J2 intake and 371 Olds heads on a 324? Will this work?

Hmmm, well, maybe I am being a little conservative.As you can probably tell by my posts, I have no first-hand experience building early rockets, but a fair bit of experience building motors in general. Normally, I would expect 250cfm with the other parts I outlined and a decent intake to make around 500hp. I added a "fudge factor" for the log, maybe I fudged a little too much!

 

drama removed

Fair enough -

Ironically, doing research is exactly what I am trying to do with this thread, as - unlike you - I haven't built an Olds engine before. Others yes, Olds, no. So yup, I need to learn a few things before I jump in and light a stack of cash on fire.

You seem to feel I was disrespectful to Goatroper, hopefully he didn't feel that way as it wasn't my intention, I just needed more specific info, as mentioned earlier. 'Nuff said.

Off to learn a few more things about Olds engines . . .

 

So here is the story: I already have a 324, but no intake. My oldest son is tearing it down for a rebuild.

I would really love to use a factory 3x2, but I was under the impression they weren't available as a factory piece prior to 371s. I did find what I feel is a really great deal on a iron J2 manifold, and have heard/seen/read that others have used them on early Rockets . . . just didn't know what it took to do it.

So yes, using a 324 iron tri power would be much easier and probably less expensive, and the preferable way to go.

 

Speedy,

I didnt....no worries

If you read my vegness, it really was just simple answers to 3 questions to the post above them
In my mind I understood it

You get ready to build and give me a call, and Ill fix you up with what you need to maximize your build to fit your budget weather its strict or all out,
Parts or completes

Tony

 

Next rule Speedy,
Tell the kid no sandels when workin on one of these heavy bastards if he wants to keep his toes..lol

Tony

 

you are correct on no tri-power from the factory until 57.

Go with the one you found. Place it between the heads, with no valley cover. You should see that if the manifold surfaces were machined a bit, then the manifold would be sitting a bit lower, and then the bolt holes would be centered better.

Valley cover off to test fit, because the bottom of the 371 intake has a bump on the center bottom area. You can mod your cover or as I read on hamb, get a 371 cover. I would just mod it.

 

I love the stock performance look too,
like a cleaned up junk yard jewel from back in the day

but somehow in my twisted mind I think if I was lucky enough to find a J2 setup back then that wasn't on a 371 I would find a 371 to put it on

if I had a 324 I would put 324 stuff on it, stock or otherwise,
but that's just me

I've had probably two dozen of these old motors but really only hopped up a few
right now I've been driving a blown '50 303 in my T,
'just put together a blown '57 371 (with much help from GOATROPER02) for the A,
and am in the process of putting together a nice '56 324 with Cragar 4x2 and plenty of other goodies for another T.

there is a ton of good information out there about these old motors
but it's getting harder to find

I would pay attention to not only who is advising you but just as importantly who they recommend
Heathen, F&J and Tony (Goatroper) are worth paying attention to

 

Thanks Paul; input appreciated and advice taken.

 

my J2

before and after
'took the 30 pound iron intake off and replaced it with 60 pounds of aluminum

 

That is absolutely bloody beautiful.

By the way Paul, where is Lahar Valley? I am a Washington native myself - born in Yakima, grew up in Issaquah, Bellingham, then Seattle . . . thought I'd been everywhere in the state. Are you on the east side?

 

This is exactly my goal. The engine will eventually go into my '40 Ford pickup parts chaser (yes, I am aware it has a '41 hood, but its a '40), which was mildly rodded back in the 50's by its original owner and used to tow his model A race cars all over the country. I want to keep the original feel of the truck intact, and a transplant of a mostly stock looking Olds Rocket is right on the money with this truck.

 

love those trucks

I set a J2 manifold on a '55 324 and snapped a couple pictures,
pardon the crusty look..
first picture shows misalignment of bolt holes, this is without gaskets so with gaskets would make it slightly worse, you can't see the port misalignment but I would bet it's about the same.
second picture shows all ports are covered, no gaps.
looks like what others have said would work fine, mill about an eighth off the manifold port surfaces and blend the ports.
last picture shows (poorly) the only visible difference between the J2 pan on the left and the regular '57 371 valley pan is the front lip is trimmed short to clear the relocated water crossover/thermostat

 

Sounds like it will be a neat truck when its done. What do you plan to use for a trans?

 

Just in case there is confusion on modifying the 324 or 303 valley cover;

If you compare a 303/324 pan to the pics of the two 371 pans, the 371's are dented downwards in the middle to clear the low-hanging center heat riser bump on the 371 or J2 intake manifold.

If you set the J2 manifold on the 303/324, that casting difference will keep the manifold up off the heads by about 1/2".

I would think it is possible to reshape the early pan if you can't find a later one.

 

Paul - a HUGE thanks for taking the conceptual and making it visual for me. I truly appreciate you taking the time to set up those pix and them post them.

Since I've been running a 283 for the last five years, it has a turbo 350 hooked up to the stock 3 speed column shifter, however with the Olds I probably switch over to an old Ford 3 spd OD or a T5 trans plus something like 3:55 gears (or steeper) to make the whole package a little more fun all the way around.

This truck gets LOTS of miles put on it.