I have the oppurtunity of getting into a 371 OLDS engine, c/w J2 manifold ,which are rare as rocking horse shit over here......... Any you guys running one ..... Just testing the water.. Cheers Steve
not in anything yet but I have one it's torn down right now with machine work done on the shortblock here's a snap of it when I got it
Horrible engine..... send it to me to rid yourself of the desease!! Ill carry the burden of applying speed parts. Tony
They work fine, just a heavy intake. Regular Rochester carbs, nothing unusual. I don't think they correctly fit a 303-324, though, so make sure the head ports are the right size for the intake.
I picked up a J2 Intake and some Rochester 2 jet carbs thinking I'd put it on a 371 olds, but after hauling the '59 olds engine home I realized it was probably a 394 rather than a 371, so that would probably make for a mismatch wouldn't it?
I have a 371 also but it has a Edelbrock manifold with 3 2's on it. But it does not have a coolant intake on the manifold WTF Is this the wrong intake or did they come seperate?
Ran a J2 in my 57 Super 88 for 8 years. Ran great had to fiddle with the carbs now and then, same with the progressive linkage. But thats part of the deal with a tri-carb setup.
I rebuild and restore them. Great motor and great set up. You need to decide if you will run them like the factoy did by vacuum, or go progressive linkage. Pretty reliable, front and rear carbs might get goofy, if you don't keep fresh gas going through them, so keep you foot in it!
59 could be a 371 but would use intake same as 394 because of 59 port size and added deck height of the 59-64 engines Tony
HAHA, GOOD REPLY Thanks Frank, lots of info there,I can get this engine if I want it,now for a A coupe to throw it into..........
Hi there again 57 Olds , love your work , very tidy stuff, I showed Phill my bro those pic's last time of the J2 set up ,top class stuff. cheers Steve
Yep it should look like a 303, and a 324, and a 394, because they all had extended bellhousings. Anybody got a good used 59 or 60 complete 371 for sale???? Don't want a 57 or 58!!!!!
One of my "back project" cars, waiting for me to get to it, is a '57 Olds hardtop with 371 and J2 intake. Carbs are missing, need to keep an eye out for them. The front and rear carbs were vacuum actuated and were a bit of a problem with time to keep them functioning well. I prefer the mechanical linkage mod for this setup myself and will run that way. The 371 and 394 were very similiar motors, had the same bell setup at the rear. I have a clutch/flywheel/bell setup to convert mine to a stick if I want, but it is a built up B&M Hydro at the present, manual shift only, shifts hard, good for running hard but unpleasant for just cruising. My Dad was an Olds mechanic 1940 up, finally put his wrenches away when he was 85. He liked the Olds 425 motor the best, so I am building up a 6-71 blown '67 Olds 425 for my gasser, but thought about putting the '57 Olds 371 in it with the Hydro trans, and getting the J2 setup working. Decided to keep that for the '57 Olds hardtop though. Aloha, Willy <input id="gwProxy" type="hidden"><!--Session data--><input onclick="jsCall();" id="jsProxy" type="hidden">
Geeeez Kustom, It's certainly "different" from ya normal sbc or brand 'x', would look great in your custom . Kiwi Helrod
Hi Linz, got the bug , chopped & chanelled Model A , C/W 371 OLDS + J2 set up ,sounds like where I NEED TO BE HEADING.......... Bloody H.A.M.B's Fault....... Wanna buy the 57 ? Cheers Steve
I rode in my uncles 57 Olds J-2 many times in the late 50s. He shitcanned the now valuable air cleaner too and put on the same louvered chrome pots that we see all the time. It was a black 4 dr sedan. I'm not sure if he kept the vacuum linkage or not. It was a sleeper in it's day. It ran great as the only car that he owned at that time. He was middle aged at that time. His son was the hot rodder. My uncle claimed that he could out run my cousins 46 Ford coupe with it's nailhead Buick.
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