassis dyno. But said it Should be about 400hp and 475 torque.
Sorry, Anubis, hopefully you got your answer.....Bri guy, I just went back and looked at your invoice, and don't see a cam & lifter package? That could be huge as it looks like they did "most of the right stuff". Did they give you an idea of compression? The "built" 403 should run better than a stock 455.
Unfortunately, the TRW forged pistons are heavy, have an ancient ring pack and need a lot of clearance, .004 minimum. Most who want a built 403 will look for a girdle or light pistons. I am considering skipping a girdle on my stroker build due to it the planned 5000 RPM redline and 550 gram pistons and aftermarket rods. It also depends on how bad the scuffing is on the pistons and cylinders. Unfortunately there is a limited market for Olds, a few die hards, like yourself, have enbraced the new Lord and Savior of the automotive junkie, the LS V8 and forsaken the Olds V8, making the market even smaller. Put it up on Craigslist as your price OBO and see what happens. My 403 had too much converter, flashed at 2400, not enough compression and the Performer cam wasn't great. Bri guy, the stock 403 heads are awful on the exhaust side, so 400 how is very unlikely without extensive porting. That carb is serverly limiting your car as well, get a 750 on there. If it is the RPM cam, which it sounds like for no power down low, put in a 2500 stall converter. A bent axle isn't good and depends how bad for burnouts. I would upgrade to 28 spline axles, and a Trutrac posi as well. If you just replace the axle, put in Yukon spider gears, the stock ones explode under abuse. I assume headers and dual exhaust as well?
I remember reading years ago on another site about a 'normal' budget Olds build that actually made real power (for an old school build). Basically utilizing older reworked Olds heads that are well ported and paired with an Ultradyne cam. Also some decking of the block was performed to bump up the compression. Btw, this build was an Olds 403 build and I believe that the car (Olds G-body) ran the mid 12's in the 1/4 mile.
Thanks all for your input. I didn't make it to the Lansing Homecoming show on Saturday due to rain but already have local interest in the 403. In my opinion $1,500 is a fair price considering the power level and cost and quality of individual parts that went into it.
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