Technical Old hot rod Olds engine info

I picked up this Olds hot rod engine setup and trying to find some Info on it or old hot rod tips. It was in a old custom 40 Ford pickup that the previous owner drove home last year. I started to take apart the engine to inspect it and see what I got. I pulled the valve cover and found adjustable rockers under the stock non dimpled valve covers no signs of hitting??. The heads are 1949 303 heads?? has a stock 4bbl intake manifold and the block I think is a 57 bored .30 . Has the starter change over remote oil filter and adapter to early ford trans. Is there a reason to run the early heads on a later block? The engine sat in the chassis open and one of the cylinders got water in it I’ll have it cleaned up and put back together I want to run it in a 35 pickup.

 

wow, that´s a cool drivetrain for a 35 PU! I know squat about early rockets but I think Tony Lombardi of Ross Racing would be the go to guy if it comes down to rockets ( and others). You could shoot him a pm with a link to your thread, I think his HAMB handle is Goatroaper. He helped my friend Damir a lot when I built his 371 stroker.

 

One thing about the early heads with there valve covers an plugwire bar,they look 1000 times cooler then later covers do.! I think !

 

That looks like a set of C-T motor mounts. They were available before the Hurst mounts were.






















c

 

you want 56 heads. kinda weird they put the early heads on. probably was a money thing, already had em or something. 4 barrel intake started in 52 stock. neat engine

 

Winner.

 

I was pretty sure a 57-58 block would not have cooling holes with screens on the rear block extension, so I looked up an old thread from DON_WOW about block ID numbers... see below:


Engine ID numbers
1949--8A1001 TO 8A193864 H PREFIX=HYDRA MATIC
1950--8A194001 TO 8A568689 H PREFIX= HYDRA MATIC
1951--8C1001 TO 8C287312 B PREFIX= SYNCHROMESH
1952--8R1001 TO 8R214478
1953--R215001 TO R549482
1954--V1001 TO V355083
1955--V400001 TO V983275
1956--A001001 TO A385513

DON_WOW, Sep 16, 2004

 

See post #8 and #9 in this thread : https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/what-year-is-my-rocket.1099896/. Actually the whole thread should be helpful to you.

 

That's a '49 block and heads.
Serial number starts with 8A
No number on center exhaust flange.
1/4" push rods... and several other clues.

Later intake as 4 barrel carbs were not available till '50

 

It almost looks like it now has the 52-up 1.8 ratio rocker stands instead of the 49-51 1.5? I just can't tell for sure with the pic angles.

If it looks like the rocker shaft is mostly centered between the big & small rocker stand bolts, that is 1.5. A 1.8 stand has the rocker shaft very close to the actual bore of the bigger stand bolt. Matter of fact, on 1.8 stands, the bored holes for the rocker shaft and the big bolt actually intersect, so you can see the side edge of the rocker shaft by looking down into the big bolt bored hole.

That whole package is quite the find for your early Ford swap. Lots of old school goodies for those that know how many headaches it would be to try to find all that stuff separate.

also it looks like it might ? have a later crank damper. The original 49 would have just a pulley with a longer reach timing pointer.

 

good point on the damper, second to last picture does look like later than '49

 

Thanks for the info so I know for sure now it’s a 49 block and heads. Any ideas on the rockers and running them with the stock valve covers? Would a low lift cam be it or????

 

Early Olds engines are something I know nothing about. However its a cool mill for your truck.

 

Running the stock 1.8 rockers on a 49 51 eng was the hot set up back in the 50s. Hyd lifters and shims under the rocker stands to compensate for the .125 milled off the early heads. Worked on 54 55 heads also. Many a 55,6,7 chevy chased my 50 olds.

 

The rockers have no name on them. Does anybody recognize them

 

Look like McGurk

 

Lots of Olds rocket info here too!
https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/rocket-oldsmobile-v8-information-compiled.715390/

 

I am 72 years old. The only thing I remember from High School is memorizing an Oldsmobile firing order. 1-8-7-3-6-5-4-2. We bump started my 47 Ford coupe all summer because I didn't have enough money for a starter change over. We were kids then.

 

Good find. If you pull it apart check the rods to see if they have the oil channels running thru the center of the rod. Those were 49 only. I just finished building a 49-303 and put it in a 36 Ford pu. I have some speed parts left over. There’s a lot of parts I made like coil mount , alternator mount and adapter to convert the road draft to pvc valve. Feel free to PM me if you have any questions.


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ill probably end up doing the same thing haha

 

Correct the later perimeter valve covers like on the '58 (I think) and up motors look a lot like BBC valve covers. Nothing against the BBC mind you just that the early center bolt covers look more hot roddish.

I would suppose that the earlier heads may have been used because they were on the bench and ready to run. Sometimes the decision is based solely on time and money.

 

These are the Mc Gurks in my 394. not to day that they are the only way that they came.

 

most of the rocker manufacturers had more than one version
the hex screw cupped end with jamb nut style were made by a few companies,
I believe McGurk was one of them

 

Do you know info about it running the adjustable rockers with the stock valve covers with no dimples. Is it a low lift cam or?

 

This might have been addressed by someone else, but I wanted to reply before I forgot to make a comment.
I had 56 heads on my 53 Olds, and the later heads and manifolds make the engine wider. If something like a conflict with the steering box is the problem, then you might get enough clearance by using the earlier heads.
I had a conflict with the steering box on my 34 Ford 1/2 ton, and my solution was to move the box.
Back in the late 50s when I built my engine, you could buy adjustable rockers and even push rods from McGurk. They were meant to be used with a solid lifter cam, but some guys would actually disable the hydraulic lifters and run them on the hydraulic cam. At the time, running the engine this way, was not known to cause problems with cam wear, but today we know that this would not be acceptable solution, and the only way you can run solid lifters is with a cam that is ground to a solid lifter profile.
Bob

 

they look like 1.5 ratio rockers, with that screw design and a moderate lift, yes you can run the stock covers.

I ran what looked like the same rockers under stock covers on this '50 303

 

When building my 303 I took my cam to crane in Daytona and they reground it. I used sbc lifters and if I remember 4 push rods 428 ? Caddy motor and 12 from a 400 Pontiac. I’d have to check to be sure. The 4 had oil passages for better oiling. With this setup it gave me .060 preload on the lifters. I also used 55 heads set up for 56 valves. If you search eBay you can find good deals on valves and rocker arm shafts.


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