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[Swing Motorman]

I'm with you guys on the Subarus. Excellent in everything except speed and maybe hauling power. Unless it's an old bus or on rails, I'll take the "Subie" every time.

The Olds brings back fond memories. I remember one of those that my family stored for an overseas relative to use when in the States. The last car my family had with front bench seats (I miss that feature some days). As a kid I watched my mother drag race the old Cutlass down the road when a big toy ball of mine was blowing away... it seemed like I never saw the Olds move quite that fast before, or since! :eeek:

 

[Gregg Axley]

Subies are slow, unless you're in the WRX STi.
307, that's what I thought the Olds had in it, but I wasn't quite sure.
Why does the 307 get better mileage?
Less power is my guess.
And the culprit probably IS the Rochester.
I have an Edelbrock 4 barrel on my Streetrod. No issues.
Prior to that I had a Carter. Good but moody.

 

[Mickey85]

The wee-oh-seven has 8.5:1 compression with a cam that was basically flat from the factory, and was spinning an overdrive transmission (.67:1 OD gearing - same as the GN) with 2.73s in the pumpkin. I'll never forget doing 80 on the turnpike in Ohio while turning 1800 RPM. With the 3.23's, the 403 would still do about 2100-2200 RPM, but with the higher compression and custom cam, you get higher fuel consumption. Hence the custom burned computer chip - it keeps me smog legal and keeps it from confusing the computer and forcing the qjet to run full-rich.

 

[AtomicEraTom]

I have a 307 Olds with a Quadrajet in my Caprice Estate. Not fast by any means, but gets decent mileage for a car that size. Sadly, I can measure the oil usage in MPG, leaking and burning in that bad boy.

 

[Stearmen]

I have a 307 Olds with a Quadrajet in my Caprice Estate. Not fast by any means, but gets decent mileage for a car that size. Sadly, I can measure the oil usage in MPG, leaking and burning in that bad boy.

Got to love those automatic oil change cars.

 

[AtomicEraTom]

lol One of these days, I'll put a Chevy small block in there and get it over with, along with my million other projects!

Got to love those automatic oil change cars.

 

[Gregg Axley]

lol One of these days, I'll put a Chevy small block in there and get it over with, along with my million other projects!

Teach your girlfriend how to use tools, and cut your time in half with 2 people working.

 

[1mach1]

Three words you rarely see in the same sentence......teach, girlfriend, tools.

 

[LizzieMaine]

You'd be surprised how many of us don't need to be taught, because we already know how.

 

[jamespowers]

I have a 307 Olds with a Quadrajet in my Caprice Estate. Not fast by any means, but gets decent mileage for a car that size. Sadly, I can measure the oil usage in MPG, leaking and burning in that bad boy.

I have the 307 in my Brougham. I haven't had a problem with it and it has 108,000 on the clock. It was up to 90mph last week. You guys must not maintain your cars or you have a clogged cat converter. Amazingly, my Brougham doesn't leak a drop of oil and the engine has never been out of it. Yeah and now when I go out to lunch in it, it will break down because of all my bragging.

My friend is still amazing me with his 2000 z71 pick up. He has never had it tuned and just changes the fluids regularly. The dang truck has over 200,000 miles on it! :doh: We keep wondering how many miles this thing will put on the clock before anything finally goes wrong with it. At this point we figure the body will wear out first.

 

[jamespowers]

I have a 307 Olds with a Quadrajet in my Caprice Estate. Not fast by any means, but gets decent mileage for a car that size. Sadly, I can measure the oil usage in MPG, leaking and burning in that bad boy.

Check your valve cover gaskets. I bet they are gone.

 

[AtomicEraTom]

I do maintain my car very well, thank you. It was an oil user when I bought it. It was a 500 dollar car and I was 17. It ran and would get me to school/work. Still does run and drive, just uses oil, as 307's are known for. It did have a clogged cat, no longer has one.

I have the 307 in my Brougham. I haven't had a problem with it and it has 108,000 on the clock. It was up to 90mph last week. You guys must not maintain your cars or you have a clogged cat converter. Amazingly, my Brougham doesn't leak a drop of oil and the engine has never been out of it. Yeah and now when I go out to lunch in it, it will break down because of all my bragging.

My friend is still amazing me with his 2000 z71 pick up. He has never had it tuned and just changes the fluids regularly. The dang truck has over 200,000 miles on it! :doh: We keep wondering how many miles this thing will put on the clock before anything finally goes wrong with it. At this point we figure the body will wear out first.

They are. I have new ones sitting in the back of the car, if I ever get around to it. Will probably just replace the engine. I was gonna have it rebuilt, but my mechanic said to just put a small block in, because Olds parts are expensive.

Check your valve cover gaskets. I bet they are gone.

She's a girly girl, and probably too short to even reach the air cleaner

Teach your girlfriend how to use tools, and cut your time in half with 2 people working.

 

[jamespowers]

I do maintain my car very well, thank you. It was an oil user when I bought it. It was a 500 dollar car and I was 17. It ran and would get me to school/work. Still does run and drive, just uses oil, as 307's are known for. It did have a clogged cat, no longer has one.



They are. I have new ones sitting in the back of the car, if I ever get around to it. Will probably just replace the engine. I was gonna have it rebuilt, but my mechanic said to just put a small block in, because Olds parts are expensive.



She's a girly girl, and probably too short to even reach the air cleaner

I knew that would get a rise out of you. lol lol $500 car?! What are you complaining about then? lol lol They are not known to use oil----unless you overheat them with a clogged Cat Converter. Mine NEVER uses oil between oil changes. Then again, I use Royal Purple oil and filters in it. They are more expensive but worth it. The oil was really dirty when I first got it. Royal cleaned the heck out of it.

So it leaks AND burns oil or one or the other? lol lol

Teach her anyway. Throw her in the engine compartment.

 

[Mickey85]

I bought my Delta 88 from a redneck family that drove the car from Florida back to Indiana when their grandparents died, then proceeded to drive it through fields at top speed (as evidenced by dirt and grass packed in the frame holes, both front fenders bent back behind the front wheels from hitting something and bending back to the frame rails, etc). After 147K HARD miles, I bought it and abused it until I swapped it out at 17, simply for more displacement. The motor used less than 1/2 qt of oil per oil change (about 4500 miles). Honestly, the long-block itself had two problems - a bad rocker, and weak main bearings (anything short of 15W40, and the oil pressure is measured at about 7 psi at idle). I'd still trust that motor to drive from here to california without popping the hood once.

I've never actually heard of an Oldsmobile being known for burning oil...

ETA: If you do swap motors, it would be cheaper to put another Oldsmobile motor in it. Chevy motors have everything on opposite sides (fuel pump, starter, etc) and 9 times out of 10 won't bolt up to the transmission. Pull your motor and rebuild - they go for a bajillion miles.

Glad the old girl is getting all this talk though...I've got some fun stories about it.

 

[jamespowers]

I bought my Delta 88 from a redneck family that drove the car from Florida back to Indiana when their grandparents died, then proceeded to drive it through fields at top speed (as evidenced by dirt and grass packed in the frame holes, both front fenders bent back behind the front wheels from hitting something and bending back to the frame rails, etc). After 147K HARD miles, I bought it and abused it until I swapped it out at 17, simply for more displacement. The motor used less than 1/2 qt of oil per oil change (about 4500 miles). Honestly, the long-block itself had two problems - a bad rocker, and weak main bearings (anything short of 15W40, and the oil pressure is measured at about 7 psi at idle). I'd still trust that motor to drive from here to california without popping the hood once.

I've never actually heard of an Oldsmobile being known for burning oil...

ETA: If you do swap motors, it would be cheaper to put another Oldsmobile motor in it. Chevy motors have everything on opposite sides (fuel pump, starter, etc) and 9 times out of 10 won't bolt up to the transmission. Pull your motor and rebuild - they go for a bajillion miles.

Glad the old girl is getting all this talk though...I've got some fun stories about it.

Oldsmobiles are fine cars and they made decent engines---some better than others but even Cadillac stole a few to use.
The 403, I think you mentioned, is a good replacement as it is the same configuration. I just wonder about hooking all the old stuff up to it and having it work right. You would definitely have to get into the PROM and ECM to adjust the settings.

 

[AtomicEraTom]

It does both lol It fouls plugs a lot too, on the I-system anyhow.

I should scrap the old girl, really, but I have too much sentimental attachment to it. Someday, I'll fix it up. My plan was to have it fully restored in time for my 5 year reunion (I drove the car through most of high school) but sadly, that's in a few months and the car is still sitting...

I doubt she has any interest. She isn't a car person.

So it leaks AND burns oil or one or the other? lol lol

Teach her anyway. Throw her in the engine compartment.

 

[jamespowers]

It does both lol It fouls plugs a lot too, on the I-system anyhow.

I should scrap the old girl, really, but I have too much sentimental attachment to it. Someday, I'll fix it up. My plan was to have it fully restored in time for my 5 year reunion (I drove the car through most of high school) but sadly, that's in a few months and the car is still sitting...

I doubt she has any interest. She isn't a car person.

Geez. How many million miles did you put on her?
Restore it. Hurry up!

Don't doubt. Find out!

 

[AtomicEraTom]

It doesn't have high miles, only about 140xxx miles. The guy I bought it from hardly used it, and the gaskets dried up.

I have to put all my money toward the dealership.

I'm more worried about her cooking and ironing

Geez. How many million miles did you put on her?
Restore it. Hurry up!

Don't doubt. Find out!

 

[Mickey85]

Oldsmobiles are fine cars and they made decent engines---some better than others but even Cadillac stole a few to use.
The 403, I think you mentioned, is a good replacement as it is the same configuration. I just wonder about hooking all the old stuff up to it and having it work right. You would definitely have to get into the PROM and ECM to adjust the settings.

No you don't. The computer is flexible enough to run a stock 455, if you keep the carb stock. A friend of mine from Maryland had an '81 with a 455 and dual exhaust that he ran on the computer. It got 18 mpg highway and ran 13's in the 1/4. His motor was very stock - 8:1 compression, log-style manifolds, high-vacuum camshaft, etc.

The only reason I had a new chip burned for mine is that I wanted a cam with more overlap and less vacuum. It wouldn't even know if you put a 350 or 403 on it. The only problem I've had is running the tiny fuel bowl on the qjet dry when at wide-open-throttle. It used to stumble and flash the check-engine light at anything above 4700 RPM, until I discovered that it was drying out the carb. I installed an electric fuel pump to run in tandem with the mechanical, and that solved the problem. The electric one pushes whenever the key is set to 'run,' while the mech pump acts as a regulator. I haven't run it dry since doing that. Learned that from my 455-toting friend.

The old OBDI style computer reads O2 levels at the exhaust, and manifold vacuum. It then adjusts the carb to run at a certain fuel richness given those two parameters. If it detects a problem with the motor, or if its in a cold start up scenario, it goes full-rich and dumps fuel through the motor. It needs at least 18 in-hg of vacuum to run properly. Otherwise? Stuff whatever you want in there. That's one of the beauties of old-style computers - they're too ignorant to be the nanny that OBDII is. Post-1996, it became very difficult to swap motors without doing some serious computer tweaking as well. Not so with the old dogs.

A bunch of people eschew all that anyway - pull the motor and all the emissions garbage, put a mechanical carb on it and a new HEI style distributor and you don't need the carb at all. I wanted to keep mine because(a) it works, and (b) I don't know if I'll ever move to a place that has emissions testing. It's still new enough to qualify for testing in many places, and a test in Chicago tells me that it's at least good enough to pass there.

 

[jamespowers]

It doesn't have high miles, only about 140xxx miles. The guy I bought it from hardly used it, and the gaskets dried up.

I have to put all my money toward the dealership.

I'm more worried about her cooking and ironing

140,000 isn't that much. I am sure all the seals did dry out. I am surprised the transmission works with all of those seals in there.

Sell more cars at the dealership then.

Cooking an ironing are definitely FIRST.