Hot Rods Olds Rocket 324 in a 32 Ford; "trying to finish it thread"..

[F&J]

As some of you Olds guys know, I just got the 303 Olds running and "yard" driving in the 40 Ford coupe.

I am on the back side of life, so it's time to try to get the 32 to run and drive...finally..

No, I don't have money, I simply buy really rough cars that nobody else wanted.

I finished a side job at noon, and rolled this backwards into the L shaped heated work bay.

I picked up 2 new mockup/takeoff Coker 760/15 rear tires when I went to get the 40 brake parts at the old car parts warehouse. I wanted to mock them up today. I've bought and sold quite a few pairs of "takeoffs" bias tires, trying to find something that looks right, so I hope I can live with this setup. It has Firestone 670/15 on the front. The stainless rings seem to be what Bob Bleed has on the Olds Rocket powered "little red truck". I need to get some center caps that will fit the wheels..

Anyways, plans are to go through the twin 49 Olds backdraft carbs, mount the manifold, redo the front motor cradle mount (again), then fire it up. If that goes OK, I'll mount up the clutch slave, rebuild the old chromed 60/62 brake/clutch master cyl. Also cut the driveshaft to fit and then pull the motor to clean it, paint it and install the old chromed front timing cover.

I screwed up bigtime by starting a highboy with old side headers...and then went "full fendered" at a late stage in the build. The driver side exhaust is now going to be a problem, but hope to sort it out.

[TORR]

Wow!, any close up engine pics?

[slepe67]

Originally Posted by F&J

I am on the back side of life...

The backside of life???? Pssshhhhh!!! Gobbledeegook!

The car looks great. Let us know how this progresses. From my standpoint, it looks killer!

[Dago 88]

Congrats ,that is perfect.

[vtwhead]

Frank, I like it. Good to see it back on the front burner. Keep us posted on your progress.

[Slick Willy]

F-in A cool, F&J!!

[F&J]

Originally Posted by Slick Willy

F-in A cool, F&J!!

yea, I keep having to remind myself...

I am having a rough "first day back on it". I have repro and also good used Ford rubber motor mount biscuits/washers, etc, and I cannot make these fit into the stock 32 recessed pockets in the orig front crossmember. That's why I quit on the front mount before..

The only way they fit decent, is upside down. . I was going to ask here this morning, but I took a vote, and said "who ---- cares if they are upside down"..... I need to get this car going. Makes for a screwy looking front saddle mount bracket on the motor, but I honestly don't care anymore. I am so spoiled on how amazing the other Olds swapped into the 1940, and this swap is pure torture.


I sure do like the way that the early Olds front damper hubs slide right off so nice. At least no fighting at all on that part, while doing the saddle.


Also I am trying to mock up a head pipe location on the drivers side. i will put up a pic later.

[HEATHEN]

Are those Edmunds valve covers I see?

[mlagusis]

F&J, Looks great. I like that you are running fenders (and everything else about your car)

[Speedy Canuck]

Damnit F&J. Why do you have so many cool Rocket related build threads going? It's hard for us little guys to keep up. I'll be following this one as well, but TORR is right, we need some more pictures!

[falcongeorge]

Originally Posted by Speedy Canuck

Damnit F&J. Why do you have so many cool Rocket related build threads going? It's hard for us little guys to keep up. I'll be following this one as well, but TORR is right, we need some more pictures!

X2. MAN, do you come up with the cool stuff!

[F&J]

Also I am trying to mock up a head pipe location on the drivers side. i will put up a pic later.

I am winning the battle with the front motor mount saddle, so while welds cool, I am trying to find an exhaust route for the driver side. I am guessing that 57/58 371 Olds ran the same type of drivers exhaust manifold as the 324, with the down pipe up between #1 and #3? Anybody know?


I need something to dump horizontal straight back, in line with the exh ports, or dump down vertical near the last port.

Plan A; I did not have a piece of 2" pipe for mock up, so this pipe is a 2-1/4" with a 45* bend, and it goes "over" the front leg of the chassis X member.

Plan B; If I were to dump it straight down at the last port, and try to pass it through the front of the leg of the X, then it will get pretty close to where the 60/62 Chevy truck clutch slave will be. You can see the TOB fork eye in the dark pic. In that pic, you can also see the 2-1/4 pipe end with the 45 dumping back and down for plan A.

Not sure what to try. A header would need tight quick bends coming off the ports, and that may interfere with the header bolts.

Or, I hate to do this, but maybe external lakes headers, and then have to cut a hole through the fender for the downspout to go under the car? That's a last ditch attempt. I know it was done in the past, because the 50s built 3w that my rear fenders came from, had huge holes in it's front fenders for fenderwell headers.


Pics of the engine in a day or so, when I clean it up. I am fitting the chrome timing cover on now, and need to clean the rest of this dusty mess.

[F&J]

Just a quick noon update;

I took the valve covers off for buffing and spotted a couple of things; one was a cracked rocker stand just on one side...someone had the shafts apart

This motor supposedly came from a 55 Olds 2 dr post stick car that was sideswiped when fairly new w/ 41,000 miles, then stored indoors for decades. I have had the trans apart and the gears could pass for 10,000 miles.

The other thing I noticed is that there are rubber seals on the valve retainers..I've never seen those before on Olds. See pic on the seals and cracked stand. I took one rocker off to see what type it had for oil holes, etc.

So I decided to pull the valley cover to look some more. This motor is really clean, and the timing chain has what I expected for 41k miles. So, I don't know if it was rebuilt or why the heck they messed with the rocker shafts.

Anyways, also I have never seen a dist like what I found some years ago; it is chromed and has a weird timing pointer and scale.

I should have it back together and running by the weekend, if there are no internal problems.

By the way, if you like Olds hot rods, check out Bob Bleeds "little red truck" build with the J2 set up...very cool build. He said his Edmunds 2X2 "won't fit", so I will try to remember to take pics of the special homemade intake gasket adapter plates to make it fit. I am doing the same intake on this 324.

[HEATHEN]

The '53 303 I disassebled had the rubber seals you speak of. Also, I've got a couple '49-'50 distributors that have the timing pointer like the one pictured.

[F&J]

Originally Posted by HEATHEN

The '53 303 I disassebled had the rubber seals you speak of. Also, I've got a couple '49-'50 distributors that have the timing pointer like the one pictured.

49 - 50 eh? That explains the problem I ran into this afternoon with the chrome timing cover NOT fitting a 324.

That distributor came from the same motor as the chrome timing cover. The cover must be early because I had to swap the timing pointer to the short one used with late 303 and up that use a damper up front. The long pointer I took off the chrome cover is very long to reach the bare pulley without a damper on the early 303.

So, I am trying to put the cover on, and it's hitting something real good up top inside.... Boy, I got lucky because the fuel pump cam high spot was almost at TDC, and it then could hit the early cover on the back side of the impeller chamber. Lucky, because if the fuel pump cam was at the bottom, it would have fit fine....until I rotated the engine at some point to set the distributor rough timing. Then I probably would have thought that a nut got down inside the head ports and onto a piston... and may have started pulling heads

There is quite a difference in the castings in that area...so I assume the early 303 must have a small fuel pump cam. I was able to see the nick where it was touching and used a 4.5 grinder to relieve the spot...and I did not hit the impeller passage.

Here is a pic from tonight. The intake is just sitting there, not set up with adapters yet.

[AD_NAPCO]

Aww crap, Frank, did you send me the rocker stand you needed for this fix, or is that the earlier type stand?

Originally Posted by F&J

Just a quick noon update;

I took the valve covers off for buffing and spotted a couple of things; one was a cracked rocker stand just on one side...someone had the shafts apart

This motor supposedly came from a 55 Olds 2 dr post stick car that was sideswiped when fairly new w/ 41,000 miles, then stored indoors for decades. I have had the trans apart and the gears could pass for 10,000 miles.

The other thing I noticed is that there are rubber seals on the valve retainers..I've never seen those before on Olds. See pic on the seals and cracked stand. I took one rocker off to see what type it had for oil holes, etc.

So I decided to pull the valley cover to look some more. This motor is really clean, and the timing chain has what I expected for 41k miles. So, I don't know if it was rebuilt or why the heck they messed with the rocker shafts.

Anyways, also I have never seen a dist like what I found some years ago; it is chromed and has a weird timing pointer and scale.

I should have it back together and running by the weekend, if there are no internal problems.

By the way, if you like Olds hot rods, check out Bob Bleeds "little red truck" build with the J2 set up...very cool build. He said his Edmunds 2X2 "won't fit", so I will try to remember to take pics of the special homemade intake gasket adapter plates to make it fit. I am doing the same intake on this 324.

[F&J]

Originally Posted by AD_NAPCO

Aww crap, Frank, did you send me the rocker stand you needed for this fix, or is that the earlier type stand?

Yes, it's the same 1.8 stand. Not to worry as I may have one spare I think, but I will be switching to 1.5's when the Crower cam goes in. That cam was ground for 1.5 ratio.

[AD_NAPCO]

Well, if you end up having to order one, please let me pay for it. I really appreciate your help.

Originally Posted by F&J

Yes, it's the same 1.8 stand. Not to worry as I may have one spare I think, but I will be switching to 1.5's when the Crower cam goes in. That cam was ground for 1.5 ratio.

[GOATROPER02]

Yes to the small fuel pump cam and early cover

[koth]

F&J, thanks for sharing this project. I like to do the same kind of work with my stuff and its fun to see the ideas you are coming up with to sort it all out.