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'68 OLDS 4-4-2
smokin_olds442
Member Posts: 41
roughly two months ago I bought a 1968 Olds 4-4-2 W30(so the previous owner says). The previous owner had blown the Olds 400 engine and replaced it with a Chevy 400 engine. Since day one I have loved this Chevy version of the 400 as opposed to Olds' version. Parts were cheaper and easier to find. as it stands now...587.9HP@6500RPM and 546LB-FT@4500RPM. these numbers are at the rear wheels and the engine is FAR from stock(redline is 7500rpm). specs are available
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Actually no, it IS rear wheel drive.
That IS a torque monster!
Same thing with Pontiac...every Pontiac V-8 I've seen, whether it's a 326, 350, 389, 400, or 455, all look to be the same block.
I think Chevy and Buick were the only GM cars to use "smallblock/bigblock" designations.
Sadly, what he has as it stands now without the original engine in his 68... is a 442 worth about the same price as a ragged out Cutlass Supreme.
I know the 400 is a biig block because the W-30 pkg is a big block pkg, the W-31 pkg was a small block. That's easy enough to look up if you don't believe me.
(I think these numbers are right, subject of course to the factory monkeying around with the values).
LS6 454 -> 450 hp / 500 torque
W30 455 -> 370 hp / 500 torque
(oh well, so much for the bore:stroke theory)
Honestly, I think that torque is a calculation based on a batch of things I'm not smart enought to figure out. Not just bore vs. stroke, but rod angle, head design, flow through the entire intake and exhaust system. It wouldn't suprise me if a whole batch of work hasn't been done (at least by the sprint car guys) moving the location of the piston pin up and down, to fool with rod length and not change total stroke.
How far back does the big-block design go? My auto encyclopedia really doesn't say anything about redesigns, just changes in bore and stroke. But the Rocket V-8 that came out in 1949 wouldn't be the same big-block design as what became the 425, 400, and 455, would it?
Oh yeah, my book also lists a 400 as being available for 1975, having a bore X stroke of 4.12" x 3.75". I'm guessing that was actually a Pontiac 400, though?
http://www.inil.com/users/dlbrown/ofeng.htm#Engines%201949%20-%201964
Check it out if you have a min. Oh, also it reports the olds 400 was last used in 69.
That's quite a resource for Olds engines. He doesn't make as much of a distinction between the '49-56 and '57-64 as most people I've read. BTW the '68 400 had one helaciously long stroke, as long as the 455 as I recall. The heads were a big improvement though, I think the exhaust ports were no longer siamesed.
It's true that Olds had a reputation as a torque engine, at least in the early days. The Cadillac was more refined, the hemi put out more hp and the Buick nail-valve could rev higher but the Olds was known for its torque and durability. I have a road test from 1957 complaining that the new 371 doesn't have the famous right-now torque of the '56 324.
Maybe the problem with torque is the way it's measured. If I'm not mistaken (and I easily could be) it's something like the amount of force one horse can apply when hooked up to something like the circular mills they used 100 years ago. That's a little hard for most of us to visualize.
I always thought a long stroke meant more torque at low rpm but not necessarily more total torque. Obviously a whole lot of other factors like carburetion, intake manifold, CR, port and valve size, valve timing, chamber design and exhaust manifolding have a lot to do with it.
Trivia time. Why do pistons have a front and a back? The valve relief answer would be weak in that any machine shop can fly cut pistons very cheaply.
BTW, I too am a doubter on our chevy powered olds dyno #'s. Especially a 400 which is a very poor high RPM motor.
I'll assume that the piston is symetrical (ie. no difference in the dome depending on orientation, no asymetry in skirt design).
Is it that the pins are set slightly off-center? I can see where you might want the rod lined up in a certain way at peak pressure.
Say what you will, a little controversy gets the discussion going.
On the other hand, I'm not a big fan of the guys who come in here knowing only what was printed on the Revell box their car came in.
I've mustered up the courage now. It's a 70's era Maverick with the original inline V8. It has 3 exhausts (some people only have duals) I run a BDS 14-71 blower(from the factory) and I've added a paxton centrifugal blower with twin turbos. I've kept the stock 2 barrel autolite carb for economy reasons and run a Motek EFI system. The plug wires are 0 gauge welding wire that I've soldered new ends on. Pistons are adapted from a CAT D-9 diesel tractor and the rods are a special titanium/aluminum blend. The crank is pure gold plated unobtanium that was mined from the black forest by elves.
The car will run 4's on street tires and they won't let me run it in Top Fuel because I don't have a parachute set up. I don't think I need a chute 'cause the drum brakes work fine.
I have to go now and get my mullet trimmed. But, in advance, I don't care if you don't believe me because my dad can beat up your dad!!!
I feel honored, to be included in his verbal tirade with so many other distinguished Town Hallers. sniff sniff.
I wanted to be included in the infantile trailer-park tirade!
Bill
Yes 4-4-2 will probably get banned for gross violation of the profanity rules. I think I should have protected him more from the good natured kidding, but alas, I also think this was inevitable given the circumstances.
Mr. Shifright
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