350 N Deisel

OK, i know I havent been on much lately. I have been having Oldsmobile troubles. It seems the frame on my Cutlass is beyond repair. 22 years of NY Salt:mad: will do that. Anyway, there is a local Cutlass Supreme brougham I was looking at. Same year, but it has a vinyl top and SURPRISE! a deisel. Now I know that a lot of the deisel blocks have been converted to gas, and it seems that there was a lot of headaches with the 78-80 engines. Now, I know that in 81 the head studs were increased in size, the low end were drilled for longer bolts(connecting rods) and they are supposed to be OK engines. However, I havent seen many around. Can anyone give me a bit of info as to if this car is worth driving? Its 200$, I heard it run and the body is in really, really good shape.:confused:

If it's only $200 and the body is straight it's well worth it. Just think what a new set of fenders or rockers would cost for another car with a better engine.

Hell, just an alternator for my driver costs $200.

Abe

Yeah, but this car needs a bit of work. Its been setting for 4 years. As far as I can tell, the tank will probably need to be flushed,the fuel filter changed, at least 1 glow plug and an oil change, and someone diddnt know how to get a power window switch. The biggest cool factor is that 85% of my parts are swappable with this car. So I need to know the stories with the 350N and if the motor is gonna blow up 5K miles down the road.

Buy it and put your gas burner in it, in the states I know of that require inspections, diesels are exempt from them :3dSMILE: so those cars titled as diesels are well sought after by hot rodders

That's essentially what I'm trying to convey. Buy the car if only for the body. If you swap in a gasoline powertrain it will make a great starter.

Abe

The Olds Deisel blocks are very stout. An ideal starting place for a high performance Olds motor. There is a market for the blocks. So don't pitch it if you pull it. Recycle the heads, intake, and other deisel stuff. Advertise the block on one of the Olds performnce bulliten boards. It should draw a hundred bucks.

Thanks for the advice, but i was thinking about actually driving the deisel for a while. @ 1.91 a gallon vs 2.15 for gasoline, and a average 30MPG highway, its seems like a good alternative untill i get some money in my wallet. However, I know that a 350N is a good HP gas block, and have no fear, If I go to chuck the motor, you will all have first bids on it.

I worked at a Chevy dealer and a Cadillac dealer back between '83 and '85. As drivers, these engines were and are JUNK! Beware before sinking ANY money into making it drivable as these suffered from all kinds of problems. The biggest and most expense is the injector pump at the front of the engine. These were constantly being sent out for rebuilds (at $600 each in 1985 dollars). I saw camshafts go, blown pistons, etc.

I'd swap the mounts and put the gas engine in. It will be far more reliable.

Thanks streets. Oh, and BTW swiftster, those diesels you were talking about were made before the 1981 modifications. The timing pump was re designed in 80, and the crank had a bad run in 79 due to porus metals. The camshaft is a valid concern, but this engine has already been converted to roller lifters. Little Old Guy car-isnt it great??

Quote:

---

Originally posted by Streets
them Ricer's will be a chokin' on the diesel fumes back there.. Hehehe

---

And this is a problem WHY?:D :D :D :3dSMILE: :3dSMILE: **) **) :whacked:

Quote:

---

Originally posted by drg84
Thanks streets. Oh, and BTW swiftster, those diesels you were talking about were made before the 1981 modifications. The timing pump was re designed in 80, and the crank had a bad run in 79 due to porus metals. The camshaft is a valid concern, but this engine has already been converted to roller lifters. Little Old Guy car-isnt it great??

---

Don't say you weren't warned! :p These engines were ALL bad. The dealers were replacing engines left and right. This wasn't a '78-'80 only issue. If this beast will run, drive until it doesn't, but don't sink any money into it. If you do you'll be :CRY: .

Drive it til it blowz' then......... BBC. **) :) :) :) :) **)

Thanks again swifster. I appreciate the warning. Oh, and ProZ, wrong letters. BBO. After all, its still a Cutlass :D

Quote:

---

Originally posted by drg84
Thanks again swifster. I appreciate the warning. Oh, and ProZ, wrong letters. BBO. After all, its still a Cutlass :D

---

A BBC iz' universal. He He He

Speaking of Gutlass, i finally got my logos made! Yay!

Other than the injector pump probvlem, there shouldnt be any. The olds 350 diesel, block crank rods and pistons shouldnt ever let go, BBC isnt universal, its for those that want to give someone alot of money to recieve a fast car, none of the pride of doing it yourself, none of the pride of trying something new and succeding.
The 350 diesel has 3" mains and gas SBO rod journals.(strong)
A very easy change would be toswap the diesel hads and intake for old gas olds heads and intake, wont be quick, but itl run forever The diesel pistons and rods weigh a ton, but are as strong as strong can be.
Another option would be run it til it dies,(it will outlive you, plus the great mileage and low fuel costs) and replace it with a direct bolt in SB or BB olds. I had a 81 supreme diesel, replaced it with a 461, bolt in and go. \

Another option would be to keep the diesel block, Olds 425 forged crank with counterweights cut 3/8 inch and SBC rods (stroked or destroked crank, and custom or off the shelf chevy pistons with some killer heads and go fast forever, no need to worry about a soft block(it isnt chevy, its olds, so no toothpaste blocks) Email me for more info< please no Olds hate mail or chevy rules mail

rocket403@yahoo.com

Joe

Quote:

---

Originally posted by rocket403
BBC isnt universal, its for those that want to give someone alot of money to recieve a fast car, none of the pride of doing it yourself,

rocket403@yahoo.com

Joe

---

Hummm, I wasn't aware that if you build a BBC you hafta' pay sumbudie' else to build it. :(

Quote:

---

Originally posted by Streets
Yepperz.. Ya gotta PAY me Prozzzzzzz to build yer BBC or it won't run fer sh*t.. hehehe.. I love the mindset of some people now-a-daze...:p

CHEVY RULES... hehehe

---

I'm @ a total loss now.

i own 2 olds diesels and they both get 25 mpg and have over 200,000. The first diesel that came out had problems but in 1984 they had all the problems worked out but the injection pump diapham. If the diersel you are buying is running i'll bet its been replaced.I have had both diesel cars since about 45,000 and they have been great cars for me. Both of them start good and have plenty of power for diesels.

I would pull the injectors and do a pattern, leak-down, drip, and popping pressure test. Faulty injectors were a cause of a lot of the problems associated with early automotive diesels, cracked heads and broken pistons. If you're crazy, you can make your own test stand using a hand operated hydraulic pump and a 3000-5000 psi guage depending on the popping pressure. If you have a faulty injector, they are generally not difficult to service. Especially if they aren't unit injectors. The most difficult part of rebuilding injectors is mainting an extremely clean environment. Injectors use no gaskets to seal internal parts, all parts are lapped together to create tolerances so tight that 5000 psi diesel cannot leak through them. Any small piece of dirt or corrosion from finger prints could cause an injector to leak-down excessivly.